The Frostrune Reviews

[h1]Great Little Point & Click Adventure! [/h1] Educational as well as entertaining! I found it very interesting to hear the Norse language/songs and learn about the Viking culture/mythology. [b] PROS: [/b] - Excellent sound effects - Great soundtrack - Great story - Great artwork - Clever puzzles - Not too long, not too short - Very immersive overall [b] CONS: [/b] - The only con I can think of is you'll have to play through more than once to get 100% achievements as there is a speed-run achievement (Sleipnr). Looking forward to more games from Grimnir Media. [u]These are some developers worth supporting![/u] [i] Note: This game is free on the Google Play Store, but it's definitely worth the price on Steam. [/i]

[i]The Frostrune[/i] is an elegant point-and-click adventure, with strong, authentic Norse culture. The story is set in and around an abandonned, coastal hamlet. The environment feels great. I used to live in Norway, and could see the familiar lighting and landscape features in the portrayal in the game). The hand-drawn art style is consistent and rich - a quick look at the trailer on the Steam Store page will give you a feel for it. The animations are simple, but very effective. Overall, I like it very much. There is a story, but it is not a strong one. I see this game as more about the art, culture and puzzles than any deep narrative. However, it is dark. There are dead bodies of people and animals... plus there are supernatural elements. I wouldn't call it Scandinavian horror (for example, like [i]Year Walk[/i]), but it does have a grim side to it. It is not a complicated game. I don't often play point-and-click games, and usually struggle when I do. I found this one manageable, and did not resort to a guide at any stage. It took me 7 hours on my playthrough and I got 15/20 of the achievements. The puzzles are not too complicated and the "hidden" objects to find are not obscure, but neither were they blatantly obvious either. The interface is simple and clean and suits the style well. Having an in-game volume control would have helped, and the ability to save games would be nice. It does save the game between sessions, but you can't have more than one game going at a time, and if it crashes you need to start again. The audio is excellent. The spoken parts are in Old Norse. The sound track is atmospheric and not too intrusive. The sound effects are good. IRL I have done research on Nordic history and have given public lectures on the Norse Weltanschauung. I know some Old Norse language, but it's pretty rusty now. I could follow some of it, but I still relied on the Norwegian subtitles for the rest. (There are subtitles in other languages: German, English, etc..). I found the Norse language superb and it really added a lot. The use of runic script was also very good. I regard the game as being very faithful to our academic understanding of Norse culture, art and knowledge. This makes for a very refreshing change from the usual Hollywood-esque clichés that sadly permeate most modern titles on the subject. One detail that delighted me was the use of an iron block (not anvil!) in the blacksmith's hut. In summary, if you like Nordic Dark Age life and beliefs, then I can strongly recommend this title. And I conclude this review by commending the developers on their exquisite attention to historical and cultural details. Well done!

Let me put it this way; Do you like vikings or norse lore? - you should buy this game Do you like point and click adventures like myst? -you should buy this game a short but great story that got me scratching my head quite a few times. definately worth your time.

I enjoyed this game very much. The scenes were like stepping into paintings. The soundtrack was beautiful as well. I don't have a lot of Norse mythology and cultural knowledge so I found the story fascinating and kept my interest. The challenge level was pretty good. I found myself reaching for my notebook so I could make note of clues rather than backtrack. I do hope this game does well and we get that sequel that was teased at the end. I thought this was a lovely game and well worth my time and the price.

