A brilliant world crafted around a game with a few rough edges and is far shorter than it should have been.
Broken down to it's most basic level, Too Human can be compared to Diablo. You play as the god Baldur, who quite frequently faces off against groups of ten or more enemies at a time. Like Diablo, the main drive of the game is to level up and gather as much loot as possible. It will be quite rare to play for more than fifteen minutes without coming across a piece of equipment that can't be put to use by your character. Being based around Norse mythology, there are a variety of swords, hammers, and staves to use as weapons. However, being in the future allows for pistols, rifles, and cannons as well. At the beginning, you choose from one of five character classes that are appropriately varied. There is one class for each combat type: Melee, ranged, defensive, healing, and one that is mediocre at all combined. Each class has a skill tree that has three distinct paths. Shortly into the game, you must make a permanent decision as to whether to use cybernetic implants or not. This decision provides you with a different skill tree and it has two paths. Adding up all your options and the final counts brings us to thirty distinct character development paths, which provides plenty of variety. The actual act of leveling up is completely counter-productive since the enemies level up with you. Even the bosses are always the same level as you, so you never really feel like you are getting more powerful outside of a few added skills here and there. After completing the game, you can restart with your already leveled up character, which is a nice touch.
The combat is quite unique, so it can take some getting used to. Melee fighting is handled completely by the right analog stick. Simply aim the stick in the general direction of the enemy and Baldur will slide across the floor and attack the enemy. Simply holding the stick toward the enemy will continue attacking them until dead. After defeating one enemy, pointing the stick at the next will continue the combo. The combat is fluid enough that fifty to one hundred hit combos are quite common. The gun combat is handled with the right trigger with the special attack being assigned to the left trigger. In the case of the pistols, the secondary fire just shoots the gun in your left hand, which can be aimed independently from you right hand. The rifles usually fire a grenade with this, and the cannons fire a powerful beam that cannot auto aim at enemies. Since the combat is so fast, it can often be difficult to attack the enemy you want to, especially in melee combat. Overall though, the combat is a welcome new twist on the action/RPG genre. The isn't much of a penalty for dying. Your armor takes a bit of damage, but the repair costs are minimal. When you die, a valkyrie comes down from the sky, picks you up, and resurrects you fairly close by. This fifteen second scene is a bit lengthy, but I wasn't too bad since it is the only real punishment for dying.
The game's biggest weak point is easily the camera. The action is usually viewed from a close shot located a few feet away from Baldur. There are a few options to change the distance, but it always seems to reset itself to the default view after a while. The camera is so close that quite often, you cannot see half of the enemies involved in the battles. The camera also cannot be moved in combat. There is a button that resets it to directly behind Baldur, but most of the time, you don't need to be looking where he is facing. Other times, he will be moving around so fast that you can't even easily tell what direction he is looking to begin with. Even out of combat, the free look mode is incredibly limiting. Baldur will only move his head a few inches in any direction. This makes spotting a treasure chest in the corner or switch for a secret room incredibly difficult.
The story is the typical tale of betrayal. If it weren't for the presence of the gods, it would have been considered generic. Seeing these gods portrayed in a way they haven't been before really kept me wanting to see what happened next. Nothing really unexpected occurs, though. If you know anything about Norse mythology (or played Marvel: Ultimate Alliance) you will know right from the start who the bad guy is going to turn out to be. There is quite a bit of mystery surrounding Baldur and very little of it is addressed. There is more plot progression from the beginning of the final boss battles to the end credits than in the whole rest of the game. The story isn't necessarily bad throughout, but the ending is. The game simply stops. There is no climactic conclusion; you simply finish the final level. Baldur never even meets the main foe face to face. This poor ending is clearly meant to set up the sequel, but plenty of other trilogies have given a satisfying ending in their first game (Mass Effect, Gears of War, Halo). What's worse is the short length. The game can be completely in under ten hours. This is common in shooters and action games, but not acceptable of for an RPG. There are only four levels and no preparation that you have actually reached the end of the game. I was fully expecting another level when the credits started to roll.
The graphics get the job done, but aren't anything special. This is understandable since halfway through developments, the game lost it's graphics engine and a new one had to be created from scratch. The environments look pretty good, but also get repetitive. Each of the four levels each have the same rooms and textures with the exception of a few set piece areas. The character models look quite good. The skin on their faces wrinkles and fold quite realistically. Their clothing and armor looks equally good. Particle effects are a bit on the weak side, and there are some clipping issues. For example, each time a valkyrie picks you up, their feet actually go a good six inches into the ground.
Too Human definitely has some promise. The environment is interesting and the appeal of being rewarded with new items almost constantly can't be ignored. If they work on the length, camera, and counter-productive leveling, the next step in the series could be great. As it stands, it's a fun, yet flawed game.