The makers of atmospheric Norse epic Jotun are back at it again. Thunder Lotus Games has announced its sophomore effort, bringing its intricate hand-drawn art style and challenging boss fight mechanics to a darker, Lovecraft-inspired tale of survival and sanity called Sundered.
In a press release, Thunder Lotus Games described Sundered as follows:
“ Sundered is a horrifying fight for survival and sanity, a hand‐drawn epic from the creators of Jotun . You play Eshe, a wanderer in a ruined world, trapped in ever‐changing caverns teeming with eldritch horrors. Harness the power of corrupted relics to defeat gigantic bosses, at the cost of your humanity. Resist or Embrace. Coming 2017.”
Sundered ’s features include the following, some of which fans of Jotun will recognize, and some which are unique to Sundered:
Beautiful hand‐drawn art
Massive boss fights
Dynamic encounters against hordes of enemies
Procedural world
Corruptible abilities
Multiple endings
“I’m extremely excited to announce Thunder Lotus’ brand new game,” said Will Dubé, creative director and president of Thunder Lotus Games , in a press release. “ Sundered is a game that builds on the strengths of Jotun: hand‐drawn art, epic boss battles and great immersion. With Sundered, we’ve added more complex mechanics, tons of replayability and meaningful choices. Finally, we’ve gone into a darker universe, heavily inspired by Lovecraft’s writings.”
Sundered makes its public debut at TwitchCon 2016 (Sept. 30 to Oct. 2) with a playable build.
“In terms of gameplay, Sundered can mostly be described as a replayable Metroidvania, close to Rogue Legacy and Super Metroid. You explore an ever-changing dungeon, fight hordes of eldritch horrors, and choose between humanity or madness,” wrote Dubé in a post on the PlayStation blog.
In our review of Jotun: Valhalla Edition, we praised the game’s “lush graphics, incredible atmospherics, authenticity and the epic scale of Norse myth,” though we also said “a game about exploration and atmosphere should lean on its story.”
Will Sundered be the game to do just that? Feel free to talk about your expectations of Sundered in our comments section below.