The storm hit your longship close to the island. The winds were too forceful to withstand, even for the battle hardened Vikings. Slowly the ship sinks in the cold, dark sea, taking every soul with it, except yours. You are spared. The only living survivor, stranded on the northern shores of an island, that seems to be abandoned by it's inhabitants. What happened? The Frostrune is a point-and-click adventure with an interesting twist. During the course of the adventure you find a magic staff, allowing you to dive into the world of ghosts. The mixture between the real world and the sphere of ghosts offers an interesting experience. The story of 'The Frostrune' is mediocre. It' OK and the game is enjoyable but the main reason you should play this game is the atmosphere. If you like Nordic mythology, Vikings and ghosts, this game is for you. If you don't, you can skip this one. Personally, I enjoyed this very much. Pros: - beautiful graphics, hand-painted - extremely good voice acting, gives you shivers every time a ghost speaks. The language is old Norse. Sounds wonderful to me. - great sound effects - nice music - very strong atmosphere - mysterious - inspired by Viking myth - magical - all objects recreated from archaeological sources, according to the developers - balanced puzzle difficulty Neutral: - short, finished the game in four hours, but it felt longer Cons: - a few very stupid achievements. I played this game without caring for achievements. After finishing the game I discovered that you get an achievement for a speed run in 30 minutes. This kind of achievement is completely unnecessary, especially for a quiet game like this.

Wish I could give this a sideways thumb but.. long story short: PROS: -Interesting and different with norwegian mythology stuff -Well made -Decent puzzles -Very basic hint system that doesn't give away everything CONS: -Lot's of backtracking. A map would be nice.. -Short. Completed in about 2 hours. -Story is quite shallow despite of all the deep mythology stuff put into it. Overall a decent game for about 2 hours or so. Not quite worth the normal price though (bough it in sale)

Just came back from the launch in Oslo and started playing. An hour of gameplay later and I have to physically force myself away from it in order to get to swordpractice on time (I'm the trainer, for heavens sake!) I haven't played a point and click adventure in almost two decades, but this really got me engaged. The atmosphere created by the artwork and music is superb. The puzzles are logical, but challenging. Huge plus that every single object is historically accurate. Well worth the coin.

As a big fan of point & click adventure games, I've already played some very decent ones the past couple of months and It's safe to say that The Frostrune is competent enough to make my "golden collection" list of the genre. It's one of those games that I know what to expect and have faith that it won't let me down after seeing the screenshots and description (well, it's just a hunch basically). The Frostrune has a beautiful artstyle and it kinda reminds me of Tormentum - Dark Sorrow, which is an amazingly well-crafted game (visually in particular). Apparently, the devs had worked hard to constrcut the environment and build up the atmosphere, laying the foundation for an immersive gaming experience. The majestic soundtrack and voice acting fit in perfectly with the cultural settings of the game as well. As it is pointed out in the description, the story of TF is inspired by Viking myth and is based on historically accurate Norse culture and environments, which reminds me of Year Walk, a similar game based on Swedish mythological lores. However, when it comes to the depth of the story, TF kinda falls short in my opinion. Although it does deliver a Norse epic vibe, I feel that it could have been done better. I'm not saying that the story of the game is dull or lack of effort, what I mean is that I would be happier to see a more dramatic and elaborated one considering that it's completely linear. The puzzles in TF are quite straightforward as they all have their own clues either written or depicted elsewhere, not to mention that there's a hint system in the game at your disposal. I believe you can beat the game without many obstacles by your own wit and be rewarded a specific achievement for your heroic undertaking. Well, I'm not a hero because I usually get lazy and undetermined when there's a walkthrough within reach. To be honest, I was a little hesitant about whether to buy this game or not upon seeing the playtime of a couple of reviewers even it was 10% off at the time. A 2~3 hour experience for almost 10 bucks maybe a little steep if you ask me (considering that Year Walk is about the same length but about half the price), and if you're not a fan of the genre, you'll probably think that it asks for a little too much either. However, after finishing the game, I'm not regret my choice because the effort put in by the devs lives up to the price and I truly had a great time playing it. Overall, The Frostrune is beautiful, intriguing, and enjoyable, highly recommended to those who have an appetite for point & click adventure games.

[i]The Frostrune[/i] is a point-and-click adventure game. It's set in ancient times on a Nordic island, and its story is drenched in Norse mythology. As soon as you launch the game, it's clear [i]The Frostrune[/i] is a basic production. You'll find an option to change the game's resolution and language, and that's it. The latter option is crucial, though. Since the entire game's narrative is in Old Norse speech, you'll rely on subtitles to understand what's actually being said. Subtitles are available in English, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Arabic, Norwegian, Russian, French and German. The devs state: "[i]We have taken extra care to make The Frostrune as authentic and historically accurate as possible.[/i]" It's clear that they have. And for the most part, it works very well. Although it's impossible to understand the words being spoken, I think the voice acting was commendable. The narrative even contains a song in Old Norse speech. The game's whole soundtrack oozes Nordic folklore, as well. All of this makes [i]The Frostrune[/i] sound authentic to a fault. [i]The Frostrune[/i]'s graphics are hand-drawn, which definitely adds even more authenticity and personality to this production. But although the graphics look very artistic, I wouldn't personally call them beautiful, although such an opinion is entirely subjective, of course. The story of [i]The Frostrune[/i] is pretty thin. I don't mean to sound contradictory: the game does contain a decent amount of lore and folklore, but the actual story of the game, i.e. the story of the young girl you play as and what she ends up doing on the island by solving puzzle after puzzle, is very thin and can easily be summarized in one concise sentence. The main part of [i]The Frostrune[/i]'s gameplay is solving puzzles while enjoying the authentic folkloristic background. The puzzles aren't easy. Often, you perform an action or you solve a puzzle and you know that means 'something changed somewhere', but it's not always clear what or where. So you'll find yourself walking back and forth on the island a lot, looking for something that's different or for a new area that has become accessible. There is a 'Hint' option in the game, but using it even once forfaits one of the Steam Achievements, so I didn't use that function. I do have to admit I resorted to consulting a guide a few times and almost every time I did, I found the next step wasn't necessarily illogical but pretty darned hard to have to come up with myself. Speaking of Steam Achievements, there are 20 to unlock. Thirteen of those are story-related and unmissable. Six more are awarded for performing some optional tasks, most of which are near impossible to figure out yourself (especially since the names of the achievements are in Old Norse speech and their descriptions are extremely cryptic), so completionists will want to use a guide and check the game's discussion forum. The 20th and final achievement is unlocked by performing a speedrun. You're required to finish the game in 30 minutes or less. That's extremely close! Even when I made a step-by-step guide for myself and knew exactly what to do, only losing a few seconds from time to time while I checked my instructions, I failed on my first try. I immediately tried again, knowing I'd have to check my instructions less that time, and I just barely made it. I like a challenge and I'm fine with speedrun challenges in game genres like platformers, shooters or other action games (e.g. clear a level or mission within a time limit), but I don't think a speedrun achievement has any place in a point-and-click adventure game. The fact that you can't skip any dialogue (and yes, the clock keeps ticking during dialogue) only adds to the frustration of trying to unlock that last, unnecessarily difficult achievement, which is a pain the developers should have left out. [i]The Frostrune[/i] does not have any Steam Trading Cards.

Something that doesn't seem to be mentioned about this game: this is a horror story. You play a 13 year old Viking girl. Her father and his longship was sunk out from under her, then the settlement she washed ashore at has no living people and many signs of conflict. One of the first things you see is magical ice, the mark of the Norse gods most effective enemies. If you are primarily interested in a game's mechanics, that's an area where this game may fail. It is designed in the style of current mobile games, with a minimal interface and simple menu. It doesn't even have an internal volume control, and it could use one. There are no save files, you simply continue. Once you get to the core gameplay it becomes fairly linear. As an experience the game is amazing. It's also not for the faint of heart. You are dealing with dead bodies and ghosts throughout the game. The artwork is fantastic. The soundtrack is good. The language is all in Old Norse with the subtitles of your choice. The level of detail, both in period accuracy and little details like increasing the number of flies around the corpses, is incredible. If you want a gorgeous, effective horror story to play through, I very highly recommend this.