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''Apotheon'' is a
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
developed and published by Alientrap for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
,
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
, and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
. The game was released on Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on February 3, 2015 and on OS X and Linux on February 10, 2015. ''Apotheon'' is Alientrap's second commercial game and utilizes a unique art style based on
ancient Greek pottery Pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exerted a dispro ...
, particularly in the
black-figure pottery Black-figure pottery painting (also known as black-figure style or black-figure ceramic; ) is one of the styles of Ancient Greek vase painting, painting on pottery of ancient Greece, antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th a ...
style.


Gameplay

''Apotheon'' is a 2D action game with an art style and heroic narrative based on
Ancient Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient ...
. The player controls Nikandreos, a young warrior who, with the help of the goddess
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...
, fights against the
Olympian gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...
, using various weapons of the Ancient Greeks.


Plot

In
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
, the Gods have begun to punish the humans of Earth, resenting their arrogance and defiance among their societies.
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
, the king of all the Gods, has forced the
Olympians Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...
to stop giving their gifts of life to the Earth, so that all humans are soon deprived of animals, food, and even daylight. With most of the Earth cast in darkness, man begins to fall prey to the savage destruction of their cities. Meanwhile, in the Village of Dion, invaders ransack the entire area and lay waste to most of the village. A young warrior named Nikandreos awakens to find his home destroyed and many of the raiders killing Dion's soldiers and citizens. Arming himself and with the help of the surviving soldiers, Nikandreos is able to cast away the invading forces and slay their leader. In the temple, Nikandreos meets face-to-face with
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...
, the wife of Zeus, who congratulates him for his victory in saving the village. Hera informs Nikandreos of Zeus' anger with the humans, as well as her hatred for his many
affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...
s with other Gods and mortals. Wanting revenge as well as a way to help Nikandreos save his people, Hera tasks him with slaying Zeus and his siblings so that Nikandreos might bring back their gifts and save humanity. Nikandreos agrees and ascends to
Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...
to begin his hunt against the Gods of Greece. Nikandreos first enters the
Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...
of Olympus, where he must find and take the gifts from the gods
Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
,
Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...
, and
Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
. Heading into the Forest of Artemis, Nikandreos completes many hunts of fantastical creatures until he gains the goddess' attention. After a short dialogue, Artemis attacks Nikandreos and in the fight that follows the two are alternatively turned into deer and hunter. The battle ends with Nikandreos' victory and Artemis' death, and as the goddess of the hunt vanishes into nothingness, Nikandreos takes her magical bow and heads towards Apollo. Nikandreos reaches Apollo and attempts to slay him, but he is knocked unconscious and imprisoned within a cell. With the help of the god
Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...
, who had also been imprisoned by Apollo, Nikandreos escapes and is able to slay all of Apollo's captains and save
Daphne Daphne (; ; , , ), a figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in which she appears, but t ...
from her own imprisonment as a tree. Nikandreos then slays Apollo and takes his
lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...
. However, while searching for Demeter, she reveals she cannot give her sheaf, feeling sorrow for the taking of her daughter
Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...
. Nikandreos finally descends into the lair of
Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...
to find Persephone, his wife, who instead of fighting back, willingly gives her seeds to him so that he may bring life back to Earth. In return, Demeter sympathizes with Nikandreos and hands over her sheaf, too. There are also some gods, like
Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
and
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...
, who secretly oppose Zeus' actions and can provide items to aid Nikandreos if he meets them. While attempting to head back to his village, however, Zeus halts Nikandreos and accuses him of arrogance and attempting to become a god, and thrusts him back to Earth. Nikandreos lands to find Dion in more ruin than before, with the wrath of the Gods now extending to physical aggression on Earth. Hera apologizes for her earlier refusal to help, but warns Nikandreos that Zeus has now tasked the remaining powerful gods
Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...
,
Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
, and
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
to bring fury and destroy all of humanity. Heading toward the
Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
of Olympus, Nikandreos goes to kill each of the final gods, in return becoming more and more powerful by stripping them of their powers. However, upon returning once more to Dion, Nikandreos finds his home and his entire people annihilated and in waste. Hera tells him though that the time to strike Zeus is now, with most of his children and brethren slain and the power now in Nikandreos' hands. In a final single raid on the Fortress of Zeus, Nikandreos boldly ascends to the heavens of Olympus. He finds Hera chained with Zeus knowing her betrayal, leading to a final battle between the man and the god. Nikandreos successfully slays Zeus, gaining the right to power from Zeus'
thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...
. Hera boasts at her victory and demands that Nikandreos free her. However, Nikandreos is sick of the rule of Gods and Hera's manipulations. At this point the player can choose to leave Hera or to kill her with Zeus' thunderbolt. Descending back to Earth, Nikandreos finds a giant-sized Zeus bragging and roaring of his own victories as a God, refusing to believe in his own defeat by a mere mortal. With all of the powers of the Gods within him now, however, Nikandreos also grows to the size of a God, and brutally fights and finally kills Zeus. Seeing the Earth in sad ruins, Nikandreos roams the desolate landscape. In finding some clay and rubble, Nikandreos forms a human being and gives it life, signaling the rebirth of humanity and the fall of the Gods. It is left open if Nikandreos will be a loving god himself, or grow disillusioned with his creation like the gods before him. The name ''Apotheon'' means "exalted to the state of godhood", which reflects the
deification Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The origina ...
of Nikandreos, the protagonist, at the end of the game.


