Olija Review (PlayStation 4 )

Olija Review (PlayStation 4 )

Olija is a game about Faraday’s quest, a man shipwrecked then trapped in the mysterious country of Terraphage. Armed with a legendary harpoon, he and other castaways try to leave this hostile country to return to their homelands.

Pros:

  • Nice modern pixel art graphics.
  • 2.51GB download size.
  • Platinum trophy.
  • Works on Playstation 5.
  • Tutorial pop-ups.
  • In-game cutscenes.
  • Action-platformer RPG gameplay.
  • 2D perspective.
  • Maps-find them in levels to open up new locations.
  • Boatman-call him from any harbor and he will take you to wherever you want to go.
  • Hack and slash style combat.
  • You can interact with the environment from searching chests and corpses to breaking boxes and ledges.
  • Slight some puzzle elements to it all.
  • Fast fluid game.
  • Not a lot is explained so you can self interpret.
  • Enemies can drop loot.
  • No set path so you can play how you want.
  • Hats-these can be crafted from materials you find in a level and add abilities to your character.
  • Oaktide is kinda like your home where you can return whenever and get some crafting done.
  • You play as Faraday who is trying to get home.
  • Story dialogue will pop up on the screen from time to time.
  • Harpoon-allows you to throw it and then teleport to its location instantly.
  • An intriguing game that never really explains itself.
  • Can skip cutscenes.
  • Oaktide will expand and change as you progress through the game, you can build new merchants and rescue new characters to inhabit the town.
  • Sailor-pay him to go too far off lands and find new items and materials for you.
  • Gems-currency that can be found in levels and drop from enemies.
  • The map uncovers as you play, areas will fill in as you explore.
  • Can replay old areas for getting loot or materials.
  • Combat-can does ground or air attacks.
  • Can use the harpoon on enemies and do damage but also teleport to them.
  • Combo moves can be had.
  • Dark eery world to explore.
  • Hidden Collectibles.
  • Has a Metroidvania way of playing out without being as deep.
  • Find shortcuts and alternative paths.
  • Uses its own language.
  • Big boss fights.
  • Satisfying combat and exploration.
  • Cool animations in the back and foreground.
  • After picking a location on the map, you choose which hat to wear and it shows what the hat does.
  • Some beautiful locations that outdo the dark grimey areas.
  • Really good soundtrack.
  • Linear story and progression.
  • Secondary weapons can be swapped between with just a button press.
  • First-person view as you enter new dungeons.
  • If an area is particularly long then at certain points you can opt to return to Oaktide.
  • Increase your health by buying upgrades.
  • Great sense of adventure.
  • Strong story.
  • Can farm areas for materials.
  • Around 8 to 10 hours game time.

Olija Review (PlayStation 4 )

Cons:

  • Jumping takes getting used to.
  • Doesn’t explain all the controls and general expectations.
  • Text can be hard to read at times.
  • No settings in-game or even view controls.
  • Slow level transitions as you have to wait on the boat as it slowly makes its way to the harbor.
  • Can feel a bit lost or misguided.
  • Harpoon takes a lot of getting used to.
  • Not the best loading times even on the PlayStation 5.
  • The slight slowdown in places.
  • Can get grind in relation to materials for hat crafting.
  • Can be accused of being easy.
  • Not a lot to spend gems on really.
  • Never sure when it’s saved or checkpointed.
  • A lot of times the game will grind to halt and have you walking and not able to do anything else in order to set a scene or give dialogue.
  • Later sections have real bad checkpointing.
  • Major performance hits on the final boss, would momentarily lock up and slow down making it impossible.

Olija Review (PlayStation 4 )

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!