I love seeing visually striking games that take inspiration from locales and cultures not often seen in gaming. As a result, I found myself drawn to Itorah, a game that uses South American and Central American landscapes for its setting. However, sometimes even when developers do a fantastic job with the world and its visuals, a game just turns out bland. Itorah suffers from this.

Before we get into that too deeply though, Itorah puts you in the role of the titular heroine in the world of Nahucan. Itorah discovers she is the last of her kind and must pick up her sentient, talking ax in order to investigate. It takes the form of an action platformer, with colorful characters and a Soulslike combat system.

Itorah can roll, attack, sprint, jump, climb, and do a variety of other moves. Sprinting and rolling take stamina, so timing things is important so you don’t run out and take damage. The enemies and bosses are interesting, and Itorah can heal herself using crystals, which you can replenish over time. Also, you can save and restore your crystal charges at bonfires.

The platforming isn’t too difficult, and some of the character dialogue is amusing, but I find myself feeling a little bit lukewarm about Itorah. The big problem I have is that I played several sessions and it just wasn’t engaging. Granted, the gameplay was smooth, the music is well made, the visuals are nice, and the character designs are pretty.

However, that’s no substitute for an engaging gameplay experience. Unlike most Metroidvanias, there really isn’t much of a sense of progression. You pick up items in chests, and there are a few quests here and there, but you aren’t really getting new abilities or traversal options. It just feels like you’re going through the motions and trying to get to the next setpiece or plot point.

I do find the concept of Itorah being the last human interesting. It provides a mystery that can spur the player on a little bit. However, the characters aren’t engaging enough to make me want to know more. The game drip-feeds little pieces of backstory, but not in a way that really gets you excited to learn more.

The combat is decent enough, but it all feels a little bit repetitive. There aren’t alternate weapons, and the limited upgrade system (just health and stamina) makes the game feel a bit shallow. This is Grimbart Tales’ first game, and while I really like the art style, the atmosphere, and the music, the combat and exploration just aren’t that interesting.

Itorah isn’t a bad game. I would just say that there are more interesting ones out there. If you find yourself interested in this, pick it up on sale. I don’t think there are many people out there who will dislike the game outright, but it isn’t making a splash in the genre either. The lack of voice acting also makes the game feel a little hollow too. The characters occasionally make noise, but it isn’t all that immersive.

A PC review copy of Itorah was provided by Assemble Entertainment for this review.

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Itorah

$19.99

5

Score

5.0/10

Pros

• Beautiful Environments
• Smooth Controls
• Enjoyable Music

Cons

• Bland Gameplay
• Very Limited Progression
• Story is Lackluster