ITORAH Review

As I get older, every game seems to get harder. Yet I don’t think that’s to do with how games are made; back in the 1980s they were rock-hard, unforgiving, lacking save points. Instead I think it is more to do with the love of challenging Metroidvania-type experiences, where you have to think about dying and where every moment counts.

ITORAH is a game in which you will encounter tricky situations, difficult boss battles, and some saucy platforming moments that might well have you throwing your controller. But underneath the challenge is a warm story and an amazing visual style.

You play the title role of Itorah who is the last human left in a world full of masked beings. She goes on a journey to discover what has happened to them and find out about her own past. There is also a strange plague in play, one that threatens to kill everything. It’s immediately apparent that she has her hands full. Armed with the head of an idol on an axe she goes into the world.

The writing and scene setting isn’t a huge part of ITORAH, and instead the visuals and gameplay do the heavy lifting for most of the game. But what it does, it does well. Nicely, with this being inspired by central and southern American indigenous people and culture, the game developers are also giving 10 percent of the profits of the special edition of the game to Survival International. That’s a nice touch.

Fluid gameplay and action-adventure are where these games live or die and ITORAH doesn’t disappoint. It’s not capable of delivering anything particularly new or original in the gameplay department, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. At times the structure and the way you journey around the map reminds of the Ori games – Blind Forest and Will of the Wisps.  

Combat needs nerves of steel and complete attention to the moveset of your enemies. You can jump, dodge and attack at the right moments and soon you will be putting together combinations with the weapon and your jumping that will slice through butter. The platforming side of the game is the usual fare, but you need to work out routes and replay areas to truly understand the best way forward is. Try and try again is my motto for ITORAH. It’s not hyper difficult, but it is demanding. 

The boss battles are something of a mixed bag. Some of them will be doable after you have tackled them a few times, learning their patterns. Others feel more like a painful lesson in gaming; you have to feel the pain to get the gain. Luckily, ITORAH has lots of checkpoints so when you die there isn’t a huge amount of retracing your footsteps. In terms of gameplay, it all feels very familiar – like a hundred games I’ve played before and nothing manages to stand out as new or different. But what it does do it does with flair and intrigue, capable of keeping up the interest. Although that mostly had to do with the visuals. 

ITORAH is a very beautiful-looking game. The world itself is incredibly well designed and full of lush detail that pings off the screen. It’s all hand-painted as well, which is a fantastic feat and it pays off in the amazing character and creature design. The same amount of praise could be said about the soundtrack which adds tension and drama to the frantic action throughout. But it also has softer moments that work well. All the effects and audio designs complement the gameplay neatly. 

There doesn’t feel like there is much new in ITORAH, little original in terms of gameplay. But, and it’s a big but, the world is a great place to spend some time in, complete with brilliant visuals and a great soundtrack. The gameplay is solid and the main character endearing. It’s those elements that will probably win you over.