ITORAH
- March 21, 2022
- Grimbart Tales
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam"ITORAH is a single-player kids' platformer game with outstanding story, good mechanics, amazing visuals, and beautiful soundtrack. As the last human in a world of masked beings, Itorah embarks on a journey to discover her past and save the world from a major threat. The Save the World Edition supports indigenous people around the globe by donating 10% of the proceeds to Survival International."
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful art style that captures the Mesoamerican theme effectively.
- The platforming mechanics are enjoyable, with a decent challenge that keeps players engaged.
- The story, while simple, has charming characters and emotional moments that resonate with players.
- Combat can feel slow and unresponsive, lacking the depth and challenge found in other metroidvania titles.
- The game is quite linear, with little incentive for exploration or backtracking, making it feel less like a true metroidvania.
- There are issues with controls and mechanics, including a frustrating stamina system and occasional clunky movement.
- story176 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The story of "Itorah" is described as a mixed bag, with some players finding it intriguing and moving, while others criticize it for being dull, confusing, or poorly presented. Many appreciate the beautiful visuals and art style that enhance the storytelling, but feel that the narrative lacks depth and memorable characters, often resorting to infodumps at the end. Overall, while some players enjoyed the story's themes and progression, others found it forgettable and unengaging.
“The story itself is interesting enough to keep going and wanting to know the end, though in my opinion.”
“To my opinion, Itorah is a game that's crafted with the will to tell a good story, and this is mostly seen from the art overall (characters, worlds, items, animation, and music).”
“The story is super well written, and the graphics are amazing!!”
“The story and characters in Itorah are incredibly dull, and cut-scenes are slow to go through.”
“The story is dull, progresses slowly and predictably through an agonizingly simple map that has practically no secrets and constant backtracking through previously mentioned boring mobs.”
“Finally, the story is vague and uninspiring.”
- gameplay176 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its enjoyable platforming and combat elements, but criticizing its lack of challenge and linearity. While some found the mechanics to be well-crafted and balanced, others pointed out significant issues with controls, air movement, and overall design, leading to frustration and a sense of tedium. The game's stunning visuals and music were often highlighted, but many felt that the gameplay did not live up to the potential suggested by its artistic presentation.
“Overall, I think the game is more than recommended; the gameplay is fun, the length is decent, and even though it could use a little more challenge, with a few self-imposed handicaps (like no healing on boss fights), you can mitigate that feeling.”
“Gameplay is well-crafted, with thoughtful save point placement and mechanics that feel balanced throughout most of the experience.”
“It offers stunning visuals, incredible music, and some very fun and responsive gameplay.”
“This is just bad design and a failure to properly communicate how game mechanics work.”
“I'm not going to play a game where the tutorial and movement mechanics fail after just 90 seconds in.”
“Unfortunately, I feel that the game falls short in terms of programming and game design, with some mechanics, controls, enemies, and quality of life in general needing a little bit more experience, attention, or love.”
- graphics152 mentions
- 72 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their stunning beauty and vibrant art style, with many reviewers highlighting the hand-drawn visuals and colorful environments as standout features. However, some players noted that the visuals can occasionally blend with the background, making it difficult to navigate, and while the graphics are a highlight, they feel that the overall gameplay experience is somewhat lacking. Overall, the game's aesthetics are considered its strongest asset, often overshadowing its gameplay flaws.
“The graphics are excellent and help bring the story and world to life.”
“Itorah's absolutely strong points is the beautiful hand-drawn graphics and awesome sceneries you visit throughout her journey.”
“Gorgeous visuals, great animation, even a very pleasant soundtrack, in terms of aesthetics it's undeniably top-notch stuff.”
“I saw this game's art style and was really excited to play, but what I got is clunky controls which are very frustrating at times. It's very hard to see where the ground is and where the background art is; it blends together way too much.”
“The hand-drawn graphics also come with some downsides.”
“Overall, it's not a bad game, it's just not great either, and the visuals can only carry it so much.”
- music108 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric qualities and variety, while others find it bland or broken during critical moments, such as boss fights. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the game's visuals and overall mood, though a few note that it lacks memorable tracks. Overall, the music is seen as a strong aspect for those who value ambiance, but it may not resonate with everyone.
“You might ask then why am I recommending this game; it is for the people that place big importance on atmosphere. The music and visuals of this game are great, the animations are smooth, the game is very colorful, and the soundtrack is varied but generally sticks to atmospheric music that builds the tone of the places you visit very well.”
“The art is fantastic, the music is even better, and it is enjoyable from start to finish.”
“It offers stunning visuals, incredible music, and some very fun and responsive gameplay.”
