After having players duff up frost giants and slide down the roots of Yggdrasil in their first game, Jotun, developers Thunder Lotus Games seem to be going possibly even bigger in their second. Today they announced Sundered [official site], set in a vast ruined world filled with “eldritch horrors” – things with too many wings, teeth, and tentacles. Some of them are flipping ginormous and all. See that wee speck about to be crushed underfoot in that picture ↑ up there? That’s you that is.
Jotun [official site] looks beautiful, doesn’t it? Just look at those hand-crafted animations. Its water coloured landscapes. Its whimsical Studio Ghibli-esque aesthetic weaving vibrant charm and mystical allure all over my eye balls. Ahead of its September 29 release on Steam, Canadian outfit Thunder Lotus Games have delivered a launch trailer showcasing yet more of Jotun’s majesty – which includes the majesty of a 50-foot tall loin cloth-sporting, horned helmet-donning Norse mythology-drawn grunt.
Jotun’s [official site] combination of Norse mythology, impressive hand-drawn animation and enormous boss battles brings The Banner Saga and Shadow of the Colossus to mind. Alice spotted the game when it was frozen in the purgatory of a Kickstarter campaign, creeping toward its funding goal. Having squeaked past the $60,000 target, the team have been working hard and recently went on tour, showing their vision of frosty boss battles to the masses. Below, you can see footage of a typical fight between the player character and an enormous Winter Jotun.
Say the name Thora and I’ll think of dear Thora Hird or Thora Birch, entirely missing its origins as the feminine version of Thor. Seeing Jotun makes this smack-bang blindingly obvious. Not one to give an Alan Bennett monologue or act precocious, she’s more into slaying giants. Giant giants.
“Imagine the mysterious romantic mood of Journey mixed with the scale of the boss fights in Shadow of the Colossus in top-down 2D,” developers Thunder Lotus Games suggest. Don’t mind if I do! If you enjoy imagining that enough, you mighty fancy helping make it unimaginary. Thunder Lotus are running a Kickstarter for Jotun, do you see?
