I doubt any dissenters to the notion that video games are ostensibly a form of art exist within the video game hoi polloi anymore. To those self aggrandizing cultural stalwarts who are - I present to you Jotun, the latest in an exponentially increasing list of beautifully crafted indie darlings that strengthen the art argument just about monthly.
Jotun's story is that of our heroine, a viking woman named Thora, who's life ends unceremoniously in a storm. Unable to ascend unto the halls of Valhalla, Thora must garner the reverence of the Norse gods to secure her rightful place in Asgard, all the while revealing the story of her life in pieces along the way. Thora's life is fraught with Shakespearean tragedy, told in a fashion which is somehow both autobiographical and eulogistic. Developer Thunder Lotus Games out of Montreal couples this with a hauningly minimalist landscape and score, and has created a deeply moving experience.
The gameplay of Jotun is deceptively simple. There are no enemies besides the bosses which the player only encounters by gathering the necessary runes from their respective area. Exploring these areas was an incredibly joyous experience for a very unique reason; the area maps are purposefully vague and do not show your location. The game remedies this in very realistic ways like zooming the camera out when you're on high ground, giving you a better lay of the land and forcing the player to navigate using a form of dead reckoning. Not all will find this as endearing as I did, but I found it added a layer of realism and difficulty to getting around and, at the very least, gives you a much better appreciation of the level design. Boss battles are the classic "notice a pattern and counter accordingly, using the abilities you've acquired thus far" but, in practice, are not so patronizingly easy and in fact can be quite the opposite.
Jotun is everything from beautiful to terrifying to heartbreakingly tragic. The gameplay, art style, and score are resonant and powerful, and the difficulty and learning curve are just right, meaning Jotun feels something like the perfect mix of Dark Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, and Transistor. Jotun could benefit from a length increase, but then again, so could most artsy indie games, and even though I found it's unique take on navigation to be charming, there was a definite need for a mini map, as I found myself pressing start just about every 2 minutes to look at it. Jotun is a fun game that is presented well enough to make you feel feelings and think thoughts which, at the end of the day, is a definition of art. Don't expect Jotun to change the way video games are perceived tomorrow, but absolutely include it in the list of games that will change that perception in a few years.

I doubt any dissenters to the notion that video games are ostensibly a form of art exist within the video game hoi polloi anymore. To those self aggrandizing cultural stalwarts who are - I present to you Jotun, the latest in an exponentially increasing list of beautifully crafted indie darlings that strengthen the art argument just about monthly. Jotun's story is that of our heroine, a viking woman named Thora, who's life ends unceremoniously in a storm. Unable to ascend unto the halls of Valhalla, Thora must garner the reverence of the Norse gods to secure her rightful place in Asgard, all the while revealing the story of her life in pieces along the way. Thora's life is fraught with Shakespearean tragedy, told in a fashion which is somehow both autobiographical and eulogistic. Developer Thunder Lotus Games out of Montreal couples this with a hauningly minimalist landscape and score, and has created a deeply moving experience. The gameplay of Jotun is deceptively simple. There are no enemies besides the bosses which the player only encounters by gathering the necessary runes from their respective area. Exploring these areas was an incredibly joyous experience for a very unique reason; the area maps are purposefully vague and do not show your location. The game remedies this in very realistic ways like zooming the camera out when you're on high ground, giving you a better lay of the land and forcing the player to navigate using a form of dead reckoning. Not all will find this as endearing as I did, but I found it added a layer of realism and difficulty to getting around and, at the very least, gives you a much better appreciation of the level design. Boss battles are the classic "notice a pattern and counter accordingly, using the abilities you've acquired thus far" but, in practice, are not so patronizingly easy and in fact can be quite the opposite. Jotun is everything from beautiful to terrifying to heartbreakingly tragic. The gameplay, art style, and score are resonant and powerful, and the difficulty and learning curve are just right, meaning Jotun feels something like the perfect mix of Dark Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, and Transistor. Jotun could benefit from a length increase, but then again, so could most artsy indie games, and even though I found it's unique take on navigation to be charming, there was a definite need for a mini map, as I found myself pressing start just about every 2 minutes to look at it. Jotun is a fun game that is presented well enough to make you feel feelings and think thoughts which, at the end of the day, is a definition of art. Don't expect Jotun to change the way video games are perceived tomorrow, but absolutely include it in the list of games that will change that perception in a few years.