Soul Fjord: Review

Norse mythology and ’70s funk; what do these two things have in common? Well nothing…. until Soul Fjord was born.

You play as Magnus Jones, an afro’d Norse legend who has recently perished. But things aren’t that bad, since he was rewarded access to the afterlife’s most exclusive club, Valhalla. That was,  until the giant working the door thought otherwise.

Facing a ruined afterlife, Magnus decides to fight his way back up to Valhalla and seek revenge. What you’re given is a rhythm-based dungeon crawler, an unexpected combination to say the least.

Video Review

Funky Combat

You have a light and heavy attack at your disposal, and attacking in time with the rhythm grants you much more damage. In theory, you could attempt to keep track of the rhythm by simply listening, but that would be a tall order, so Soul Fjord gives you additional visual cues to help keep you on beat. The border around the screen pulses in time, as does every character and even the environmental objects. All of these cues really help to integrate the music into the gameworld, but were not all that helpful in keeping me on beat. The easiest way to keep track is my paying attention to the button stream below Magnus.

Funky Combos

This is where button prompts will appear when executing a combo. Each weapon has two combos which will deal more damage in a larger area, as well as givie you the chance to score critical hits. There is a random chance during combos that one of the buttons in the sequence will be gold, and hitting the Y button on that measure will deal critical damage.

You can also block on any beat to absorb a hit, but mistiming it will make your block ineffective. This is exponentially more difficult if you decide you need to block while in the middle of a combo, because combos have their own unique timings.

And while you are trying to focus on that, you also have to watch out for enemies, maneuver to or away from them, and watch for their attack cues.

Unless you memorize the timing and pattern of a weapons particular combo, during battle your eyes are mostly fixed to the ground below your character. This makes it easy to miss enemy attack cues, which will result in a lot of pain for you.

The game is certainly very unique from a design standpoint which means that it’s going to take a while to wrap your head around it, but it could have been better optimized to make for a better player experience.

Loot Scoot Boogy

Since Soul Fjord is also a dungeon crawler, one would expect that getting loot would be a fairly integral part of the game, and it definitely delivers. All of the items have great names and looks, and I was always excited to find a new shield or clothing item to make Magnus look even more “funky”. The humor that Soul Fjord has to offer is on full display as you equip Magnus and change the look of your afro-toting viking.

They could have left it at different stats and looks alone, but each weapon has unique combo sequences. This is a great design choice that gives weaker weapons some advantages over higher tier ones. Being able to consistently execute combos with a weapon you’re familiar with can be worth more to you than a higher tier weapon you’ve never used.

This struck an excellent balance between working towards new equipment, while not constantly trashing your loadout for a new one.

Ugly Mugs

The most disappointing part of the game is the enemies. Through the entire game, you’ll only be facing a handful of different types. Later in the game they even rehash old enemies, just giving them a different color. It feels like corners were cut when filling in the game world, not only in enemy variation, but quality. Most enemies simply don’t look good. It isn’t that they weren’t drawn well, but their textures are noticeably more pixelated than any other asset in the game. I’m not a stickler when it comes to graphic fidelity, but these enemies are a clear eyesore on the game.

Death of Disco

As you play through each level, you are literally fighting for your life. Death in any of the stages will send you back to the beginning with none of your loot, that is unless you soulbind some of your items. Souldbinding as well as opening chests throughout the game cost you platinum records. These records are basically the meta-game currency acquired either through rare drops, or by purchasing them in the store.

Soulbinding isn’t required to do well in the game, but it allows you to keep your favorite loot if you so choose. You can also use Platinum records to purchase a permanent increase in gold drops, allowing you to purchase better gear sooner. The game is free to play, and it is entirely possible to complete it without spending a dime, but the in app purchases allow you to make the game easier to overcome.

Feel the Groove

Since this is a rhythm game, the music and sounds are pretty important and Soul Fjord‘s music does an excellent job at setting the tone of the game. The funky beats are contagious, and don’t be surprised if your foot starts tapping and your sub-woofer’s volume control gets cranked up. The musical atmosphere the game crafts is delightful and definitely a highlight of the game.

Conclusion

Soul Fjord is gushing with personality and humor. but the actual game that’s here feels like it was pushed from the womb before it was ready. Some additional tweaking to the mechanics would have made for a far less hectic experience. And bulking up the enemy type amount as well as improving their look would have helped to fill out the game. As it stands we have a creative and daring game that wasn’t quite given the time and effort it deserved.