Olija Reviews

Tight level design and great atmosphere

On its surface [i]Olija[/i] is quite mediocre and derivative. It's a short action platformer (not a metroidvania) with very basic combat, weapons, and traversal puzzles. There's some exploration required for finding the secrets, but otherwise level design tends to be more linear than open. To be clear, all of this gameplay is adequately done, but there's also nothing noteworthy about it. What makes [i]Olija[/i] special is its style. Its very precise art direction combines minimalist pixel art and animations with masterful sound engineering to present an immersive experience that exceeds the power of its ingredients. I kinda wish this were a bigger and more satisfying game, because the story and world have potential for more depth, but it also works fine as this shorter experience. About the story: We do have that annoying "European lands in Asia and becomes a hero" trope, but at least things are left vague enough to allow for more interesting angles. Is Lord Faraday just being used by local spirits? Yes, he probably is. Finally, it must be mentioned that the game could have used more quality control. I hit a few bugs. Nothing that ruined the experience, but I did have to restart the game to move on. Also, despite the minimal assets, loading screens are very long. Generally, the game demands and enforces patience with unskippable and slow-moving—but beautifully crafted—sequences when moving between areas. If the game were any longer, they might have become annoying. In conclusion, some very cool style on display here, though there otherwise is nothing special about the game.

It's good but not great. Combat is really simple and boring. Story is okay and very straightforward. You mostly play it for the mood, which is well put together. A solid 6.5/10.

Olija sort of blew me away with how tight the whole package was, it kind of has everything going for it. Great worldbuilding/narrative, great audiovisual presentation and slick, addictive combat, all tied up in a cheap, short and digestable package. The only thing that could have improved it more was if it were a full blown metroidvania (my favorite genre) however it has some MV elements to it. The map isn't interconnected as it's a handfull of seperate islands which you mostly explore in a preset order although you can choose between two islands at some points and you can always go back if you missed something, with some exceptions. These islands feel very distinct and diverse and really contributed to Olija's worldbuilding, in fact it's one of its strongest aspects. Fishing villages/boats aren't a theme you see often in games, it's pirates way more often than that but the idea of the sea acting as a central character is shared between the two. Olija has taken the this concept and did something very cool with it by delivering a coherent package. All the characters and locations feel very themetically consistent and there's a great sense of mystery that hangs over the game like a thick fog over water. The worldbuilding is top notch and i was invested from start to finish. Some character's arcs felt very memorable while other moments gave me goosebumps in the creepy but cool kind of way. All of this is no small part due to Olija's excellent Ambience. Indeed ambience and sound design did wonders to create a very immersive package. From the creaking of wood as you walk on piers or the gusts of wind as you travel island peak's it's a suprisingly well made game in this sense. The visuals match this as the aforementioned gusts carry leaves on the wind which fly across the screen, it's tiny details like this that can elevate indie games from one another. The pixel art is simple but nuanced with recognizable characters and lots of expression in the simple but effective animations. The story beats further hit their mark with an excellent score and the 'giberrish' speak of the characters is also well done, delivering lines with the appropriate emotions when need be. Presentation aside, how's the gameplay? To sum it up in one word; slick! Olija controls very smoothly with a harpoon you can throw and teleport to which is versatile in platforming and combat! It elevates the simple combat with badass combo's that you can use to obliterate foes. Indeed once you get the hang of this game you can demolish regular enemies with ease, with bosses not faring much better against you acursed harpoon. There's never a dull moment in combat and while most islands' level design plays it safe, the harpoon mechanics get put to the test in the game's final area with some cool platforming sections. Nothing overly difficult though as the game has a relatively generous checkpoint system. Finally on a performance level Olija ran very well with no bugs or crashes although the initial loading time is suprisingly lenghty. Other than that the game is great on a technical level with very low minimum specs which combined with the low price (especially on a discount) and low runtime (about 5 hours for an average playthrough) make for an excellent game to play in one or two sittings on a day off. It deliveres a coherent and memorable package that feels smooth to play and hard to put down. The simple but expressive pixel art shows, just like hyper light drifter, that it's not about fidelity but rather intent. Olija is another banger from Devolver that i would recommend to anyone else

Beautiful soundtrack and a nice storyline. This game goes better with a controller (I used an Xbox controller).