Olija Review

Like all nice brief tales, Olija manages to do extra with much less. Its characters are roughly drawn and really pixelated, however they construct robust bonds that resonate and create actual stakes. The caves, ruins, and darkish corners of the world exude an ominous, foreboding temper that permeates each flip. And the motion, a mixture of quick-moving fight and light-weight puzzle-platforming, steadily and constantly finds new methods to maintain you in your toes. Olija takes precisely as a lot time because it wants to inform its story and present you every part in its bag of methods.Olija follows Faraday, a shipwrecked lord trapped on a hostile chain of islands known as Terraphage. Facing all types of magic, darkish oozing blobs, and individuals who need him useless, the misplaced lord appears doomed, however he shortly finds a weapon to show his fortune: a legendary magic harpoon that he can throw and both teleport to its location or summon again to him. To get dwelling and, optionally, save his crew, Faraday explores the islands of Terraphage, defeats a hidden evil, saves a queen–you know, hero stuff.Though it boils all the way down to a clichéd hero’s quest on the most important stage, Olija teases a whole lot of narrative out of a small quantity of exposition. Faraday has a small retinue of recurring companions and acquaintances he meets on his journey, together with a ferryman who brings him from island to island and shipwrecked sailors of Oaktide, a floating shantytown. While Faraday is silent, his companions communicate to him, and you may sense the bond that varieties between them. Their spoken tone softens they usually develop extra acquainted as Faraday integrates into their lives. Those connections anchor Faraday’s journey with a human connection that resonates past the plot, and offers you a cause to see issues via.These particulars are doled out incrementally as you full every stage, transferring the plot and the world ahead with every step. Like Faraday himself, the story strikes on the similar tempo as you do, with out injecting pointless downtime. As Faraday’s legend grows, Oaktide goes from a ruined raft to a thriving village with extra villagers who’ve extra issues to say. Olija packs a lot significance into its little particulars; from the best way the Oaktide sailors costume to how the ferryman’s tone of voice shifts, adjustments over time create the sense that this world and its individuals have substance, as a result of they’re able to development.So a lot of that comes from Olija’s extraordinarily detailed visible fashion. Though harking back to early PC video games at a glance–notably, the characters solely have facial options in cutscenes–every character and surroundings has wealthy particulars, from hanging skeletons of shipwrecked sailors and soiled picket cages to ornate structure and cabinets stuffed with outdated books in various levels of disrepair. Likewise, there’s unbelievable nuance to the sport’s animation, which brings the world to life. The silhouette of a person hunched over and weeping turns into a sympathetic portrait once you see how his shoulders shake. And, in fact, the animation ensures that the fight appears to be like and feels easy each time Faraday’s harpoon leaves his hand.Faraday is the protagonist, however the harpoon is de facto the star of the sport. It’s a melee and long-distance weapon that grants you broad motion and fight powers. In a battle, you’ll be able to shortly mash out a flurry of assaults at one enemy, then throw the spear on the subsequent one, teleport to them, and knock them out. Throwing the spear throughout a room to an open house enables you to dodge and keep away from getting overwhelmed.The fight is as exact as you need it to be. Zipping from enemy to enemy with the harpoon is exact and snappy. You additionally discover a sequence of secondary weapons, together with a sword and a crossbow, which provide you with a bigger array of extra highly effective assault choices. From very early on, you’ll be able to clear a room stuffed with enemies with out getting touched in case you’re good and cautious. That stated, you’ve gotten greater than well being and firepower to bulldoze your means via most traditional encounters. Your enemies do not make use of a lot technique when approaching you and are simply despatched flying with a combo.There are a few boss encounters that do push your teleporting and preventing abilities, which present that the harpoon mechanics may assist a extra demanding (and satisfying) expertise. One dungeon trades a boss encounter for a sequence the place a horde of males chase you out of a cave, forcing you to make use of your harpoon creatively to keep away from them whereas defending your self. Another battle, a duel in opposition to somebody with related talents, forces you to assume in your ft and use your full vary of abilities way more effectively than every other encounter. While knocking enemies round wildly is satisfying in its personal proper, these extremely difficult moments are the sport’s most compelling and original–though additionally they left me wishing the sport would push me (and itself) to the fullest extra usually.The harpoon doubles because the centerpiece of Olija’s many puzzles. Terraphage is damaged up into discrete, explorable areas, which segue into extra linear dungeons. Both kinds of areas are chock-full of navigation puzzles, which vary from merely throwing your harpoon off-screen to catch a hookable blob and discover a hidden collectible to extra complicated puzzles that require you race via timed doorways, energy up equipment by transferring electrical energy via the harpoon, and make a number of spear throws shortly and precisely to cross lengthy gaps. Like the fight, these puzzles aren’t going to tie your mind in knots: Somewhat trial and error will get you thru any room, obligatory or non-compulsory. Still, Olija introduces new mechanics and purposes for them proper up till its closing boss sequence. While by no means absolutely examined, your mind continues to be teased from begin to end. And playing around with the harpoon turns every momentary detour into a little bit impediment course, and the world right into a playground.Olija’s greatest asset, actually, is its brevity. Its story is impeccably paced. Its mechanics by no means put on out from overuse. From begin to end, it finds new methods to softly goad you into utilizing the harpoon in several methods, till it says its piece. I used to be taken with how emotionally resonant and mechanically pleasing it could possibly be in such a short while. Succinct and satisfying is a uncommon mixture, and it makes Olija a uncommon deal with.