(Update: The free copy of Jotun: Valhalla Edition is also available on Steam as well as GOG as originally reported.)
Thunder Lotus Games have announced that their next hand drawn action game Sundered is due to release on July 28th and to celebrate the opening of pre-orders on GOG (affiliate) the site is offering the team's debut title Jotun: Valhalla Edition for free to all users, no purchase necessary. In addition pre-orders for Sundered are currently available with a 10% discount and a complimentary copy of the OST thrown in.
Jotun was the team's first title and the hand-drawn ARPG's strong themes of Norse mythology and art style reminiscent of classic 90's Disney animation gained quite a bit of critical acclaim. Our own reviewer gave the updated Valhalla Edition of the game an 8.0, praising the exciting boss fights and interesting story. The game follows lady-viking protagonist Thora on her quest to impress the gods and gain her entry into Valhalla and each massive foe defeated brings you closer to that goal. Bosses are really brought to life with the hand drawn animation and truly dwarf the player on screen.
Sundered, in contrast, takes a wholly different approach. It retains the lavish hand-drawn art but the Norse mythology is replaced by Lovecraftian mystery and the action switches to a side-scrolling platformer in the Metroidvania mold. Another interesting feature is the part-procedural generation of levels, where some key areas are set but the paths to those areas can change dramatically with each death. You play as Eshe, a wanderer in a ruined land fighting off the eldritch horrors it contains. Players will be able to influence the ending of the game through their choices, Eshe obtains powers throughout the game and you'll have to choose whether or not to 'corrupt' these powers, changing their strengths at the cost of your humanity. You can check out the announcement trailer for the game below.
Sundered releases on July 28th on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. You can pick up your free copy of Jotun:Valhalla Edition over at GOG now, the offer is good until Monday, July 17th.
Disclosure: GOG is partnered with TechRaptor for affiliate partnership, and TechRaptor earns a small commission off purchases made from the above links. In addition, GOG provides a monthly discount and giveaway to our Pack Hunter members.
