“In terms of modernising it,” says Kanaris-Sotiriou, “we gave the player direct control of the character in a 3D environment, which obviously you didn’t have in things like Grim Fandango. ![]() The pair took inspiration from point-and-click classics such as Monkey Island, but were aware that they needed to take a more modern approach. While efforts have been made to modernise the genre, the DNA of the point and click classics of the past run throughout Röki, with its puzzles often relying on creative uses and combinations of items in your suspiciously well-packed inventory. The game’s storybook art style is stunning in placesĬloser to home, Röki is an adventure game in the very classical sense. While the game is never explicit, remaining as family-friendly (though creepy) as the stories that inspired it, it doesn’t shy away from the tragedy behind many of its most terrifying beasts – such as the Nokken, a hugely threatening monster born from the spirit of a drowned girl. Putting the Moomins regretfully aside for a moment, that mix of emotions is certainly true of Röki. We didn’t find any trolls in top hats in our playthrough, but we remain optimistic. Tove and her brother Lars take their names from Moomins creator Tove Marika Jansson and her brother. That Moomins influence runs deeper than you might realise too. ![]() We felt that there was something interesting there in that mix of emotions.” There’s something really creepy in that, but it was really touching and quite tragic. But actually, all it wanted was a friend. It’s this unblinking character, who goes towards villages and freezes everything in its path, including people. “There was an episode of the Moomins cartoon, where there’s this character called the Groke. But what might come more of a surprise is the importance of everybody’s favourite polite trolls, the Moomins. Still, the folklore influence is front and centre. We resisted calling it the “Scandanavian Avengers” in our chat with Kanaris-Sotiriou, but we reckon it’s definitely that, despite the absence of Thor. This led the pair to start thinking about a “greatest hits” of their own interpretation of these characters. They were so odd and beguiling, they really excited us.” It was more the folklore creatures, the creepy creatures from the lakes and the forests and the caves. It wasn’t really the plight of the gods, like Odin and Thor that interested us. “Then Tom stumbled across Scandinavian folklore. ![]() “We had quite a few different ideas floating around,” says Polygon Treehouse co-founder Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou. Its gorgeous storybook artstyle sees protagonist Tove trying to find her lost brother by interacting with everything from the terrifying water spirit Nokken, to the helpful and crafty creatures known as the Tomte. Perhaps surprisingly for a game born out of Cambridge, Röki is inspired by Scandinavian folklore.
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