Tyr: Chains of Valhalla

Tyr: Chains Of Valhalla is a MegaMan inspired 2.5D Action that takes inspiration from the Ragnarök from Norse Mythology. It all starts with Tyr, creation of a man named Professor Oswald Din (Or O.Din) to being sent on a mission to stop Lemuz Oki (Or L.Oki) to destroy the world and create a new realm of a million bad adjectives to seize a big tech company. Tyr is not alone on this mission, however, Huginn & Muninn (Who are supposed to represent “thought” and “memory”) guide him as he makes his way to the summit of Valhalla in order to defeat L.Oki and save the world.

Moving on, the game’s got an interesting concept on the gameplay. You press the L button to switch elemental powers, which you use for certain advantages by blasting out the energy by using Y. Wind is strong against fire, fire is strong against ice, and ice is strong against wind. Then you can press the X button to dash and b to jump. This may all sound very simple, but here’s where the game falls apart

The game has REALLY messy physics. Sometimes whenever I jump or dash away from the opponent, I always found myself getting hit or taking damage on a hazard after I land from an air dash. It always seemed too unfair that no matter what I do to actually get passed certain points of a level, it eventually takes away a lot of my enjoyment. I never know if I’m actually going to dodge this hazard or the enemy’s attack that it just feels like every time I take damage, it’s, again, very unfair and very baffling to deal with. Don’t get me started on the level design. At times, the structure and design of a level seems fine, that is until you get to later points. I’ve always found certain obstacles being placed in places I never saw coming or I feel shouldn’t be there.

See, I don’t mind if a game is really difficult, I’ve played many games that really gave me a challenge or felt unfair, but at least in some games, the physics don’t feel very weird and level designs and structures don’t look aggravating

Another point I want to make is the difficulty. It is UNFAIRLY hard and harder than it should be. The game gives you a time limit to beat the game in just one hour. Say, for example, you beat the first level in ten minutes and move on to the next. Once you make it to the second level, you eventually have fifty minutes left to beat the rest of the levels. That’s the point that overall destroys the enjoyment I’ve had with the game. At no point do I feel it’s physics made it fun nor this design choice did. I could go on talking about music and atmosphere, but it’s not really the main focus I have with this type of game. Plus the music never really appealed to me.

Verdict

Tyr: Chains Of Valhalla has a unique concept and decent plot that makes it feel like a MegaMan-Esque type of indie, but the physics and difficulty just overall took my enjoyment of the game away. While the gameplay feels faster, it’s gone too far in that pace that it just made the game feel like it’s not a game I can recommend to everyone. If you are a hardcore MegaMan fan that’s looking for something good to play, I’ll say go ahead, however, be mindful that this game may not be 100% fun than you could see it to be.

Needs Work

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Reviewed by Leavan Albero on the Nintendo Switch. Game provided by Ennui Studio.