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It’s safe to say that I really enjoyed Shalnor Legends: Sacred Lands – the first game in the series – back in 2018. And that means the sequel should well appeal.
It’s from the same developer, Johny Ostad, as Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder promises more of the same kind of Zelda inspired action, but with everything turned up to 11. In fact, my wife and son (who are both big Nintendo gamers) asked me what the game was, as it reminded them so strongly of the Legend of Zelda series – and that should really be taken as a compliment to the developer.
Can lightning strike twice?
The story is a little different this time around, and Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder focuses on a young Orc who goes by the name of Mogren. Mogren is on his way to a trial of some kind to prove he is ready to be an adult, but instead gets caught in a storm and ends up shipwrecked on Thunder Island. Here it turns out that his crashing was no accident – the deity of the island has decided he needs a champion, and Mogren has been chosen as the one. The deity bestows on Mogren an axe that he can use to defend himself, as well as solve puzzles once it is powered up, all before being challenged with finding five scrolls to unlock the true power of the axe.
And here our story opens – can we find out where the scrolls reside, as well as how to get there? Well, the only way forward is to explore, and so the scene is set for a big adventure.
Presentation of Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder has moved on from the first game, but is still viewed from the same top-down perspective. It is just that this time everything seems a bit more rounded, a bit more 3D. The island itself is a great place to explore, with various different biomes to find and wander around, not to mention all the dungeons and caves (mini dungeons) scattered.
Solving puzzles can be a challenge this time around, as some of the answers are pretty obtuse, but given the time that has elapsed, there are a number of walkthroughs available for the harder bits; or at least, so I have been told! The only slight issue I have with the game is that it is hard to position yourself to hit the enemies sometimes, especially in the boss fights. They seem to hit you when perspective would suggest they were still at some distance, but the adjustment doesn’t take long.
Sound is also nicely done, with lovely music and super combat sound effects. Even the solution to puzzles sounds a bit Zelda-y, so there’s nothing to moan about there.
Gameplay will be familiar to anyone who played the last Shalnor Legends game, or who has ever played a Zelda game for that matter! We are given a rough idea of where we need to go (for the second scroll, for example, we are told to go to the west side of the island), but figuring out how to get there is entirely up to us. Usually, the way is cleared by making our way through an underground area, and then popping out on the other side in order to open a shortcut back to where we started. As we explore, we will also unlock fast travel points which makes getting around the island a lot easier.
Of course, these underground passages aren’t just simple straight A to B tunnels – there is inevitably a series of puzzles to figure out along the way. The puzzles are a real highlight this time around, a nice mixture of cerebral, such as figuring out the correct order of symbols to unlock a door, to ones that are more physical. The physical puzzles are very inventive, from summoning a clone Mogren (that disappears after one hit) and walking him through a maze to hit two buttons at once, through to redirecting crystals with the axe to get the door to open to the next area. There is a lot of head scratching – or Googling – required to get to where you want to be.
For the good, the combat in Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder is a bit lacklustre and smacking foes with the axe never feels particularly brilliant. Even when you level up and spend the skill points you gain, the axe doesn’t seem to get noticeably stronger. Other bits do get better, such as the health pool and stamina regen, but the axe still feels a bit wimpy.
Still, there is so much more on offer, from cooking food to a fishing mini game (worth half a star on its own) that it feels churlish to complain too much. All in all, Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder is a testament to the hard work of the dev, coming together as a pretty great game with a few minor niggles.
Shalnor Legends 2: Trials of Thunder adventures onto the world of Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/shalnor-legends-2-trials-of-thunder-adventures-onto-the-world-of-xbox/
Buy Shalnor Legends 2 from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/shalnor-legends-2-trials-of-thunder/9N1T1ZVNJHTR