Northern Journey

I feel that people often use terms like "hidden gem" a bit misleadingly about indie games that actually have an okay amount of reviews and solid sales numbers behind them. But in Northern Journey's case, I think that kind of term is entirely justified. The game was released in 2021, but it was only now, in early 2023, that I was made aware of its existence thanks to a glowing Resetera thread. It has just shy of 1000 user reviews on Steam, and a quick Google search confirms that it doesn't boast much more than quite a few critical reviews and videos devoted to it. Therefore, I will now do my part to convince the GR folks why it is definitely recommended to throw something like 10 hours of your life at it, and in the process support an extremely talented Norwegian game developer.

How do you describe Northern Journey? A random Steam user actually nailed it pretty well with the following short recommendation: "If David Lynch directed an Elder Scrolls game." Yes, Skyrim is probably the first game that comes to mind when you start playing Northern Journey, which is all about exploring a distinctly Norse world. Dark forests, murky caves, brooding swamps, deep fjords, mist-covered mountains - the world feels cold, harsh and oppressive, but also melancholy thanks to the fantastically atmospheric and at times sombre soundtrack, which features unique tracks for each of the game's areas. It looks like the game was created in Elder Scrolls' Creation Engine, though it appears to be Unreal Engine 4, yet it all feels more "handcrafted."

I think we can all agree that recent Elder Scrolls games, with their large open worlds, rarely offer the most exciting and sophisticated level design from one moment to the next. Northern Journey, on the other hand, manages to succeed on that front thanks to its sharply focused, linear design (semi-open areas occur, but there's always one correct path forward) that seems to draw inspiration from both Zelda and Souls. The former because you often have to find keys, wheels, hand swings and similar items to unlock locked areas. The latter because you encounter doors that only open from the opposite side; because you're constantly creating satisfying shortcuts between areas by pushing down ladders, setting off elevators, using ziplines, etc.; because you occasionally have to backtrack through clunky platforming sections; and because the game's characters are cryptic in both speech, clues, and motives.

It's also why it makes quite good sense, like the aforementioned Steam user, to imagine David Lynch as the game's director. Northern Journey is trippy, in part because of the cryptic characters, the game's dark humour, and the pervasively small and creepy atmosphere, but also because the world is smeared in as much mystery as fog, in that the developer draws heavily on Norse folklore (think witches, goblins, and the like).

So is the game a masterpiece in a "perfect" sense? Absolutely not. Not all of the game's areas are of the same quality, boss fights can be seriously frustrating, and the combat system in general can best be described as "janky." You run around in first person, using projectile weapons such as slingshots, bows and throwing axes to slay all manner of creepy crawlies (if you have a phobia of this sort of thing, this is NOT the game for you). The combat system has strong associations with Doom, Quake, Unreal Tournament and similar games due to the player's fast movement and the many life and ammo containers scattered around the environment. But enemies are also lightning-fast, jumping like long jumpers and sucking the life out of you in no time, so it often becomes a case of frantically sprinting back and forth with bloodthirsty giant mosquitoes, leeches and other goodies in tow, while letting your elbow chest, then having just a second to turn around and try to hit the mark with a small, unreliable sighting grain.

This is also why I would advise you to save OFTEN. The game doesn't save automatically, it's up to the player to remember, but luckily it's super easy and fast to quicksave on the 5 key. By the way, the game is really well optimized and runs brilliantly on older or unsuitable hardware.

Northern Journey isn't just Skyrim on sponges. While the inspirations are clear, the game manages to create its own, in my opinion, incredibly alluring identity. The world is so fascinating, and the level design in much of the adventure so engaging, that you're willing to forgive the developer for the half-baked combat system. The founder of solo studio Slid Studio, a Norwegian named Øystein, really is someone to watch out for in the future, and he deserves a lot more attention for the little diamond in the rough he's put on Steam. The perfect game for a rainy day and a steaming cup of coffee by the side.