Book Of Korvald Review: Norse Grit and Metroidvania Steel
Book of Korvald drops you into the boots of a condemned Norse scribe left to rot after his village is torched and his family is slain. It’s a dark, side-scrolling journey across Scandinavia where survival means making grim choices and swinging steel against anything that moves. For those who aren’t into the technical jargon, it’s a moody action-adventure where you explore a hand-drawn world, recruit a massive crew of allies, and batter bosses with over-the-top wrestling moves.
Developer: Punching Donut
Publisher: EastAsiaSoft
Genre: Action-Adventure / Metroidvania
Release Date: February 19, 2026
Website: eastasiasoft.com
UK Store: PlayStation Store Link
QUICK NAV: Specs & HUD | Gameplay | Performance | Settings
Book Of Korvald PlayStation 5 Review: Specs & HUD
- Tutorial pop-ups as you play along with button prompts.
- You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
- Platinum trophy for each version of the game.
- Full inventory management system where you can quickly equip items and weapons, and add items to the quick bar.
- Your journal keeps track of found allies, journal, inventory, skills, and ruins.
- The map fills in as you play and will add points of interest as you find them.
- Health bar system for you and the enemy.
- 12 save slots, and you can save and load when you want, along with turning on or off the autosave.
- 815.6MB download size.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
2D Metroidvania action gameplay is the order of the day here. Combat is very hack-and-slash, and you unlock the ability to do new abilities and attacks as you go. I like how you have these over-the-top wrestling moves when close to enemies, and I really like that you can hit enemies off the screen towards the player. The game does a good job of powering you up over time and makes it all flow better. You can find and ride animals too!
There are a massive 31 allies to find and recruit, and any allies you have will automatically fight for you. Recruit new team members who fight alongside you and have unique abilities, but also a cool intro sequence. I’m pretty sure they hint that your seed is what turns people into party members. If it’s not, then there is a lot of innuendo. Breakable objects can potentially drop items and gold or health, and you can disassemble or destroy unwanted items to get resources. Unlock new skills and abilities by finding the statues.
It might look strange, and it may move awkwardly, but the gameplay loop is solid with a lot of good boss fights, platforming, and straight-up Metroidvania. You can pause the game, which is always a plus. However, the hot box of the whip is weird; it’s only the part by the handle and not the end of the whip, which is a really strange mechanic.
Book Of Korvald PlayStation 5 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Decent hand-drawn art graphics.
- The movement is tight and responsive, but the nature of the art and animations does make it look different, so bear that in mind.
- Sometimes you get a voice, and sometimes you do not.
- Cutscenes and interactions are hand-drawn scenes with voice and text. You can skip it or click through to speed it up.
- There is no clear checkpoint notification, so when you die, you never know how much you will have to replay.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Six game difficulties – Easy, normal, hard, harder, hardest, and but why?
- No accessibility options like font work or Colourblind.
- You cannot remap the controls.
- In fact, there are no real game controls to tweak.
- You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game, so you can potentially earn two Platinum trophies.
Related Gert Lush Gaming Reviews
- Damikira Review (PlayStation 5)
- Evil Below Review (PlayStation 4)
- Shuyan Saga Video Review (PlayStation 5)
Book Of Korvald
Summary
THRILLS & HIGHLIGHTS
Decent hand-drawn art graphics and a solid 2D Metroidvania action gameplay loop make this one worth a look. I like how you have these over-the-top wrestling moves when close to enemies, and that you can hit enemies into the screen towards the player. There are a massive 31 allies to find and recruit who fight alongside you with unique abilities and cool intro sequences. The game does a good job of powering you up over time, and you can even find and ride animals! Plus, you get the PS4 and PS5 versions, so two Platinum trophies are on the cards.
KEY NEGATIVES
The hit box of the whip is weird; it’s only the part by the handle and not the end of the whip that works, which is a really strange mechanic. Sometimes you get a voice, and sometimes you do not, and there are no real game controls to tweak or remap. There is no clear checkpoint notification, so when you die, you never know how much you will have to replay, and there are no accessibility options like font size or Colourblind.
OVERALL VERDICT
It might look strange, and it may move awkwardly, but the gameplay loop is solid with a lot of good boss fights and straight-up Metroidvania. If you can get past the weird animations and that bizarre whip hitbox, there’s a great game here with plenty of content and some right laugh-out-loud innuendo.
