Roki is giving you 3 dimensional chess while the others just want you to play checkers

RÖKI REVIEW BY JD ESTRADA

PLAYED ON THE NINTENDO SWITCH

Röki is an adventure video game developed by British studio Polygon Treehouse and published by United Label Games. It follows Tove, a young girl, traveling into the ancient wilderness to rescue your younger brother Lars from Röki, a pitch-black monster from the pages of a fairy tale. 

Initial release date: July 23, 2020

Developer: Polygon Treehouse

Engine: Unity

Mode: Single-player video game

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems, PlayStation 5

Publishers: United Label, CI Games

Nominations: BAFTA Games Award for Debut Game, BAFTA Games Award for Best British Game, The Game Award for Best Debut Indie Game

I’ve been on a kick of puzzle platformer games and puzzle games and it’s for good reason:

A. The games I’ve picked up have been very polished and few if any bugs to report

B. They have unique storylines that often could stand on their own beyond a game

WHAT THIS GAME DOES WELL: One of the triumphs of this game has to be the storyline because although it does take a typical approach if you break it down, i.e. a rescue mission where an unwilling character is made the hero, the WAY in which they do it is where the story shines. You play as Tove who is a young girl who is basically the one holding down the fort in the household after a tragic loss. One evening, a huge monster attacks the cabin in the forest and this sends a series of events where Tove has to rescue her younger brother Lars. Although it sounds basic enough, the story really grips you and has some jump scare worthy moments interwoven with very heart string pulling twists and turns. 

Gameplay that ADDS to the story

Although controls are pretty responsive and there are few technical hiccups, I will definitely tell you that if you’re ever stuck at one point, take a closer look at your immediate surroundings because on more than one occasion I found out I was stuck because I didn’t notice that there was an opening that led to a side room. After it happened twice, I definitely put much more attention to subtle visual cues like lighting and shadows although on one occasion I literally stumbled into the next room.

The game is divided into a couple of parts and although you normally control Tove, the last chapter has you controlling another character whose role in the gameplay adds an added emotional component to puzzles. I’ve. Played games where you need to control more than one character to solve a puzzle but I’ve never played one where the emotional stakes were as high or emotional. Moments like the one I hint at is what sets this game apart from other puzzlers I’ve played. Somehow it feels like there’s a deeper connection to characters than in other puzzle games or puzzle platformers like The Gardens Between (where the lack of narrative kind of hinders a deeper connection) or Degrees of Separation (where OVER exposition kills the flow). Röki never overdoes the narrative and although some puzzles are a bit tricky, most puzzles actually add to the overall experience, which I appreciated. 

Art Direction

Like many games I’ve found in the last year, the art direction in this game definitely stands out and does so in its own way. From color schemes, to line style, and dialogue, everything in RÖKI seems to have a distinct flavor and I truly appreciated the cinematographic attention to detail not only in cutscenes, but in transition frames. Rather than a standard walk from point A to point B, the camera dollys, pans, or zooms with a very careful attention to detail in quite a few instances that truly had me soaking up the scene. Art style is cell shaded but again, the attention to detail by Polygon Treehouse is felt in pretty much every scene. 

Soundtrack and sound design

The score for this game is definitely haunting and echoes the icy places you visit. Nuanced and beautiful, Aether did a great job with the music and another one of those titles whose music will probably serve creatives of all types or just a great add for anyone who likes instrumental scores to unwind. 

WHY CHAMPION THIS GAME: RÖKI is definitely a game to file under unique, especially with the inspiration behind it. If you enjoy Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology but are kind of looking for something different, this is a title that can definitely appeal since it dives deep into Scandinavian folklore and definitely has a different feel to it. 

It tackles some very deep human emotions and experiences and often does so in extremely unique and engaging ways. It’s one thing to talk heavy handedly about loss and trauma, it’s a whole other thing to solve smaller puzzles that make up a bigger puzzle just to find a memory of something the main character would have rather forgotten. 

Although regularly priced at $19.99 this is a game that’s often put on sale, though if you ask me, the attention to detail and that the game can easily last 10+ hours means that the regular price tag isn’t bonkers by any means. 

Overall, RÖKI is a moving very unique experience though if I could compare this to work in another medium, I’d probably think in terms of music, particularly Tori Amos’s Native Invader, 50 Words for Snow by Kate Bush, and most definitely Bjork’s Vespertine. It is a game that strums deep emotional chords with a beautiful world awash with Scandinavian charm.  YOU CAN PLAY THIS GAME ON NINTENDO HERE

YOU CAN PLAY THIS GAME ON STEAM HERE