Developed by the solo talent Punching Donut and published by EastAsiaSoft for PS5 (with Shady Corner Games involvement on PC), Book of Korvald is a side-scrolling 2D action-adventure Metroidvania that launches on consoles today.
In this dark, Norse-inspired tale, you play as Korvald, a humble Viking scribe whose village is razed, family slaughtered, and himself branded a heretic by Christian forces purging pagan lore. Moments from execution, he's saved by bonding with Qhroth'un, a parasitic eldritch entity that grants him forbidden knowledge of runes in exchange for filling its "book" with stories of conquest and corruption. Korvald's mission is to traverse over 30 interconnected stages across Scandinavia and beyond, drawing from real historical events like 9th-century Denmark's Christian conversion all while battling religious zealots, mythical beasts, and cosmic horrors to preserve (and weaponize) suppressed sagas while recruiting allies and amassing power to devour the world-threatening forces.
Gameplay revolves around fluid Metroidvania exploration, where you unlock abilities to backtrack through vast, country-spanning maps filled with secrets, side quests, and minigames like fishing, farming, ale brewing, drinking contests, and arena brawls. Combat emphasizes real-time weapon swapping from a massive arsenal of over 200 options including axes, swords, whips, maces, spears, flails, daggers, shields, even books, each paired with 30+ artifacts for throws or effects like summoning zombie Templars or stripping foes. Runes provide passive buffs (fiery slides) and active spells like cyclones, lightning storms, blizzards, healing, or eldritch summons. They're slotted for berserker ultimates varying by off-hand equipment.
A 15-talent skill tree lets you customize builds for aggression, defense, or utility, with skill resources likely tied to cooldowns or mana-like pools (inferred from rune activations). Health is standard regen/block-based, bolstered by healing runes and limited-use ale for temporary buffs or drinking challenges, and is perfect for roguelike dungeons or clutch moments. Assisting characters are a big help here. You can recruit over 50 allies like warrior nuns (Chel Helbun, Ivy Wilde), succubi (Bordeaux Black), spider goddess Nansi, or Krampus via quests/bosses, and deploy them in combat, send them on missions, or leverage them for progression (e.g., breaking walls, soul-reaping). Map navigation rewards thoroughness with ability-gated paths, while 30+ bosses, from Queen Bee and alpha werewolf to Archbishop Reignvoldt, Haniel, and Fenrir demand pattern mastery, rune combos, and ally swaps for epic, multi-phase showdowns.
The Presentation ...
The presentation nails a gritty, hand-drawn 2D art style blending historical Norse realism with cosmic horror including backdrops such as dark forests, crumbling abbeys, and eldritch voids. Fully voiced dialogue brings memorable characters to life with strong performances, amplifying the mature tone of violence, deceit, and raw sexual encounters (50+ animated scenes with kinky, fetish-heavy variety). The soundtrack evokes haunting sagas with metal-infused percussion and ethereal chants, heightening boss tension and exploration dread.
The Verdict ...
Book of Korvald delivers addictive playability through tight Metroidvania loops, deep customization, and satisfying combat that scales brilliantly from minions to bosses. it's pure fun for 20-40 hours, with high replay via talent experiments, roguelike dungeons, multiple difficulty settings, and gallery unlocks. Ideal for adult fans of Blasphemous or Hollow Knight craving eldritch horror, nonlinear exploration, and unapologetic NSFW themes (strong sex, gore, heresy). skip if you're under 18 or averse to explicit content. A solo-dev triumph worth every rune.
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