Okko The Exiled sends a demon hunter through pixel-art Kutala
Frozen Flame Interactive and Eastasiasoft have released Okko The Exiled, a hand-drawn pixel-art action adventure that sends one demon hunter through a land of demons.
Okko The Exiled arrived on PC on 30 September, released through Steam and GOG by publisher Eastasiasoft. It is an action adventure from developer Frozen Flame Interactive, drawn in hand-made pixel art, and the premise is a straight line: Okko has spent 1,000 years in concealment, and he is now ready to take up the Mighty Fang and work his way down the demon lords of Kutala.
What kind of game it is
Kutala is a land of demons and the pitch is physical. You stomp, launch, deflect and bash, with precision platforming between fights and a combo system that lets you chain attacks together and send enemies flying. The bosses are the centrepiece: oversized, and designed, in the studio's framing, to reward quick thinking rather than patience.
The Old Throne, Deevols and the rest of the loop
Between stages the game hands you The Old Throne, a hub where allies sell items, feed you and pass on information, and where the game has buried secrets of its own. Progression runs through unlocking and upgrading abilities, and a collectible currency called Deevols opens Underground challenge levels. Daniel Lippert composed the soundtrack, and the game ships with text in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
Why it is worth a look
Frozen Flame Interactive developed Okko The Exiled and Eastasiasoft published it, which places the game in a catalogue of compact action and platform releases rather than a blockbuster slate. It is out now on PC.
Our opinion
The pitch is uncomplicated and does not need to be: a 2D action platformer about hitting demons hard, drawn with obvious care. The reason to pay attention is the combat vocabulary. Launch, deflect and juggle are mechanics that live or die on frame data, and the difference between a good and a bad pixel-art brawler is almost always whether a hit reads clearly at speed; nothing in a trailer or a store page can tell you that. Kutala itself is the least distinctive thing here, because a land of demons with a warlord at the top is the genre's default setting and the Mighty Fang is the third legendary weapon this month to appear in a press kit. Eastasiasoft's record with small action games is solid without being a guarantee, and a 30 September release drops the game into the busiest fortnight of the calendar with no hook beyond its art. The art, at least, earns its place.