Release

In August 2015, Alientrap joined forces with IndieBox, a monthly
subscription box Subscription boxes are a recurring delivery of niche products as part of a marketing strategy and a method of product distribution. Subscription boxes are used by subscription-based ecommerce businesses, referred to as "subcom" for short, which ...
service, to produce an exclusive, custom-designed, physical release of ''Apotheon''. This limited, individually-numbered collector's included a flash-drive with a
DRM-free Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures, such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DR ...
copy of the game, the official soundtrack, an instruction manual and
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
key, and several custom-made collectible items. The game was also later released for free for the
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
subscribers.


Reception

''Apotheon'' received generally favorable reviews from critics, with a score on review aggregator
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
of 78/100 and 76/100 for the
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
versions respectively. Critics generally praised the game's aesthetic and entertaining combat. Writing for
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
, Bryan Vore called ''Apotheon'' a "damn fun game and one of my surprise early favorites of 2015". Patrick Hancock of
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
felt it "more than backs up its aesthetic prowess with rewarding combat and exploration systems in place". Many reviewers noticed a
Metroidvania Metroidvania is a sub-genre of action-adventure games and/or platformers focused on Nonlinear gameplay, nonlinear exploration and guided progression with a need to acquire key items to enter certain areas. The term is a blend word, partial blend ...
influence; John-Paul Jones of GameWatcher applauded its "homage to the engrossing Castlevania and Metroid games pioneered back in the 8-bit days". Nicholas Plouffe of Canadian Online Gamers also recommended the game to fans of the Metroidvania genre. Writing for Hardcore Gamer, Alex Carlson felt the gameplay mechanics were shallow. He concluded "''Apotheon'' is a classic case of style over substance". Philippa Warr of ''
Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' ...
'' described ''Apotheon'' as "an attractive but shallow game whose more interesting ideas are marred by an unwieldy control system". Other reviewers of the PlayStation 4 version noted crashes and bugs that hampered their experience.


Soundtrack

Push Square has named Apotheon's soundtrack as the 2nd best PlayStation soundtrack of 2015.
Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...
placed it in number 3, while
Fact Magazine ''Fact'' is a music publication that launched in the UK in 2003. It covers UK, US, and international music and youth culture topics, with particular focus on electronic, pop, rap, and experimental artists. Having started as a bi-monthly pri ...
and IGR placed it in number 6.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Video games 2015 video games Alientrap games Indie games Linux games MacOS games Metroidvania games Microsoft XNA games Monochrome video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Platformers PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Video games based on Greek mythology Video games developed in Canada Video games set in antiquity Video games set in Greece Video games with silhouette graphics Windows games