Once upon a time, in ancient Siam...
Krut: The Mythic Wings is a 2022 Hack and Slash/Beat 'em Up action game developed by Good Job Multimedia and Pixel Perfex in association with RSU Horizon and published by Blowfish Studios for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It's loosely based on the 2018 Thai film Krut: The Himmaphan Warriors and heavily inspired by Thai mythology.
In ancient Himmaphan (a fantasy world based on medieval Siam), the Kruts are a race of noble, eagle-headed warriors who defended the land, until the invasion from a powerful stone ogre army plunged the land into chaos. The Kruts fought bravely, and after years and years of battle they managed to drive the ruthless stone ogres back to where they came from. But the battle comes at a cost, where the Kruts' homeland, Ayodhya, were destroyed by the ogres as well, with most of their population massacred until the remnants were forced into hiding.
Hundreds of years later, Himmaphan is in an era of peace and harmony, with legends of the mighty Kruts and their victories in the past inscribed in scriptures and textbooks. But the stone ogres have returned, led by a cruel, power-hungry stone giant named Zurah, with their armies launching ambushes on the coastal cities. And as the citizens are unprepared for a second attack, soon Himmaphan is under control of the stone ogres.
Players assume the role of Veera, a recently-promoted Krut warrior and one of their best, on a quest to stop the invasion after his fellow comrades were slain by the ogres. Seeking the Mythic Wings, the legendary silver Krut armor which ended the reign of stone ogres centuries ago, Veera must travel the land, battling his way through hordes and hordes of fantasy creatures and giant monsters lifted from the rich mythology of Thai history.
Are you worthy of the Mystic Wings?
- 24-Hour Armor: Veera is never seen without his armour, though in all fairness we don't see him outside of battle.
- Airborne Mooks: There are giant flying insects in the forest stages, and flying Garuda warriors guarding their city who attack Veera on sight. But then again Veera himself can fly, though for a much shorter time.
- Air-Dashing: Veera can pull this off while airborne by tapping jump, allowing him to side-step enemy attacks, get himself out of tricky situations or accelerate his slashing attacks.
- Apologetic Attacker: Most of the bosses with dialogue will taunt Veera before their fight, with Veera's subsequent response being summed up as "sorry I have to kick your ass, but I really need to pass through your area"... with the following cutscene having Veera reconciling with the bosses he just defeated. The exception of course being Zurah, the ruthless stone ogre warlord and Big Bad, which deserves no apologies over his actions.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: The game's final stage in Himmaphan's waterfront and coastal cities, set alight in the middle of Zurah's invasion. There's fire burning everywhere, and the arena where Veera finally battles Zurah mano-on-mano is shrouded by flames. Zurah can even stomp the ground and cause fireballs to spew upwards in an attempt to roast Veera.
- Battle in the Rain: "Seas of Himmaphan" has Veera fighting assorted enemies in the middle of a storm. Including Nagarej.
- Big Bad: Zurah the warlord, leader of the stone ogres who returned for a second stab at taking over Himmaphan.
- Bird People: The Kruts are eagle-headed humanoids with wings on their shoulders. Same goes for the Garuda, whose help Veera seeks but must fight his way through their ranks to prove his worth, though the Garuda's king and princess somehow avert this by having humanoid features.
- Bullfight Boss: Ka'Cha the Forest Guardian, a sentient elephant, is fought in this manner. He spends his boss fight charging at Veera with a tackle, where he's invincible when on the move - Veera needs to fly above Ka'Cha, wait for him to stop moving or crash into obstacles, and then attack before Ka'Cha recovers. Be warned that Ka'Cha can somehow perform a donkey kick while being assaulted from behind, despite being an elephant.
- Charged Attack: Veera can execute a deadly, concentrated strike by holding on the attack button. Either as a charged slash or a stronger-than-average Sword Beam.
- Cruel Elephant: Subverted with Ka'Cha, the forest deity who's a gigantic, sentient elephant. As soon as Veera enters his domain, Ka'Cha reacts with hostility and forbids Veera from passing. But after the boss battle, Ka'Cha is revealed to be a guardian deity doing his job, who distrusts outsiders due to the elephant tribe welcoming the stone ogres in the past - leading to their kind being utterly massacred.
- Defeat Means Friendship: All the named bosses except Zurah (the Big Bad), since they're guardian deities doing their jobs - after Veera defeats them and proves his worthiness through victory, they then wish the hero good luck and no ill deeds, even bestowing their powers to Veera after learning his quest to stop the stone ogres.
- Derelict Graveyard: The seas of Himmaphan are filled with upturned, partially-destroyed ships and wrecked vessels, where Veera has to jump from one wreckage to another while fighting enemies.
