We went hands-on with Gunnar Krieger’s upcoming solo-developed indie game. If you love deep lore and strategic hack-and-slash combat, this needs to be on your radar.
If there is one thing the team here at TheBigBois cannot resist, it’s a great hack-and-slash RPG. While wandering the massive, crowded halls of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center during PAX East this weekend, we stumbled across a booth that immediately demanded our attention.
We had the opportunity to sit down for a quick chat with the solo developer behind Gunnar Krieger Game Studios and get a hands-on demo of his upcoming indie title, Ragnarök Protocol. Blending Norse mythology with a highly unique, block-made aesthetic and a strategic combat loop, this isometric action-adventure game left a massive impression on us.
Here are our hands-on impressions of the apocalypse.
Loki’s Pixelated Curse
The first thing you will notice about Ragnarök Protocol is its striking art style. Built in Unreal Engine 5.4, the world is a beautiful, block-made, voxel-like environment. But this isn’t just an arbitrary design choice; it is deeply tied to the game’s lore.
According to the developer, Loki has cast a devastating curse on Midgard, literally transforming the realm into a video game. To survive this apocalyptic “pixelation,” human souls had to be transferred into robotic shells. You play as Grin, a robotic warrior who, alongside his friend Sunny, must embark on a quest to find the Allfather Odin and reverse the curse. From our brief time with the demo, it is clear that there is a massive amount of rich lore waiting to be uncovered in this world.
Color-Matching Carnage
While the world looks incredible, the true star of Ragnarök Protocol is its combat system. There is plenty to fight and an absolute ton of environmental destruction, but you cannot just turn your brain off and mash the attack button.
The combat is heavily reliant on a unique color-matching mechanic. As you face off against mutated, pixelated enemies, you have to pay attention to the color of the “Oil” running through their bodies. If an opponent is filled with blue oil, you must hit them with a blue ability or weapon to deal damage. If they are yellow, you need yellow attacks; if they are red, you need red attacks, and so on.
When combined with various enemy types—ranging from melee brawlers to missile-firing specters—the color-matching forces you to read the battlefield constantly. You have to strategically time your dodges, prioritize specific targets based on your current weapon color, and swap abilities on the fly. It turns the traditional hack-and-slash formula into a fast-paced, tactical puzzle.
Sólkeld Village
Between the chaotic combat encounters, players return to a hub world called Sólkeld Village. This acts as your base of operations where you can catch your breath, change your appearance, and visit three different shopkeepers.
By collecting Energy Cores out in the field, you can purchase powerful upgrades to your character’s stats—ranging from standard health increases to expanding the physical distance of your weapon swings.
Coming Soon
Our hands-on demo was a fantastic experience. The controls felt tight, the color-matching combat required a satisfying level of focus, and seeing a solo developer pour this much passion and lore into a project is always inspiring.
Ragnarök Protocol is slated for a 2026 release on Steam. We absolutely cannot wait to see more of this game as launch approaches. If you want to keep an eye on Grin’s journey, be sure to add it to your wishlist today.
Wishlist on Steam: Store Page
