Folklore Review: A Grimm Fairytale

Keats, a paranormal magazine writer, receives a phone call from a frantic woman shouting, "These... Fearys, they... They'll kill me! The villiage... Doolin... On the cliff of sidhe... Help me!". Convinced its another prank call, but ever curious, Keats decides to investigate. Meanwhile, a girl named Ellen travels to Doolin after receiving a letter from her dead mother who lived there. On the cliff of sidhe, she encounters the dead body of a woman just as Keats arrives. The mysterious death of the woman, and the shifty Doolin residents, inspire Keats to dig into their dark past. Meanwhile, Ellen is lured into supernatural worlds in search of answers.

Both worlds are two-faced and sinister in their own way.

 

The game is broken up into eight chapters with two different points-of-view. Depending upon which protagonist the player selects, different dialogue or events will play out. Keats is better at dealing with people in the real world, while the supernatural world is more open to Ellen. Every chapter must be completed with both Ellen and Keats because the stories overlap. You can either playthrough the entire game up to the last chapter with one character and then do the same with the other, or you can replay each chapter with a new protagonist before moving on to the next. I recommend doing the latter because it allows the story to flow better.

 

Keats and Ellen both conduct their own detective work, which consists mostly of talking to the residents of Doolin and finding a memento. The memento is then used to open a door to one layer of the Netherworld - the Celtic Otherworld. The various beings that inhabit the supernatural realm are not friendly, so they are fought, captured, and then used in combat à la Pokemon. New "Folkes" are captured by tearing out their souls. This unique aspect of gameplay has the player tilting and rotating the Sixaxis to weaken the Folke's ghost-like aura before tearing the soul from its body.

Up to four Folke can be equipped at once using the circle, square, triangle, and X buttons, and they can be swapped out at any time. Individual Folke abilities vary, making them effective only against certain types of foes or obstacles. Collectible pages scattered throughout the Otherworld contain crude drawings that provide vague hints as to which Folke are most useful against others. These pages are very useful, if you can make out what they depict.
 

Collect and battle fanciful creatures from Celtic mythology.

 

The intriguing and gloomy story of Folklore contrasts beautifully with its colorful, inspired fairy-tale art direction that is just oozing with character. The land of the living is monotone with a hostile atmosphere, while the land of the dead is dripping in bright colors and a lively atmosphere. Folklore isn't perfect, but it is an excellent little gem of game for what it is. With a little more variety and fine tuning, it could have been even better.

First posted to videogamegeek.com on February 26, 2019.

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