Eitr
The Shield Maiden rests in the warmth of a bonfire in "Eitr." www.indiedb.com

Devolver Digital, the publisher of the critically acclaimed “Hotline Miami,” is trying something different, with the company’s latest game “Eitr,” a retro hack-and-slash title that is being developed by Eneme Entertainment. The game was revealed during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles last week and will be coming to the PlayStation 4 and PC in early 2016.

As reported by Siliconera, “Eitr” has a very classic story from Norse mythology that involves Loki, the god of mischief, poisoning the world tree Yggdrasil with a strange substance called eitr. Rather than playing Thor, the god of thunder, players will instead be using a Shield Maiden whose life was disrupted by the poisoning, and now searches the Nine Realms to reclaim her destiny and restore life to Yggdrasil.

“Eitr” appears to be a very old-school action game thanks to the isometric point of view and the intentionally pixelized graphics that give the game a unique flavor and identity. Old games aren’t the only inspiration for this series, however, as every action and attack uses a stamina bar, similar to the one that can be seen in the “Dark Souls” games by Atlus.

This forces the player to be more strategic during fights against a range of foes, including undead skeletons, giant Viking warriors and zombie mages, which should add fun to the title. Luckily, the Shield Maiden will have a sword for close combat and a bow-and-arrow for long-range combat, which should be useful against the more towering threats the player will face.

So far, reaction to the game has been very positive, with Eurogamer calling it great, even saying it was one of the best games that appeared at E3, which is saying a lot given the huge announcements that were made. Considering most of those announcements were either sequels or reboots, “Eitr” does have the advantage of being an original title, with some old-school gameplay that hardcore gamers will probably appreciate.

Fans of Norse mythology or of the team’s previous “Hotline Miami” games will have to wait until next year for the Norse hack-and-slash title, and, hopefully, the game will be worth the wait.

EITR - Gameplay Trailer (Credit: YouTube/DevolverDigital)