The Frostrune

Something that doesn't seem to be mentioned about this game: this is a horror story. You play a 13 year old Viking girl. Her father and his longship was sunk out from under her, then the settlement she washed ashore at has no living people and many signs of conflict. One of the first things you see is magical ice, the mark of the Norse gods most effective enemies. If you are primarily interested in a game's mechanics, that's an area where this game may fail. It is designed in the style of current mobile games, with a minimal interface and simple menu. It doesn't even have an internal volume control, and it could use one. There are no save files, you simply continue. Once you get to the core gameplay it becomes fairly linear. As an experience the game is amazing. It's also not for the faint of heart. You are dealing with dead bodies and ghosts throughout the game. The artwork is fantastic. The soundtrack is good. The language is all in Old Norse with the subtitles of your choice. The level of detail, both in period accuracy and little details like increasing the number of flies around the corpses, is incredible. If you want a gorgeous, effective horror story to play through, I very highly recommend this.

The Forstrune is a point and click game inspired by historically accurate Norse folklore and mythology. The game is touching, its atmosphere is very decent, the spoken language or norse spirits ais beautiful. I dont know if its an existing language, if it swedish or norwegian or it is an actual anceint, no longer spoken norse language but it sounded like music to my ears. The music, sound effects, songs of the spirits is definetly the best part of the game. I would include the decent voice acting to this part. The actual gameplay is ok, not too hard to figure out what to do next and if you still have any problem you can either use the hints or look for a guide. Not a big loss to use the hints anyway, it just disable one achievement which either unimportant for you, or if it is, then you still need a speedrun anyway where you still can get a nohint walkthrough cheevo. The game feels a bit too short, my played time is more what required as more playthrough was required for the speedrun achievement: https://youtu.be/no7bzk5sXfc Do i recommend the game? Yes, it's beautiful with relaxing music, if you see it on sale and you dont have hate against point and click games then i would suggest to buy it. [b]Hey, iam an achievement hunter! [/b] If you want to get all cheevos then you can expect at least 2 walkthroughs or more, i dont think anyone will succeed on first speedrun, more likely it will be done on 2nd so lets correct it to 3 walkthroughs. One is required for a regular playthrough where you still can miss many achievements, one required for completing game without hints but that could be the speedrun. There are guides for the game which could help you if you missed some. If all done right, you dont need to be afk then getting all achievements cant take more than 3 hours. [b]This review was created for Average Achievement Hunter curator [/b] Follow my curator if you like to see achievement related informations (completion time, difficulty to get all achievements) on store page of the games. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30168383-Average-Achievement-Hunter/ The curator group dont mark any game as recommended so it shows useful information about achievements on the store page of the games without influencing the main store page of steam with recommendations + all games sorted to lists based on expected completion times. No point not to follow!:-)

Just came back from the launch in Oslo and started playing. An hour of gameplay later and I have to physically force myself away from it in order to get to swordpractice on time (I'm the trainer, for heavens sake!) I haven't played a point and click adventure in almost two decades, but this really got me engaged. The atmosphere created by the artwork and music is superb. The puzzles are logical, but challenging. Huge plus that every single object is historically accurate. Well worth the coin.

[i]The Frostrune[/i] is a point-and-click adventure game. It's set in ancient times on a Nordic island, and its story is drenched in Norse mythology. As soon as you launch the game, it's clear [i]The Frostrune[/i] is a basic production. You'll find an option to change the game's resolution and language, and that's it. The latter option is crucial, though. Since the entire game's narrative is in Old Norse speech, you'll rely on subtitles to understand what's actually being said. Subtitles are available in English, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Arabic, Norwegian, Russian, French and German. The devs state: "[i]We have taken extra care to make The Frostrune as authentic and historically accurate as possible.[/i]" It's clear that they have. And for the most part, it works very well. Although it's impossible to understand the words being spoken, I think the voice acting was commendable. The narrative even contains a song in Old Norse speech. The game's whole soundtrack oozes Nordic folklore, as well. All of this makes [i]The Frostrune[/i] sound authentic to a fault. [i]The Frostrune[/i]'s graphics are hand-drawn, which definitely adds even more authenticity and personality to this production. But although the graphics look very artistic, I wouldn't personally call them beautiful, although such an opinion is entirely subjective, of course. The story of [i]The Frostrune[/i] is pretty thin. I don't mean to sound contradictory: the game does contain a decent amount of lore and folklore, but the actual story of the game, i.e. the story of the young girl you play as and what she ends up doing on the island by solving puzzle after puzzle, is very thin and can easily be summarized in one concise sentence. The main part of [i]The Frostrune[/i]'s gameplay is solving puzzles while enjoying the authentic folkloristic background. The puzzles aren't easy. Often, you perform an action or you solve a puzzle and you know that means 'something changed somewhere', but it's not always clear what or where. So you'll find yourself walking back and forth on the island a lot, looking for something that's different or for a new area that has become accessible. There is a 'Hint' option in the game, but using it even once forfaits one of the Steam Achievements, so I didn't use that function. I do have to admit I resorted to consulting a guide a few times and almost every time I did, I found the next step wasn't necessarily illogical but pretty darned hard to have to come up with myself. Speaking of Steam Achievements, there are 20 to unlock. Thirteen of those are story-related and unmissable. Six more are awarded for performing some optional tasks, most of which are near impossible to figure out yourself (especially since the names of the achievements are in Old Norse speech and their descriptions are extremely cryptic), so completionists will want to use a guide and check the game's discussion forum. The 20th and final achievement is unlocked by performing a speedrun. You're required to finish the game in 30 minutes or less. That's extremely close! Even when I made a step-by-step guide for myself and knew exactly what to do, only losing a few seconds from time to time while I checked my instructions, I failed on my first try. I immediately tried again, knowing I'd have to check my instructions less that time, and I just barely made it. I like a challenge and I'm fine with speedrun challenges in game genres like platformers, shooters or other action games (e.g. clear a level or mission within a time limit), but I don't think a speedrun achievement has any place in a point-and-click adventure game. The fact that you can't skip any dialogue (and yes, the clock keeps ticking during dialogue) only adds to the frustration of trying to unlock that last, unnecessarily difficult achievement, which is a pain the developers should have left out. [i]The Frostrune[/i] does not have any Steam Trading Cards.

This was a pretty decent first-person point-and-click adventure with nice graphics and atmosphere. I don't know if it really was, but it seemed more historically accurate than the usual fare while also combining nordic mythology. Most of the puzzles were good, and there were a few tougher puzzles, but there's an integrated hint system... that I did use at least four times... Special mention to the viking ghost singers who were amazing. Potential negatives would be the short length (2-3 hours) and that there's a lot of walking back and forth around the land without a map. But you eventually do get your bearings and it feels more immersive that way.

As a big fan of point & click adventure games, I've already played some very decent ones the past couple of months and It's safe to say that The Frostrune is competent enough to make my "golden collection" list of the genre. It's one of those games that I know what to expect and have faith that it won't let me down after seeing the screenshots and description (well, it's just a hunch basically). The Frostrune has a beautiful artstyle and it kinda reminds me of Tormentum - Dark Sorrow, which is an amazingly well-crafted game (visually in particular). Apparently, the devs had worked hard to constrcut the environment and build up the atmosphere, laying the foundation for an immersive gaming experience. The majestic soundtrack and voice acting fit in perfectly with the cultural settings of the game as well. As it is pointed out in the description, the story of TF is inspired by Viking myth and is based on historically accurate Norse culture and environments, which reminds me of Year Walk, a similar game based on Swedish mythological lores. However, when it comes to the depth of the story, TF kinda falls short in my opinion. Although it does deliver a Norse epic vibe, I feel that it could have been done better. I'm not saying that the story of the game is dull or lack of effort, what I mean is that I would be happier to see a more dramatic and elaborated one considering that it's completely linear. The puzzles in TF are quite straightforward as they all have their own clues either written or depicted elsewhere, not to mention that there's a hint system in the game at your disposal. I believe you can beat the game without many obstacles by your own wit and be rewarded a specific achievement for your heroic undertaking. Well, I'm not a hero because I usually get lazy and undetermined when there's a walkthrough within reach. To be honest, I was a little hesitant about whether to buy this game or not upon seeing the playtime of a couple of reviewers even it was 10% off at the time. A 2~3 hour experience for almost 10 bucks maybe a little steep if you ask me (considering that Year Walk is about the same length but about half the price), and if you're not a fan of the genre, you'll probably think that it asks for a little too much either. However, after finishing the game, I'm not regret my choice because the effort put in by the devs lives up to the price and I truly had a great time playing it. Overall, The Frostrune is beautiful, intriguing, and enjoyable, highly recommended to those who have an appetite for point & click adventure games.

