Roki is just the game that I needed during this quarantine. I have been playing a lot of games recently and I made it to a point where I just wasn’t as excited to play games as much as I once was. The beautiful world and story of Roki brought me out of my gaming slump. In Roki, you play as Tove on her journey to rescue her little brother. Along the way, you are pulled deeper into the story and life of this family while meeting interesting creatures and characters. This adventure game is greatly inspired by Scandinavian folklore and fairy tales. There are so many intriguing threads to follow as you explore this world.
Roki is a little different than a lot of adventure games that you may have played in the past. It implements some Metroidvania aspects into its gameplay. The story is nonlinear and the player can attack many objectives at the same time. There are various puzzles to unlock and items to discover in order to move forward in your journey. You will definitely need to pay attention to your surroundings at all times. There are so many small and intricate details placed around the map and some can easily be missed. This often had me scouring the map for clues and triggers. This is where your journal comes in to play. Your journal is used to track all of your progress, collectibles, and clues throughout the story. If you find yourself lost or confused, the answer you may be looking for will most likely be in your notes. I will say, there were times where there were small actions or items that I missed and that was because of the lack of some sort of prompt. Hints would be a great added feature here.
Polygon Treehouse did an amazing job with the art of Roki. The color scheme matches the winter setting. Many of the colors are cool and muted but it makes any additional colors really pop. That mixed with the music selection creates the perfect storm for an addicting game. I found myself playing this game for hours and losing track of the time. Even though the art is simple, there was a lot of care put into the design of each character and creature. The construction paper cutout look is reminiscent of stop motion cartoons from the 80s and 90s. One thing that you will notice while playing the game is that most objects that you are able to interact with don’t stick out in the environment. In many games, these objects stick out or seem a little out of place which makes them easy to spot. This may lead to gamers revisiting different areas multiple times and in this beautiful game world, that may not always be bad.
Roki takes the player on a whimsical ride through Scandinavian folklore and culture. This point and click adventure is one that I would suggest checking out. There is a decent amount of challenge and brain teasers that should keep anyone roped in for the long haul. The story of a child attempting to save her family from unknown forces may not sound like anything new but it has been implemented uniquely. There is a lot of heart in the world of Roki. Each character you encounter delivers interesting dialog and quests. There were times where I felt a bit lost because there were so many clues and quests going on at one time. This could easily be fixed with some sort of dialog or clue prompts within the world. This small issue does not take away from the greatness of this game. In some cases, it even forced me to explore more of the world than I may have in any other case.
If you are looking for an adventure game to pick up, Roki is worth a try. It’s charming and a ton of fun. You can pick it up now on Steam for $19.99.
