Forests. Dense by name, foreboding by nature, enticing by design. And coming this winter, you’ll take on the role of Tove, a young girl “venturing deep into the forbidden wilderness, a land of dark mystery, ancient magic and monsters”.
A point-and-click adventure game inspired in Scandinavian folklore, Röki is a dark fairy tale with “ancient puzzles and atmospheric exploration.” And most of the chills? They aren’t coming from the snow.
Röki is described as a game about courage, adventure, and folklore, and from what we’ve seen via the trailer, looks to be heavily steeped in narrative elements.
Much of what seems to make Röki a game to look forward to (given what little we know of the story) is the scenery. Every second of very frame looks stunning, as if Rime and Inside had a child and that child grew up to be an art major. Allegory aside, from the snowy locales that make up much of the world, to the brief glimpses of an unknown culture showcased by trinkets and other baubles in passing, to the glittering caves and the truly encroaching forest, the world of Röki looks spellbinding. The final shot in particular, showing a huge, hulking beast sporting a Cheshire grin as it approaches Tove from behind, is just the sort of thing to really emphasize the danger of the woods. Everything is nice and quiet…until it’s not.
In the game you’ll search for ancient relics, solve riddles, make friends with monsters, and chart your journey through a forest that seems as alive as the very creatures that inhabit it. All while you try and discover what happened to Tove’s family, and who she really is in this fantastical world.
Röki is the brainchild of Tom Jones and Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou, game devs at the indie studio Polygon Treehouse. Former PlayStation/Guerrilla art directors, the studio was founded in 2017 and based out of Cambridge, UK. Their mission? “To create art-led narrative games with a unique character that pack an emotional punch.” From the look of this with Röki, they’re taking an excellent first step.
Röki is due out for Nintendo Switch winter 2019 (appropriate). Until next time, stay and play savvy, gamers!
