A young girl, full of responsibilities, caring for her younger brother. Everything seems normal in this small family — until a giant monster appears and steals her sibling away.
Röki is a stunning point and click adventure game where you play Tove, a young girl with a life full of responsibilities. You are always looking after your younger brother, Lars, who is as childish as it comes. Living out in the snowy forest, you are both quite isolated from the rest of the world, with only each other’s company to fill the time. Your father is around, however, he tends to be too drunk to notice either of you – always passed out in his chair.
So, that leaves you to take care of yourself and your brother; cooking food, making sure he gets to bed, and keeping him entertained. You will have to interact with various objects around the world and combine select ones in your inventory, much like any point and click adventure. The real appeal in Röki, however, is the story and art style.
The story behind Röki is based on Scandinavian folklore. The stories of children in the wilderness, with giant monsters that come and wreak havoc, have specifically inspired this game. Your house, as mentioned, is very isolated although large in size. The house you are in is very open planned — though your bathroom is in an outhouse outside. After you have tucked your brother into bed, he wakes up, needing to use the bathroom. It’s now that the real adventure begins. In the night, the world is very quite different than normal: Crows are circling your home, there are earthquakes rumbling nearby, and you want to head back inside. The earthquakes seem to be unnatural, but are unexplained until the monster appears.
A giant monster, smashing through your home and looking to snatch up one of you kids. You will need to think quickly and maintain a brave face while you attempt to get the two of you out of there. Maybe, if your dad wakes up, you can get him out as well.
This game is created by two artists — so the art of the game is on point. From the slight change of color as the characters move around the scene, to the theater-esque designs of each screen, each making the world seem both big and easily explorable. Your main character, Tove, is full of wonderful small touches as well. Her hair, pom-pom on her hat, and her sweatshirt strings are all physics based — moving and swaying as she does.
The early version of the game which I got to check out at the Cambridge Game Developers’ Showcase showed off the tutorial of the game and gave hints towards where the story was heading. I also got to listen to a talk by the developers themselves — hearing more about their inspirations and art style!
Röki is already visually stunning — and from what I know of the story, it will hold up as well. I am a big fan of folklore and fairytales in games, so I am very excited to see where this wonderful game goes!
If you’d like to follow development along with me, check out their website, follow @PolyTreeHouse on Twitter, and follow their Facebook page.
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