Roki Xbox Series X Review

Röki  is a true hidden gem among adventure titles. A profound tale of a sister attempting to save her brother from a dark ritual the title carries great emotional weight thanks to exceptional atmosphere and tone. Navigating this semi-open world is fun but trying to progress can become frustrating due to the exact requirements needed to move forward. Röki delivers a beautiful classic adventure-style journey with lots of emotionally charged moments thanks to outstanding presentation.

Röki stars Tove, a young girl who is playing a large role in raising her younger brother. Tove's family still hasn't recovered from the death of their mother but the family is holding on. After much foreshadowing with a fairy tale before bed Tove's home is attacked by a beast, forcing the kids to leave their father and run for the town. Unfortunately, after letting his guard down Tove's brother Lars is kidnapped by the beast, and Tove must attempt to save him from a dark ritual that will result in his death if completed.

Röki takes place in a semi-open world where the myths of Norse mythology have come to life. Since Tove only got through the portal halfway to its destination she can see the forest creatures that would remain invisible to humans. She must earn their trust to attempt to find her brother, all while learning the purposes behind her brother's kidnapping and the corruption that is slowly taking over the forest and hurting the Guardians.

Röki takes inspiration from classic point-and-click adventures with Tove gathering key items and using them in very specific situations. This means exploring the environment exhaustively and finding where to use the item. This does mean a lot of backtracking as you attempt to find where and how to use the item. The game doesn't aid you with any hints so it's entirely on you to figure things out. Because of this the game's challenge widely differs based on whether the player is adapt to these systems as the developers kept many of the classic formulas here with the exception of the highlight system.

The highlighting system shows what in the environment can be interacted with. This provides incredible amounts of help as it showcases what you should be aware of. This doesn't mean it's going to show you where the items are, you're still going to have to locate them and know when to use them. The other progression barrier is annoying, it involves dialogue.

Sometimes Tove will need to trigger specific dialogue in order to keep moving. This doesn't seem like a major problem but without a guide, you'll never know this is what is required. During a part of the game, I needed a Troll to push down a tree to progress forward but couldn't figure out how to trigger the scene only to realize the scene did not play because I didn't speak to the tree first, which was indicated to be optional but proved otherwise. This only happened once but I lost an hour trying to figure this out.

The puzzles themselves range from easy to challenging. Many of them just involve gathering specific key items but later in the game you'll need to switch between Tove and another character I won't spoil. This is during the final 1/3 of the game and involves a bit more critical thinking since the game requires you to switch between the 2 realms. The only major problem with this system is that Tove and her partner need to narrate every single thing that happens. At first, it's okay but for them to say the obvious every time or say something every time you switch gets really annoying.

To add some replayability the game does offer badges and collectables. The collectables are unique items placed in the world that don't add anything. The badges are provided for performing specific unique tasks like locating trolls, hidden caches, and other objectives. Everything, including your journey, is written down in the game's journal. This is a great idea for players who need a refresher for anything in the story, the game provides it for you complete with illustrations. 

Röki's standout features is the presentation and visuals. The graphics in Röki are gorgeous and the overall themes of the visuals complement the moody story. It helps create this cold tension as Tove explores this dangerous landscape in hopes of locating her brother and depending on the kindness and sympathy of these mythological creatures. With small pockets of warmth bleeding through either by the actions of the characters or the hope they'll succeed.

The character design, especially the creatures, is amazing. Each character has been designed with care to showcase specific emotions based on either specific expressions or even minor voice tones. The title doesn't have voice work but the developers have minor audio with few words to help deliver that emotional impact for each of the scenes.

Röki is an enchanting adventure that often enraptures the player with the importance of forgiveness and acceptance. The puzzles are challenging the narrative will keep you hooked thanks to the exceptional presentation. Navigation can be problematic but this is a small issue for what is a wonderful 7-hour adventure through the cold snow, wet caverns, and a desolate castle. Röki is a heartwarming adventure that you shouldn't miss out on.

Review Copy Provided

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed