Dec 10, 2021
Oddmar+ on Apple Arcade — Viking Style Fun Platforming
I have sort of a strange relationship with platforming games. All of us here in India grew up playing Mario, the greatest platformer ever made. I also wish to point out that, I never made it till level 8, and see if Mario every rescues the princess from the castle.
That is the thing about most platformers. At some point in the game, it becomes too difficult. Fun turns to frustration. Perhaps, when I was younger, to feed my ego, I would work my way through the frustration and finish the game. Now, in my late 30s, I no longer care if I finish the game or not.
As long as I had fun, and the game kept me engaged, I am happy.
That’s what Odmar+ is. It’s a fun game, and a platformer that is mostly not frustrating.
Engaging Story
There is something comforting about listening to a story being told. Narrator stuff. Oddmar+ takes this approach to telling its story. There is a really cool Narrator voice who tells the story of this guy, Oddmar, a non-viking member of the Viking tribe.
I dont know anything about Vikings, but they keep showing up in movies and stories as some sort of warrior tribe. Our friend, Oddmar, is anything but a warrior. Yet, circumstances force him to learn how to fight. As the story (and the game) moves forward, it’s nice to watch this character grow from a lovable non-warrior into a gentle fighter and eventual savior.
There are subtle touches here and there. The visuals keep changing to impress on the character development. Oddmar goes from an idealistic individual who believes in the goodness of life to realizing that the world is not as fair as it seems. Oddmar survives through rock monsters, loses an old friend, and meets devious tricksters as he trudges on to save his tribe from complete destruction.
It’s a standard journey of an unwilling hero. It’s cliched but it plays out really nicely.
Easy Platforming, Grand Visuals and Innovative GamePlay
Platforming can get dull very fast unless the gameplay mechanics change fast enough. That is indeed the case with Oddmar+. Every level, and every new episode, brings in some seriously cool new way of playing.
At first, you start off the basic moving and jumping around. Very soon, you are bouncing off pink mushrooms that you high into the sky. Other times, you are riding on a friendly boar with ‘fast forward’ jumping abilities. Then, you are floating around on balloon logs where you pop them to move around through tricky thorns.
Then, there are the boss battles. I found them really unique. This one specific boss battle with Kraken, was really cool. I like giant monsters and Kraken is one of my favorite, classic mythology kaijus. I must add though, after much trying on my part, I was unable to defeat the rock monster on level 3. That is when I stopped playing.
I feel a little sad about it, but, as mentioned before, I am too old to care about not defeat a game. Yes, I am a defeatist. I dont mind if I dont win everytime.
Final Note
I was hesitant to begin playing Oddmar+. Platforming can get frustrating. However, I am glad I played this one. It’s not difficult, and the visuals and the story are very engaging.
Whilst I was unable to go past the final boss battle at level 3, I enjoyed the levels I did manage to finish.
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