Inventing the « Shillelagh and Sandals » genre.
Judero (opens in new tab) left an immediate impression on me—its stop motion animation is the first thing that hit me, beautifully recalling the work of Ray Harryhausen or Phil Tippett. As the developers themselves put it, « For us, this art style invokes something nostalgic; in part comical but perhaps a bit creepy too. »
Each character is made with a real life model, combinations of classic G.I. Joe « Kung Fu grip »-style ball jointed figures with hand-carved and painted epoxy clay. The effect is absolutely arresting, calling to mind 2015’s Hylics (opens in new tab), but also classic examples of sprite-ized models (digital or physical) like Doom or Donkey Kong Country.
This aesthetic coup at the base of the game, which seems to be a specialty of co-creator and Dujanah (opens in new tab) developer Jack King-Spooner, is bolstered by eerie writing and world building that calls to mind laconic sword and sandals barbarian fantasy and the epic poetry that inspired it. You play as Judero, a bare-chested wandering warrior-come-holy man armed with a stout walking stick, and find yourself in a small village beset by unnatural forces in the game’s free demo.
The demo story reminds me of the best of the Witcher’s self-contained, twisty little yarns, and I find something almost primeval and unnerving about its small-scale, personal tragedies spawning supernatural horror stories.
