Game: Röki
Genre: Indie, Adventure, Platformer, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam)
Developers | Publishers: Polygon Treehouse | United Label
Age Rating: EU 12+ | US Teen
Price: EU €19,99 | US $19.99 | UK £17.99
Release Date: October 15th, 2020
Review code used, with many thanks to United Label
Röki is a modern-day tale of courage and adventure inspired by Scandinavian folklore. It is also the first game to be released by developers Polygon Treehouse. We have been following the development of Röki in our weekend news articles since it was announced and released for Steam. In June 2020 it was announced it was on its way to the Switch. Let’s see what it’s all about!
Tove and Lars
You play as Tove, a young girl who has looked after her younger brother Lars since the loss of their mother. Bright and imaginative Lars loves the creatures of his late mother’s bedtime stories, stories of strange creatures he claims to see in the forest! Then, one night after dinner and a bedtime story, their home is attacked by a dark monster. Tove and Lars are chased into the snowy woods and separated, leaving Tove with the realisation that some of her brother’s tales may have been true! Tove will have to seek the help of talking trees, trolls and forest guardians to be reunited with Lars again.
Find the Three Jötunn
As the story develops there are three guardians or the Jötunn that Tove has to find to locate her missing brother. Unfortunately for the Jötunn, they have succumbed to a fungal infestation that’s spread throughout the magical forest. The fungal infestation has sent them into a deep, terror-ridden sleep. The infestation has spread across the land, blinded the trees, and contaminated the waters.
You’ll spend your time as Tove walking from place to place, interacting with mystical beasts and characters. Tove collects objects, and uses those objects to progress, ombining objects to solve some puzzles, and figuring out their importance as you advance through the story.
Point and Click Puzzles
The puzzles in Röki are fairly logical and none of the puzzles are too vague, everything you can interact with in the surroundings has a purpose. However, sometimes figuring that purpose out might leave you scratching your head for a while!
Tove has a journal which allows you to view a map. You collect notes on each area she has visited and the characters within those areas. Tove stores collectables she has picked up in her journal and achievement-like badges she has earned. While the journal is a great idea to refer to, it not the easiest to flick through the pages in. Every time you open the journal it starts at page one. It can get a little tedious trying to find the correct info you are looking for especially if it’s on page thirty-six. That’s a lot of clicking of the ZL button to turn every single page.
Scandinavian Lore
Röki splits it’s coming of age tale into three separate chapters, each of which has its own setting that you can explore at your own pace. From a sunken cabin to a forgotten church, to a Yule Cat’s burrow, there is plenty to see and explore.
The game plays like an adventure game, with a good dose of point and click thrown in. I like the way the point and click feature is implemented in the game. Röki has a highlight feature, causing objects you can interact within the environment to flash with a click of the left stick. It saves tediously clicking on every surface and tapping A, and it makes for a smooth, easily accessible experience.
The inevitable back-tracking that takes place in Röki has been made easy. There is a hub system that unlocks when rescuing interlinked trees from the fungus. Each of these trees is connected to the Mother Tree, which sits at the centre of the forest, and you travel between them via ancient roots.
The lore in the game is pretty interesting in its own right, presenting Scandinavian folklore and visual imagery in a great package. What I didn’t expect was the strong emotional narrative that drives through the two central characters. It’s a heartfelt story of grief, loss and family ties, and courage as Tove searches for her brother Lars!
Visuals and Controls
I love the way Röki looks with its beautiful visuals backed up with realistic sound effects. The game isn’t fully voiced acted as the characters speak with half-spoken grunts and various noises. While I’m not a huge fan of this style of voice grunts and noises it does work in this context.
From the very first scene, Röki takes you into a beautiful version of Scandinavia. Every area is full of small details, from little animals running around to magical creatures, that bring the whole place alive. Add in its calm and fantastic soundtrack and you feel like you’re exploring a forest from a Nordic fairytale world.
Röki uses a lot of view perspective, and for most of the scenes, the camera is zoomed out. While this creates a sense of scale for the player it also can make Tove hard to distinguish from the background. Röki controls well and the game ran smoothly on my Switch during my playtime.
Conclusion
It is obvious from playing Röki that developers Polygon Treehouse want you to enjoy the puzzles and adventuring gameplay. However, it’s done in such a way as not to distract you from the story.
A story is full of Scandinavian folklore intertwined with a tale of a broken family being held together by Tove’s determination, courage and spirit. All of which transforms the experience into something lasting and memorable for the player.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up 
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