My first experience with Tiny Thor was playing the Steam Demo earlier this year. At the time, I only really had the chance to play through the opening level (tutorial), but I did immediately think, What a fun idea for a game. I could feel the inspiration of the classic 2D platformers I grew up on — with the added ability of unleashing “tiny” Thor’s “tiny” Mjölnir across the screen and watching it ricochet off of objects and enemies.

Once I finally got the chance to play the full game on my Nintendo Switch — the platform I had been patiently waiting for — I had a totally different experience. What I thought would be a simple, semi-challenging, but mostly breezy experience became a daunting and frustrating one. Initially, I expected this to be a cute, simple adventure with a few challenges along the way.

Then this happened…

Before I even began my new journey as Tiny Thor I was given this warning, and I did not believe it. I was wrong. Tiny Thor is an incredibly challenging battle from checkpoint-to-checkpoint, with so many failed attempts in between. After completing any intense obstacle, I figured I had gotten very lucky and hoped to never have to try that same puzzle again.

It wasn’t until the first boss fight that I realized how challenging this game would be. That fight really set the tone for Tiny Thor. I feel like it took me days to finally defeat this initial boss.

After that first tough boss battle, my plan was to simply beat one level each night. I even left the game “open” on my Nintendo Switch in order to return to the same point the next day when I got stuck. Closing the game would have resulted in restarting the level from the very beginning.

God of Puzzles?

It took some time, but I finally began to understand how to play Tiny Thor. It’s not about spamming the jump button and randomly tossing Mjölnir in each and every direction until you luckily make it past an obstacle. It’s about learning how each puzzle works — on the fly. It’s about acquiring the skills needed to overcome each obstacle. I’m pretty sure most games are skill-based, but for some reason I always try to rush through the action.

The problem lies in finding a series of interconnected puzzles, back-to-back with no breaks in between. Time constraints were also introduced early on in specific levels, like having the screen automatically move or being chased by a wild pack of angry bees.

I don’t need to touch upon the “Challenge Levels.” I have tried a few of them, but only made it to the end of one. These levels must be performed with flawless execution in order to not die and make it to the end. The “Challenge Levels” are a true test of skill and speed.

Instead of offering a Gold, Silver or Bronze way of completing these “Challenge Levels,” you must reach the end perfectly. Your moves must be timed right, and any small mistake will usually cost you the level. Also, there are no checkpoints in these, so good luck. At least these are only side levels for those who enjoy the torture. You can make it through the main story levels without ever jumping into a “Challenge Level.”

Assist Mode

Once I found the Assist Mode, I did not want to use it immediately, but it wasn’t long before I felt I had to utilize some of the assists.

Thank Odin for an Assist Mode. With Assist mode you can turn on all assists or just the ones you need. Assists include Higher Jump, Heartstrings, Sticky Wall Jump, Icy Wall Jump, Longer Invincibility, and God Mode (Permanent Invincibility).

If you are going to make a game that’s this tough, I think it is necessary to include something like this Assist mode. I know there are some players out there that say things like, “If it’s too hard, then don’t play the game.” Some of us just aren’t in the mood for punishingly hard games, and some of us don’t have the patience.

So many big games today include not just an Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty, but they also include an extra simple “I’m in it for the Story” Mode, as well as an extra hard “Hardcore” or “Permadeath” mode. Other games include difficulty sliders or other ways to customize the difficulty based on specific situations.

What I’ve learned recently is that the “I’m just here for the story” is great for when you want to replay a game right before the sequel releases. It’s a nice way of speeding up a replay of a full game. On the opposite side of the spectrum the “hardcore” and “Permadeath” game modes were created for masochist gamers. I die enough as it is in games, I don’t need an excuse to spend more time losing and not progressing in games.

Good Times

Once I started to figure out puzzles, Tiny Thor brought me more joy and less frustration. Early on, I would come across an insane obstacle and quit for a day or two. After getting a better understanding of this game, I welcomed the challenges — some of them. I became a problem solver.

Check out me finally solving the Jello Jumper puzzle below:

What I like about Tiny Thor is that the player can choose how serious you want to get into this game. You can try to beat every main story level, or also go for the “Challenge Levels.” When things gets too tough, you may simply slide on some assists to move past that area. I’ve used Assist Mode in certain boss fights.

I have also enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from Norse Mythology (including Thor’s brother, Loki and their father, Odin). I plan to continue my way through this story, even if that means using “God Mode” every once in a while.

The Mjölnir mechanic is also a fantastic video game feature. It’s very similar to the Leviathan Axe in the recent God of War and God of War: Ragnarok. Having a weapon with instant recall makes me throw and recall it even when I don’t need to. I always find myself throwing and recalling my weapon in these games when no one is around, just because it feels bad ass.

I plan to continue Tiny Thor and make it through the main story, let’s see if that happens before the end of the year.

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*myVGBC.com was given a review code for Tiny Thor by the publisher.