Thor: The Dark World is an action RPG and a companion game to the 2013 movie of the same name, but not with the same plot. The Nine Worlds where the game is set is almost at peace when Loki attempts to reclaim the throne with a surprise attack using the Frost Giants. The protagonist Thor is able to quickly stop his brother’s attempt and locks him up in the dungeons. However, at the same time the Marauders race attacks the planet Nidavellir, home of the dwarves. They are after the Uru material, which was also used to forge Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. The initial goal is to stop the Maurauders so they cannot forge their own weapons.
As an action RPG the game consists of several small sequences that take place on the planets Asgard, Jotunheim, Nidavellir, Svartalheim, and Vanaheim, with level paths for each location. The missions are linear with quests such as freeing characters, disabling traps, defeating boss and so on. Thor can freely be moved around the screen using a virtual gamepad or directly by touching where he needs to go. The first control method uses on-screen buttons for the actions, while the latter is based on tapping and sliding. For instance, tapping an enemy makes Thor attack automatically, a tap with two fingers makes him throw Mjolnir, often to destroy specific parts of the environments or as a ranged attacks, and drawing shapes activates special attacks.
Thor does not fight alone. A bar in the bottom left corner recharges gradually and it can be used to summon Einherjar (allied units) such as alchemists, fighters, lancer, valkyries etc. These act as support characters that attack on their own and constantly rush forward, similar to minions in ARTS/MOBA games. Optionally small commands such as ‘gather’ can be issued to exercise some control over them, for instance to prevent them from walking into traps. As the meter keeps recharging, additional help can be summoned constantly as soon as some die and the meter is always refilled. Each enemy type is strong or weak against certain support characters and this needs to be taken into account when selecting whom to take into battle before the missions starts.
Additional allies such as Warriors Three, Volstagg, Sif, Loki, Heimdall and Fandral can also be unlocked or bought. These stay close to Thor and have special abilities. Additional weapons, items and upgrades are unlocked along the way. Upgrading is mainly done using runes and ISO-8, the basic currencies in the game. While ISO-8 is much scarcer than runes, Uru is the premium currency. It is purchased with real money through in-app purchases as the game is free-to-play. It is the only currency that can be used to buy the other two. There are also many skills unlocked in a skill tree, mainly using Uru. These provide enhanced abilities and new types of attacks. Additional outfits and hammers can also be bought. Money can also be spent on health potions to restore health and to speed up the cooldown timer to revive fallen allies. There is no stamina system to the game.
