We’ll be working on a review for Röki from Polygon Treehouse and United Label, so I got in touch with Polygon Treehouse co-founder Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou to talk a bit about the game. Come check it out!
PS4Blog: Good morning! Thank you for joining us today. Could you please help us get started by introducing yourself to our readers?
Hi, my name is Alex, and I’m one of the co-founders of Polygon Treehouse and lead developer on Röki. I tend to work across many different game development disciplines, but my main focus tends to be on character design, creation, and animation.
PS4B: On that note, you’ve released Röki on Nintendo Switch. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never heard about it?
We have! We were really excited to create a game for Nintendo Switch, and we think the console is a great fit for the game and its story. Röki is a modern adventure game inspired by Scandinavian Folklore. Our goal was to modernize the adventure games we loved growing up for modern players. In the game, you play as Tove, a young girl exploring the ancient wilderness and meeting forgotten folklore creatures to try and rescue her brother and reunite her family. However, as well as being a fantastical adventure Röki also deals with the story of Tove’s family, a story of loss and reconciliation.
PS4B: How long did it take to develop the game? Were there any hurdles or challenges to overcome during the process?
From start to finish, the game took around three years, which is not so bad considering it’s a fairly long indie game, and we only have a very small team! There were plenty of hurdles, too numerous to mention, but creative challenges are part of the fun! I’d say finding the right collaborators was the challenge that was the most important, but we were fortunate to assemble a great team of developers and actors to help build the world of Röki and realize our vision for the game.
PS4B: How long would it take someone to play all of Röki from start to finish?
A playthrough can take any time between ten and fifteen hours. We wanted the player to have a certain degree of choice and freedom on their adventure. They can choose how much they dig into the background lore of the game (housed in Tove’s journal entries) or track down as few or as many of the hidden loot items as they like, so play time totals can vary.
PS4B: And that’s all the time we have for today. Is there something else you’d like to add before we go?
If you fancy checking out the game, it’s out on Nintendo Switch, Steam, and GOG. You can follow our progress on Twitter. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