Sommer 965, Norwegen. Nachdem unser Schiff einen Sturm nicht standhalten konnte, wurden wir als einzige Überlende von den Wellen an die Küste getragen. Eine rettende Siedlung ist nicht fern, doch dort angekommen scheint diese hastig verlassen worden zu sein. Was ist hier nur geschehen? Auch wenn die Handlung jetzt nicht das Adventure-Rad neu erfindet, schafft es [i]The Frostrune[/i] einen durch die düstere Atmosphäre, der tollen Soundkulisse inklusive altnordischen Voiceacting und einer unglaublichen Detailverliebtheit die ganze Zeit hinweg an den PC zu fesseln. Für die Spielzeit kann man ungefähr 2 - 3 Stunden einplanen, je nachdem wie sehr man sich in der Spielwelt verliert und wie gut man durch die Rätsel kommt. [i]The Frostrune[/i] ist also ein recht kurzes Spiel, aber dafür bleibt es umso länger im Gedächtnis, alleine schon weil dort die altnordische Mythologie mal nicht total verkitscht dargestellt wird. Die Rätsel haben einen gut durchmischten Schwierigkeitsgrad sind aber mehr auf der einfachen Seite, im Vergleich zu anderen Adventures. Knobelfüchse werden hier also nicht auf ihre Kosten kommen. Auch muss man relativ viel Backtracken bzw. hin und her laufen für manche der Rätsel, aber das ist auch der einzige Kritikpunkt den ich an [i]The Frostrune[/i] habe. [u]Kaufempfehlung[/u]: Ich persönlich finde schon, dass das Spiel die 9,99€ wert ist, allerdings kann ich jeden verstehen, der das für die kurze Spieldauer nicht ausgeben möchte. 2,49€ ist der tiefste aufgezeichnete Preis, allerdings war [i]The Frostrune[/i] schon seit mindestens Juli 2022 nicht mehr im Sale.

Wish I could give this a sideways thumb but.. long story short: PROS: -Interesting and different with norwegian mythology stuff -Well made -Decent puzzles -Very basic hint system that doesn't give away everything CONS: -Lot's of backtracking. A map would be nice.. -Short. Completed in about 2 hours. -Story is quite shallow despite of all the deep mythology stuff put into it. Overall a decent game for about 2 hours or so. Not quite worth the normal price though (bough it in sale)

The storm hit your longship close to the island. The winds were too forceful to withstand, even for the battle hardened Vikings. Slowly the ship sinks in the cold, dark sea, taking every soul with it, except yours. You are spared. The only living survivor, stranded on the northern shores of an island, that seems to be abandoned by it's inhabitants. What happened? The Frostrune is a point-and-click adventure with an interesting twist. During the course of the adventure you find a magic staff, allowing you to dive into the world of ghosts. The mixture between the real world and the sphere of ghosts offers an interesting experience. The story of 'The Frostrune' is mediocre. It' OK and the game is enjoyable but the main reason you should play this game is the atmosphere. If you like Nordic mythology, Vikings and ghosts, this game is for you. If you don't, you can skip this one. Personally, I enjoyed this very much. Pros: - beautiful graphics, hand-painted - extremely good voice acting, gives you shivers every time a ghost speaks. The language is old Norse. Sounds wonderful to me. - great sound effects - nice music - very strong atmosphere - mysterious - inspired by Viking myth - magical - all objects recreated from archaeological sources, according to the developers - balanced puzzle difficulty Neutral: - short, finished the game in four hours, but it felt longer Cons: - a few very stupid achievements. I played this game without caring for achievements. After finishing the game I discovered that you get an achievement for a speed run in 30 minutes. This kind of achievement is completely unnecessary, especially for a quiet game like this.

This is a ported game, but one that is done very well. I found the puzzles to be pretty decent, but what I really enjoyed was the lore and the story. If you are into puzzle games I would say pick this one up and give it a go for something to do one evening or on a weekend, well worth the time.