- Distant Finale: After defeating Zurah and proving himself worthy of the Mythic Wings, Veera decides to go into hiding instead of celebrating his victory, and soon disappears from the land. The subsequent ending cutscene is set entire generations later, where Veera is a legendary deity in modern-day Thailand, who will return to save the kingdom whenever evil resurfaces.
- Double Jump: Veera can jump while in mid-air, thanks to his wings. It gets really handy in areas containing plenty of platforming elements.
- Dual Boss: Variant in the Garuda Kingdom. The stage ends with Veera facing King Kinnon and his daughter, Princess Naree, simultaneously, King Kinnon trying to smash Veera to a pulp using a hefty stone pillar as Princess Naree takes potshots while flying above the arena. But only King Kinnon can be damaged during the fight, with Veera's attacks missing Princess Naree if the player tries attacking her. The boss' health meter is dedicated entirely to King Kinnon.
- Dual Wielding: Veera fights using an ax and a sword, one in each hand, which he swings around with great dexterity and skill.
- Empowered Badass Normal: As "normal" as a Krut warrior can be, but Veera is already a capable fighter who had defeated multiple giant monsters when he obtained the titular Mythic Wings halfway through the game. Which grants him powers from the gods so he may single-handedly destroy the stone ogre army and take on their warlord, Zurah.
- Evil Is Bigger: While the stone ogres are already larger than humans or Kruts, their warlord and the game's Big Bad, Zurah, is a kaiju who can trample buildings underfoot. And delights in the rampage he's unleashing all over Himmaphan's cities.
- Giant Enemy Crab: The first stage at the beaches of Himmaphan has giant crustaceans as enemies for Veera to slice up, as well as giant conches deeper inland. More giant crabs appear in the level above the seas where Krut confronts Nagarej.
- Golem: Two of the mini bosses, appropriately enough in the first and final stage. The beach has a golem made from pebbles halfway through, and a huge golem made of spiky rocks appears as a vanguard of Zurah's stone ogre army which Veera must defeat before facing Zurah.
- The Great Serpent: There are two gigantic naga (humongous serpentine monsters from Thai myths) serving as bosses. The Green Naga serves as the forest's boss and later on the Black Naga in the seas of Himmaphan who's closer to a Sea Serpent.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Veera the Krut, who is noble at heart and desires power only to save his race and the entirety of Himmaphan - which is why he's The Chosen One to wear the Mythic Wings and lead the Krut and Garuda army in battling the stone ogres.In fact, even after his victory, Veera instead decides to go in hiding with his new powers, choosing to return only when evil threatens the lands.
- King Mook: A literal version - the desert level has Veera fighting various lion-men warriors, before facing their leader, Norah the Mountain King, as the stage's boss. Norah's sprite is actually a blown-up version of the regular lion-men mooks, wielding a BFS instead.
- Last of His Kind: Veera and his fellow Kruts are the remnants of an ancient race who were nearly driven to extinction in a war centuries ago, with implications that there are no further members of their race besides Veera's colony.
- Legend Fades to Myth: In the game's backstory, the Kruts who defended Himmaphan from the stone ogres were nearly annihilated entirely, to the point where their existence is a myth. The game also ends with Veera, having obtained the Mythic Wings' ultimate power, deciding to go into hiding rather than remain in Himmaphan and bask in glory and power, with the game ending with Veera's deeds and battles as the stuff of myths.
- Lizard Folk: There are spear-wielding lizard men enemies that Veera must contend with in early levels.
- Man-Eating Plant: Giant pitcher-plant heads on stalks appears in the forest, attacking Veera by extending their heads and biting as soon as he approaches. They can also launch Bullet Seed attacks from a distance.
- Meaningful Background Event: Throughout the final stage, as Veera and his warriors battle Zurah and his stone ogre army, Veera spends the entire level fighting enemies in the foreground, with the city in ruins in the back and Zurah rampaging everywhere, while various Krut and Garuda allies attack Zurah trying to prevent him from ambushing Veera. The stage converges into a path where Zurah moves from the background to foreground to fight Veera.
- Mini-Boss: One tends to show up shortly before the real boss. Including a rock golem on the beach, before facing the Green Naga, the Wood Demon before fighting Ka'Cha, the Kelpie prior to battling Black Naga, and King Kinnon's gryphon.
- Misplaced Wildlife: A myth version. There's a Kelpie serving as one of the mid-bosses, a creature from Scottish mythology appearing in a work that's set entirely in Southeast Asia.
- Myth Prologue: The game opens with a narration revolving around the legend of an ancient war where the Kruts, a noble race of eagle-headed Bird People warriors, defend the kingdom of Himmaphan from the invasion of stone ogres. The Kruts emerged victorious, but are nearly driven to extinction with the survivors going into hiding, and their past histories turning into myths. You assume the role of a Krut warrior named Veera who emerged from hiding to defeat the returning stone ogres.
