Son of Nor review

Most video games are forthright about wish fulfillment, with some of the best titles endowing players with omnipotent capabilities. From the God of War series to Asura’s Wrath, games have permitted players to take control of demigods, exacting furious, formidable revenge with powers that easily outmatch the abilities of their opponents. But even more enthralling than instigating divine destruction is when a powerful skillset is conferred to a humanoid character. It’s a formula that’s worked well in games such as Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, infamous, Fracture, Second Sight and the BioShock series, allowing a relatable protagonist to master a steadily growing arsenal of superhuman moves.

It’s a tactic that’s at the heart of Son of Nor, the inaugural effort from the seventeen-person team of stillalive studios. Following a Kicksarter campaign that raised over $150,000 from 2,244 backers, the title underwent nearly two years of additional production.  Given the lofty ambitions and the modest financing for the title, players might still expect to encounter a few rough edges during the game’s eight-to-ten hour main campaign. While blemishes and glitches abound, Nor also demonstrates the type of inspiring ambition that’s often missing from efforts which hail from larger, corporate–backed development teams. Essentially, Son of Nor is the archetypal Kickstarter game, with lofty aspirations converging on the cusp on attainment.

Certainly, the game’s plotline contains an ample amount of promise. A prologue tells the tale of the Sarahul, a rancorous, reptilian race who discovered magic, and subsequently subjugated humankind. What was left of the conquered civilization took refuge in the outskirts of the desert, where they eventually discovered their own mystical powers. Now, 400 years since the original genocide, the Sarahul are converging on the last outpost, forcing players to lead a last ditch effort to save humanity from extermination.

Unfortunately, Son of Nor’s execution doesn’t always exploit the power of the premise. Often, the game searches for a uniform tone, offering the occasional comical interlude with an NPC that seems at odds with the desperation exhibited by the main storyline. Throughout the game, foreshadowing is minimal, leading to pieces of plot or lore that can make a journey through Nor feel disjointed. One of the most glaring examples of the lack of cohesion can be found in the game’s decision to provide a character customization component. At the beginning of the game, players can make a few superficial tweaks to their avatar, likely in an effort to promote identification with the protagonist. But in execution, your appearance has no effect on others, who deliver the same conversational lines across each playthrough. Even worse, the hero remains taciturn, making the one-sided conversations unnatural and a bit difficult to follow. It’s as if stillalive wanted to implement variability in the dialog, but didn’t have the time or resources to make it happen.

Pleasingly, Son of Nor’s engaging gameplay mechanics help to draw attention away from any deficiencies with the plot.  At its core, the title confers two formidable powers: the ability to terraform as well as telekinesis. Both are context based- by moving the on-screen cursor with either the mouse or controller stick, players can affect environmental elements beneath the icon. Terraforming offers the ability to raise and lower the pools of sand that cover the landscape. Initially, it’s useful for accessing elevated platforms, excavating trapped NPCs, and burying bipedal lizard men in the sand. But later, it plays into Nor’s puzzles, requiring players to quickly make improvised mounds that obstruct roving lasers.

Additionally, an ample number of objects can be picked up, carried, and subsequently thrown at foes, offering another type of offensive measure. Here, telekinesis feels powerful- without worry of a cooldown timer or any other niggling limitation. Later, players earn fire, wind, and spirit abilities extending the lead character’s repertoire even further. Summoning two successive elemental invocations unleashed additional capacities, giving the protagonist a wide swath of skills to strike and toy with foes. Adeptly, Son of Nor conveys the sensation of dominance without sacrificing the level of challenge, which is no easy feat.

Nor also does a good job at balancing combat with conundrum, shifting between the two mechanics with relative ease. While battles generally permit more of a freeform approach, puzzles have more of a limited solution set, ensuring players won’t reach a maddening impasse. Less successful is Son of Nor’s platforming. Essentially, the game’s humble animations and simplified physics models can make the game feel like an obscure PS2 title. Mercifully, the game provides liberal check-pointing, allowing gamers to quickly backtrack and occasionally pass navigational obstacles.

The title’s truncated animations also factor into the game’s visual delivery, with a noticeable lack of lip-synching and a limited amount of expressiveness from NPCs. Likewise, the quantity of Nor’s assets are limited, leading to homogenous environments. On an i7 rig with a GeForce GTX 770 card, the game’s framerate hovered around the thirties, occasionally dipping further which seems a bit sluggish given the amount of on-screen geometry and oft-restrained draw distances.  That said, there are a few graphical flourishes, from the translucency of levitated objects to elegant water effects. Sonically, the game’s oft-subdued refrains are skillful, reminding players of the plotline’s potential.

Like many ambitious game developed by smaller, independent studios, Son of Nor has a number of niggling issues that might deter players seeking a high level of polish. But if gamers are able to look past those blemishes, they’ll find a title that delivers a pleasing blend of combat and puzzles. While a full recommendation of Nor might be difficult, stillalive studios certainly deserves another chance to realize their ambitions.

Son of Nor was played on the PC with review code provided by the publisher