Upon reflection there isn't anything particularly original about Jotun, and yet its majesty is unmistakable. The way it portrays its classic take on Nordic mythology is near peerless in its execution. The art design, the music, and especially the voice acting give the entire experience a heightened sense of immersion and create a strong feeling of authenticity around its subject matter. Now whether or not that authenticity is genuine is another question, but the end result is magical.
In strict gameplay terms Jotun is a top down axe'em-up where events take place across various levels connected to a central hub world to which you return after successfully completing each area. You play as Thora, a Viking chief drowned at sea, given a second chance by the gods to ascend to Valhalla through the glory of battle. However in order to join her deceased kin she must slay a number of giant creatures known as jotuns, a not so simple task. In order to even be granted audience with these deadly beasts Thora must first seek out various runes to unlock the way forward, and the route to obtain them is treacherous as she will have to avoid giant predatory birds, sea monsters and the various environmental hazards. She does have help however in the form of various obtainable god powers such as speed boosts and temporary invulnerability, as well as the opportunity to increase her health, giving her a greater chance to survive the often tricky boss encounters. These boons must also be sought out however, but the value in exploration is not just gameplay specific.
Suffice it to say that the hand-drawn art in Jotun can be breathtaking, and the use of various shifts in camera reveal awesome vistas that, when coupled with the game's beautiful score, hammer home a delightful sense of place and wonder as you travel across the landscape. Then there is the voice acting, perhaps the best part of the whole experience. It's all in what seems to be Icelandic and makes a great case for game VO not being localised where the setting is not English in origin. The tones sound so rich and pleasant to the ear, adding to the ancient Nordic atmosphere and excellent cohesion between all the artistic elements. Thora's voice acting is just superb; during her post jotun-hacking monologues or when recounting a tale of the world's creation she brings real gravitas and emotion to the relatively simple narrative, making her come across as far more charismatic and engaging than her far more bland, yet far more successful contemporaries such as the terminally boring Lara Croft reboot.
It's not a long game, maybe only 5 to 6 hours at most for a single play-through, but the experience is perfectly paced and offers some degree of re-playability with various achievements for defeating jotuns without being hit nor using any god powers etc. Areas are never too big, nor too small, and you can return to the hub world at any time, cutting down on any superfluous meandering. Combat is simple and deliberate, where anticipation, positioning and timing are key. Thora only has a normal axe swing, a longer, harder hitting swing, a dodge roll, and her god powers, and that's it. The key to victory is in working out enemy patterns and adjusting accordingly, working out the right time to strike, dodge, or retreat. It's not particularly complex, but it is challenging, and the later jotuns will likely cause a lot of retries, but death drops you right before the fight so frustration is nicely mitigated by allowing you to quickly resume the fight and the great satisfaction that comes with a hard fought victory. It's not perfect; fights can often feel quite slow at times, but the encounters are varied enough, and the game is short enough, so that combat doesn't outstay its welcome.
Overall Jotun is a beautiful synthesis of aesthetics and gameplay. It's not original, but it is unique and manages to make the simple act of being in its world a real treat. That its gameplay is also challenging and engaging makes the overall experience really quite special. When Thora finds a new god power or rune she raises her axe to the sky in triumph, to find yourself instinctively imitating that when playing, and more tellingly when not, gives a strong suggestion that Jotun has achieved what it set out to do.