- Nice Guy: In contrast to his warlike, battle-hungry fellow Kruts who enjoys a good fight, Veera is genuinely a pleasant fellow who's fighting only because he needs to save Himmaphan and his race. It's this very reason that grants him the Mystic Wings at the penultimate level.
- Noble Bird of Prey: The Kruts may be a warlike race who performed questionable deeds in the past (if Veera's conversations with King Kinnon of the Garuda tribe is any indication) but they're dedicated in defending Himmaphan from evil. The player hero, Veera, even moreso being the most noble and honorable of his fellow Kruts.
- Our Gryphons Are Different: The Garuda palace has a rainbow-feathered gryphon serving as King Kinnon's Attack Animal and a mid-level boss. Who can fire powerful gusts of wind as ranged attacks.
- Our Kelpies Are Different: In the seas of Himmaphan, Veera must battle a giant kelpie as a mid-level boss, one resembling an aquatic horse with a giant fish-tail for its lower body. Said kelpie is fought while Veera is on a small floating platform, and can summon thunderbolts to strike Veera from above which he must avoid constantly.
- Panthera Awesome: The Himmaphan desert is filled with lion warriors, andromorphic lion-men. Their leader, the Mountain King Norah, serves as a boss.
- Pyrrhic Victory: In the backstory, this is pretty much the Kruts' victory over the stone ogres - they barely have any survivors in their ranks, and as the Kruts have other enemies they're forced to flee Himmaphan. As the lands reign and prosper, the Kruts on the other hand have to stay low for generations.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking:
- King Kinnon, who rules the Garuda, is also their most powerful warrior, serving as the stage's boss.
- Zurah, the stone ogre warlord, who's the most powerful of their ranks as well as the game's difficult Final Boss.
- Rock Monster: The stone ogres are sentient rock humanoids and a warlike race who want to destroy everything in their path. Their leader Zurah in particular is the size of a small mountain.
- Rugged Scar: It's not noticeable during gameplay, but Veera has a scar over his right eye (which somehow doesn't blind him...) visible during closeups in cutscenes, befitting a worthy Krut warrior.
- Scary Scorpions: The forest levels have gigantic scorpions who use their stingers to rough up Veera.
- Sequential Boss: Zurah needs to be fought either twice or thrice, depending on how you see it. First, you fight off his minions, including a rock golem, while avoiding his attacks from the background as the kaiju-sized Zurah hurls rocks at you while fending off your fellow Krut and Garuda allies. Then you fight Zurah for the first time, and defeat him only for him to bail as your armor unleashes its true potential, including granting you a Sword Beam-Beam Spam attack. You then move to the following area to fight Zurah, this being the last time.
- Shock and Awe:
- Veera has a special attack that allows his swords to electrocute enemies with each swing, though it drains his power level.
- The kelpie boss can somehow cause thunderbolts to rain on the boss arena.
- Super Drowning Skills: Should Veera miss a jump and end up in areas with water, he loses a life instantly. Justified since he's an eagle-man whose wings drag him down when drenched, coupled with the fact that he's clad constantly in armour.
- Sword Beam:
- Krut warriors, Veera included, can unleash crescent-shaped energy bolts from their weapons by holding on the attack button and releasing it. These attacks drain Veera's power meter, though. In the final battle against Zurah, the Mythic Wings' true powers are unleashed and at maximum Krut can Beam Spam projectiles from his swords.
- Norah the Mountain King can let out a sword-beam taller than himself via BFS.
- Talking Animal: The bosses include two nagas and an elephant, all of them capable of speech. Justified since they're not "ordinary" animals, but deities assuming an animal form.
- Telephone Polearm: King Kinnon of the Garuda tribe swings a stone pillar ripped from the ground as his weapon. Which he can perform a Shockwave Stomp with by pounding the ground - keep a distance or remain airborne to avoid damage.
- Warrior Princess: Princess Naree of the Garuda tribe is as capable a fighter as Veera, and after an alliance is forged with the Kruts she leads her army into fighting the stone ogres.
- Weapon Title: The Mythic Wings, which refers to the legendary silver armour worn by ancient Krut warriors in the first battle against the stone ogres. It's up to Veera to find them in order to repel a second invasion.
- When Trees Attack: A wood demon serves as a mid-boss in the forest stage, resembling multiple logs all fused into a gigantic humanoid form towering over Veera.
- Winged Humanoid: The Garuda warriors, unlike the eagle-headed Kruts, resemble humans, albeit with feathery wings.
