Song of Iron review – a slightly different Valhalla

In recent years, we have seen a number of very interesting 2D games from independent developers. Song of Iron is another one, this time even from the only author, American Joe Winter, hiding under the sign of the Resting Relic studio. A Song of Iron is his first film, but it still feels unusually about the conditions of the indie scene. It’s a Scandinavian story with Viking motifs and gods, which keeps the wave of interest in this topic, a blessed title like God of War, AC Valhalla or Valheim, because of this.

• Platform: XSX (peer review), XSS, X1, PC
• Publication date: 31. 8. 2021
• Producer: Resting Relic (USA)
• Genre: 2D action
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 12 GB (including full game)
• Game time: 3 hours
• Price: 417 CZK (couples)

Revenge your village

As befits a Nordic story, the story begins at a burning funeral pyre, where your hero remembers a brutal raid by an enemy tribe and the death of a beloved comrade in his arms. But once the frontier has burned down, it’s time to raise your shield and ax to set out on a journey of revenge. Song of Iron is not a long game and doesn’t try to tell a very complex story, the first minute will very effectively tell you everything you need to know for your bloody journey from the left side of the game screen to the right. In this regard, it may be a bit like the classic Golden Ax.

But as you make your way through different corners of this world, your opponents will be not only the warriors of the enemy tribe, but nature itself – whether it be a bear guarding a ford across the river, or a labyrinth of caves where you meet an entire civilization of orcs with the help of rogues and cave troll. He will also meet a dragon or even some Norse gods. One of the fun mechanics of the game is to collect weapons from enemies and then use them against others – but be careful, because shields can be broken, and you will always have exactly as many arrows in your bow as you carefully collect (in other words, units) . The arrow also does not kill the body as quickly and reliably as the head, so you need to aim well even in the heat of battle.

Your opponents will be not only warriors, but nature itself.

The first two-thirds of the game is played more or less exactly as one would expect from a game of this genre and judging by the published trailers. However, if there is a slight fatigue or frustration with the handling, I recommend persevering. You’ll experience a spectacular twist in the last third of the game, when it turns out that things aren’t quite what you thought. While this is far from a spectacular twist, it’s clear that the author took strong inspiration from the iconic game Inside for this part of the game. The result is a very interesting ending to the game, which is superior to much more story-driven and more expensive games.

Beautiful but clumsy

By far, the most significant quality of the game is its audiovisual processing, which is not only at a very good level, not only for the conditions of the indie scene. You will see green meadows and forests, darkened dungeons full of monsters and traps, scuba diving, climbing snow-capped mountains and, of course, shrines and ruins dedicated to Norse gods. Due to the game’s simple, action-packed nature and reasonable brevity, the game mechanics and combat system are well thought out as well, from quick or strong strikes through cover to a cauldron or a stunt. The arsenal offers classic axes (small and large), swords, shields, bows and arrows… and one unusual surprise for the last.

Unfortunately, the gaming experience is spoiled to some extent by clunky controls, which isn’t too bad, but while it can be easily dealt with, the longer, more difficult ones will cost you some nerves. Add to that the sometimes annoyingly distant checkpoints and somewhat unfairly repetitive waves of enemies, and you might consider quitting the game as often as I did mid-game. In the end, though, I was glad we got over those ailments, partly because I discovered a hidden layer of the game, or the fact that some fights can be solved in fun alternative ways (by trapping the opponent). But most of all, thanks to this, I got to the final third of the game, which I was very fascinated by its revelations, and I sincerely look forward to the second part.