It’s protected to say that I actually loved Shalnor Legends: Sacred Lands – the primary sport within the collection – again in 2018. And which means the sequel ought to nicely attraction.
It’s from the identical developer, Johny Ostad, as Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder guarantees extra of the identical type of Zelda impressed motion, however with the whole lot turned as much as 11. In truth, my spouse and son (who’re each massive Nintendo players) requested me what the sport was, because it reminded them so strongly of the Legend of Zelda collection – and that ought to actually be taken as a praise to the developer.
Can lightning strike twice?
The story is a little bit totally different this time round, and Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder focuses on a younger Orc who goes by the title of Mogren. Mogren is on his method to a trial of some form to show he is able to be an grownup, however as an alternative will get caught in a storm and finally ends up shipwrecked on Thunder Island. Right here it seems that his crashing was no accident – the deity of the island has determined he wants a champion, and Mogren has been chosen because the one. The deity bestows on Mogren an axe that he can use to defend himself, in addition to clear up puzzles as soon as it’s powered up, all earlier than being challenged with discovering 5 scrolls to unlock the true energy of the axe.
And right here our story opens – can we discover out the place the scrolls reside, in addition to the best way to get there? Properly, the one manner ahead is to discover, and so the scene is ready for a giant journey.
Presentation of Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder has moved on from the primary sport, however continues to be considered from the identical top-down perspective. It’s simply that this time the whole lot appears a bit extra rounded, a bit extra 3D. The island itself is a superb place to discover, with varied totally different biomes to seek out and wander round, to not point out all of the dungeons and caves (mini dungeons) scattered.
Fixing puzzles could be a problem this time round, as a few of the solutions are fairly obtuse, however given the time that has elapsed, there are a selection of walkthroughs obtainable for the tougher bits; or not less than, so I’ve been advised! The one slight situation I’ve with the sport is that it’s arduous to place your self to hit the enemies generally, particularly within the boss fights. They appear to hit you when perspective would counsel they have been nonetheless at far, however the adjustment doesn’t take lengthy.
Sound can also be properly finished, with pretty music and tremendous fight sound results. Even the answer to puzzles sounds a bit Zelda-y, so there’s nothing to moan about there.
Gameplay will likely be acquainted to anybody who performed the final Shalnor Legends sport, or who has ever performed a Zelda sport for that matter! We’re given a tough concept of the place we have to go (for the second scroll, for instance, we’re advised to go to the west facet of the island), however determining the best way to get there may be totally as much as us. Normally, the best way is cleared by making our manner by way of an underground space, after which coming out on the opposite facet to be able to open a shortcut again to the place we began. As we discover, we may also unlock quick journey factors which makes getting across the island so much simpler.
After all, these underground passages aren’t simply easy straight A to B tunnels – there may be inevitably a collection of puzzles to determine alongside the best way. The puzzles are an actual spotlight this time round, a pleasant combination of cerebral, corresponding to determining the right order of symbols to unlock a door, to ones which might be extra bodily. The bodily puzzles are very creative, from summoning a clone Mogren (that disappears after one hit) and strolling him by way of a maze to hit two buttons without delay, by way of to redirecting crystals with the axe to get the door to open to the subsequent space. There’s numerous head scratching – or Googling – required to get to the place you wish to be.
For the great, the fight in Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder is a bit lacklustre and smacking foes with the axe by no means feels notably sensible. Even if you degree up and spend the ability factors you acquire, the axe doesn’t appear to get noticeably stronger. Different bits do get higher, such because the well being pool and stamina regen, however the axe nonetheless feels a bit wimpy.
Nonetheless, there may be a lot extra on provide, from cooking meals to a fishing mini sport (price half a star by itself) that it feels churlish to complain an excessive amount of. All in all, Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder is a testomony to the arduous work of the dev, coming collectively as a reasonably nice sport with a couple of minor niggles.
Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder adventures onto the world of Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/shalnor-legends-2-trials-of-thunder-adventures-onto-the-world-of-xbox/
Purchase Shalnor Legends 2 from the Xbox Retailer – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/video games/retailer/shalnor-legends-2-trials-of-thunder/9N1T1ZVNJHTR