Munin

From developers at Gojira, a Portuguese indie studio, and publishers at Daedalic Entertainment comes Munin, a puzzle adventure game set in the universe of Norse mythology. Munin is available for Microsoft Windows and OS X platforms.

i'm in if munin

If you've never heard of Gojira, they were the folks behind creating a virtual car commercial K-pop star experience in which players got to sing and dance alongside the lovely Kim "HyunA" Hyuna (I don't blame you). Aside from creating car endorsement products, Gojira are focused in natural language processing, interactive fiction, and of course, indie games. 

ios app if you're curious

Munin is a puzzle adventure game immersed in the world of Norse mythology. Players take on the role of Munin, one of the messengers and eyes of Odin. Munin has been transformed by the trickster god Loki into a flightless human girl and must traverse the nine worlds found within Norse cosmology to find her feathers to fly back to Asgard.

the backgrounds look amazing 

While basic in its platforming elements, the core gameplay of Munin arises in the ability to rotate and manipulate set portions of levels. Rotating a piece of the level can open up different passages and affects environmental objects that are key to collecting all the feathers in a level. The different sets of levels are stylized to fit one of the nine worlds of the Norse Yggdrasil and each hold their own unique variation on the rotational mechanic. Players will be able to figure out and toy with spirit orbs, geysers, and rolling stones, just to name a few variations. There are also smaller mechanical details that can be worked out. For example, rotating a piece actually removes the momentum of any object in that piece, allowing players to guide objects into specific areas.

spot the ladder

Although the game's mechanics are interesting and reminded me of Braid or The Bridge, the game's flaws are small but frustrating. Several of the earlier stages presents immediate flaws in art direction. The cave levels are atmospherically dark but when it becomes difficult to make out foreground and background elements, it becomes a problem. There aren't any gamma options so the only thing you can really do is either lean in really close to the screen or adjust your monitor settings. Another quality-of-life issue I ran into was the ability to only rotate pieces clockwise. This means that if you miss your exit, you're going to have to click a piece three more times to get it aligned. The controls are typical of a platformer but can sometimes be stiff, especially when climbing ladders and jumping over terrain obstacles.

Munin's puzzles aren't overly complex but still encourages planning and experimentation. While not exactly a one-trick pony, the game's mechanical variations can run stale rather quickly. The variations can be fun and interesting but not all of them are successful or effectively game changing. Because the game requires you to beat all levels in a set before advancing to the next one, you can get stuck at a level and forced to drag yourself around to figure it out. There isn't an option to skip a level to come back to it, making the experience tedious. The lack of stage selection or stage skipping damages the game's pacing.

hello there

Despite its flaws, Munin is still a solid game with a firm foundation in its core mechanics; the game does seem a little too tenacious with what it offers, however. The game's unique aesthetics and the Norse mythology theme salvages aspects of the game that otherwise weigh it down. Although the game does have nine worlds and a plentiful number of levels, even puzzle game enthusiasts may find themselves bored after a rather repetitive set before they can enjoy another mechanic. I couldn't bring myself to sit down for more than thirty minutes at a time as the game's engagement wanes, but if you do find the game on sale and you liked games like Braid or The Bridge, do give Munin a try.