Low-key Impact

BENGALURU : I wanted to take my time with Cyberpunk 2077 before a review. Instead, at the risk of getting boo-ed, this week’s column reviews not one, but two games: a warm-up act for gamers who are still waiting for the ~70GB game to install in their systems.Last week, I took another gulp from the refreshing stream of games on sale in the Steam store (for PC games).

The first game is called Röki. Röki is based on Nordic folklore. Although the game looks cute and features two children solving cute puzzles in the way of their adventure — the story is quite dark. We learn about the stories of young Tove and her brother, Lars — whose childhoods are marred by the lack of parental figures. While the game does not allow us to engage in physical combat of any kind (pacifist and supposedly peaceful), it does not have a dearth of action. We come across several monsters along the way (are they metaphorical?), and several unfortunate events. These situations are loaded with lots of emotion – perhaps eliminating the need for more obvious violence.

Röki uses the old-timey adventure game format of puzzles based on clicking on interactable objects in the environment. This makes the pacing of the game a little slow. We might find ourselves getting the story aspect of a puzzle sequence, but the game is determined to drill the point a little deeper before we proceed. While Röki might teach us to be patient in the face of overwhelmingly slow internet connections and game installations, the second warm-up act could not be more different. 

Genshin Impact is a free multiplayer game — playable for hours, till a potential paywall hit. The game’s graphics are immediately comparable to Breath of the Wild, but is vastly superior — because it isn’t restricted to a Nintendo device. That’s right. GI allows for cross-platform play across PC, PS and even Mobile. The game is amongst the first to have the depth of graphics and game story across devices.

I rank my level of graphics scale based on the realism with which blades of grass move in the game. GI comes closest to Ghost of Tsushima on this scale. GI is an action RPG, has some very cool combat visuals (based on elemental magic), and offers interesting weapons and character options as we level up in the story. I rate the games 4 snowballs out of 6 swords for being a fun diversion before another big game release.