Itorah Review

Ride on a dragon’s back! Kill plants with an axe! Befriend a blue cat!

There is no shortage of fun things to do in Itorah, a 2.5D platformer action-adventure game based on ancient Meso-American culture. But is there enough here to mark it out against other 2.5/2D titles?

Itorah appears to derive influences from many games: many of the enemies early in the game look and behave similar to Hollow Knight enemies, particularly the flying enemies. 

Itorah also has the vibrant colour palette of Ori and similar lighting. However, the developers have done a great job bringing together different elements of other games to allow Itorah to become its own creature. 

Tell me a light-hearted story

The story of Itorah is nothing new. A great plague has taken over all the main spirits, or demi-gods of the world and the plague needs to be vanquished in order to save the world. 

The simplicity of the story is not one of the bones of contention for this title. In fact, an overly complex story would encumber such a game as this. So for those who want a Metroid-vania with a lighter story. 

Characters are all likeable and cuddly looking, as well as all being colourful as the world they inhabit. And all dialogue is often humorous and playful.

What, another Meso-American setting?

The world of Itorah feels friendly with measured levels of threat. Environmental damage is low and all characters, even some of the enemies, feel warm, fuzzy and friendly, with their bright colours and smiles. 

Some enemies early in the game barely attack the player. They simply fly around or jump along on their merry way. So it makes anyone feel bad for killing such passive, beautifully drawn creatures. 

Generally, the world-building of Itorah is solid. All the different aspects, from story to character to aesthetics, this is a coherent, well-crafted world. 

Mm, Eye Candy!

Visually, this is an utterly breathtaking game. The colours are so vibrant that the world just pops right off the display. Weather effects are explosive, with rain, wind and lightning all looking spectacular and very convincing, within its fantasy setting. 

The 2.5D aspect of the game is implemented perfectly and to great effect. 

The centre-ground that the player inhabits offers a huge amount of detail here. From the facial animations of the trusty talking axe to the way candles sway in the gust caused by the player jumping past them, this is a lovingly and meticulously crafted world. 

The background and foreground often hold a huge amount of detail, too. Creatures are often seen scurrying around the background, adding to the lived-in feel of the Itorah universe. 

The impact of this 2.5D world is that the player feels deeply immersed in a convincingly magical world. 

Tricky platforms

Thanks to intuitive and responsive controls, this is a game that can be immediately picked up and played without lengthy tutorials. 

Movement is easy to get to grips with and flows well after a few hours into the game. However, it is a massive shame that many of the movement dynamics, such as double jump and forward dash, come so late in the game. 

In relation to movement, it is never clear that using the axe to charge downward is applicable to so many different uses. This would have made so much of the game easy to navigate if it was explained more clearly. 

For the most part, enemies are creative and all have different attack patterns and ways to defeat them. Many of them would make great merchandise or children’s toys, particularly the tree creature with a big wooden mallet and an orange flower as a head.

However, it is disappointing to see that many enemies are used as they are throughout many different biomes. Or, they are simply reskinned. This is a shame, as it takes focus away from just how elegantly and artistically constructed many of them are.

Level design is largely inventive and organic to each biome, which is also very varied. However, there are times when a challenge becomes a chore. Some of the levels are designed in a way that causes frustration rather than a simple challenge. 

Bosses are inventive and varied, with their own unique attacks and vulnerabilities. Each of them achieves something that many games don’t: a perfect level of challenge. They are all beatable, but it takes a while to do so. 

The biggest problem with Itorah is that the first few hours of the game are repetitive and lacking in challenge and new dynamics. This may mean some players may not have the patience to get to the stronger elements. 

Meso-American Music To Our Ears

The musical score is often catchy and always atmospheric, with many different tones corresponding to the different biomes. 

Voice acting is not full, but well directed and acted, as the voices are all very different and distinctive. Sounds take the form of individual words for sentences, but the quality and implementation of this is so high that it feels satisfying. 

This solution to conveying dialogue actually helps the pace for Itorah, as full voice acting would mean more time listening and less time bashing enemies and jumping on giant mushrooms. 

Conclusion

At the beginning of Itorah, I expected another game trying to cash in on both the burgeoning Meso-American trend and the Metroid-vania vibe. By the end of the game, my feeling was very different. 

Itorah is a moderately challenging platformer with combat elements. It takes some aspects from the Metroid-vania sub-genre, as there are light elements of having to backtrack through levels to unlock the next area. 

However, comparisons with Metroid-vania games such as Hollow Knight are faint and fleeting. Metroid-vania titles such as this are usually set in a mysterious, rich world, with its own lore. Itorah has a beautiful, but more shallow world, free of any such secrets as Hollow Knight contains. 

What Itorah does well is the appearance and, for the most part, the platforming. However, compared to many true Metroid-vania games out there, this doesn’t hold a tiki torch to them.  

Itorah is available on Steam for PC for £17.49.