“The game started out alright but it quickly became annoying and frustrating to play through. The music was so bland I played another game's soundtrack in the background.”
“There's a lot more but I'm not a journalist, just trust and pass on this one, very boring too and the music sucks.”
“The music is bland though.”
- emotional16 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game received mixed reviews, with some players finding the story and characters bland and unengaging, leading to skipped cut-scenes and a lack of investment. However, others noted that the game delivered touching moments and emotional impact, particularly towards the end, despite feeling disconnected from the narrative earlier on. Overall, while some players felt a heartwarming experience, many criticized the storytelling and character development as lacking depth.
“As the game progressed, a heartwarming feeling overtook me.”
“Touching story, really nice and pleasant visuals.”
“I was surprised how emotionally impacted I felt by the end of the game.”
“Boring story”
“Empty levels with a painfully boring story”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, as killing enemies yields no experience points, rendering combat largely pointless. The need for extensive farming to gather enough money for upgrades, combined with tedious level design and sluggish controls, contributes to a lack of enjoyment in the grinding process. Overall, the experience is marred by repetitive backtracking and unengaging enemy encounters.
“Killing enemies grants no experience, no level grinding, making combat pointless.”
“I've killed every enemy in my path, found lots of bonus money in chests, and in the end, you still don't have enough money without a lot of farming to upgrade everything.”
“The levels are predictable, tedious, and long, and the enemies are simply not fun to confront (besides bosses). All this is compounded by the sluggish controls and a camera that zooms in and out uncontrollably.”
- character development8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is primarily focused on health and stamina management, influencing various actions like sprinting and combat. While the system is functional, it is overshadowed by the game's stunning world and expressive character designs, which are highlighted as standout features. Overall, the art and visual presentation are praised, though enemy designs are noted as less imaginative.
“The visuals are the aspect that caught my attention the most, especially the character design.”
“The world and art design are the best part of the game, with beautiful areas and expressive character designs.”
“The character development system consists of health, stamina (required for some, but not all, attacks and actions, such as sprinting), the number and the potency of the healing items.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game suffers from low replayability due to its linear design, lack of branching storylines, and minimal exploration opportunities. Players find the story and characters unengaging, leading to disinterest in revisiting the game, with achievements being the only incentive for a second playthrough. Overall, the absence of difficulty options and a fast travel system further diminish the desire to replay.
“Little to no replayability as there are no branching storylines or challenging optional content.”
“There's no difficulty options, nor is there much to explore, really, so the replayability is pretty limited, with achievements being the only real reason to try again.”
“The story and characters are so bland that I skipped some of the cutscenes because they were uninteresting. The gameplay feels very linear, and I found myself asking, 'Do I want to go back to this place to get this one chest I missed?' The answer was always 'no.'”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, featuring vibrant visuals, smooth animations, and a varied soundtrack that effectively enhances the tone of each location. Reviewers emphasize the importance of atmosphere, noting that it significantly contributes to the overall experience, with ratings around 9/10 reflecting its strong impact.
“You might ask why I am recommending this game; it is for people who place great importance on atmosphere. The music and visuals of this game are fantastic, the animations are smooth, and the game is very colorful. The soundtrack is varied but generally sticks to atmospheric music that builds the tone of the places you visit very well.”
“Atmosphere: 9/10”
“The music and visuals of this game are great, the animations are smooth, and the game is very colorful. The soundtrack is varied but generally sticks to atmospheric music that builds the tone of the places you visit very well.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion that I expected from a game of this genre.”
“While the visuals are colorful, the overall atmosphere fails to engage me; it feels more like a backdrop than a living world.”
“The soundtrack, although varied, often feels repetitive and does not enhance the atmosphere as much as it should.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game is highly optimized, consistently delivering excellent performance with a solid 60fps at 1080p, and users report no significant bugs, crashes, or stuttering issues across various systems. Overall, it appears to have no major design flaws or mechanical problems affecting gameplay.
“Performance: excellent (solid 60fps at 1080p)”
“Performance: excellent (solid 60fps at 1080p)”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits some minor graphical glitches and occasional bugs, such as enemies hitting players post-mortem and the ability to go out of bounds in certain areas. While these issues can disrupt gameplay, they may also offer unique opportunities for speedrunning. Overall, stability is somewhat inconsistent but not critically flawed.
“Game is a bit buggy at times - charging bull enemies can hit you after their death, you can go out of bounds in certain spots, using air dash and air up swing at once sends you flying, potentially great for speedruns I guess.”
“There are some very minor graphical glitches in most areas.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a self-aware, sardonic tone that mocks players' expectations and the game's own narrative, creating a sense of absurdity and existential reflection.
“The game is laughing at you for thinking there's anything in this world.”
