GRAVEN is an upcoming first person role playing game, developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and 1C Entertainment, and releasing in 2021. A limited time demo was available in celebration of the Game Awards giving players a quick chance to try out SI’s newest project. Unfortunately, access to the demo ended on December 13th. GRAVEN presents a good first look at what appears to be a novel approach at a first person role playing game and shows a lot of promise for fans of both first person games and RPGs.
The first thing that really jumps out about GRAVEN is the art style. After hours of playing Cyberpunk on high settings and seeing NPCs glitching through cars and buildings, being able to see and play a much more stylized subdued aesthetic was a breath of fresh air. I’m reminded of some of the starting areas of Diablo III or Pillars of Eternity 2 as I traverse through the world of GRAVEN. For those 90s kids, GRAVEN’s aesthetics may also tug on some nostalgic heartstrings. The environments feel like an HD remaster of the pits of hell from Doom or the dark corridors of Quake. The enemies and other NPCs could be pulled out and dropped into a mod pack for Runescape. But it’s this old fashioned charm, the beautifully crafted stylized interiors that really add to the atmosphere of GRAVEN.
As a super hip gamer, I didn’t grow up with those old, retro pixel FPSs of the 90s and I’ve struggled to go back due to the difficulty I had seeing and recognizing objects within the world. GRAVEN, however, uses the 90s aesthetic as almost window dressing, with the actual gameplay being as smooth as any modern game. I’m reminded of a game like Minecraft. Minecraft also has a relatively “dated” art style, being made up of blocks and pixels, but a very stylized environment and color palate makes it a beautiful game in its own right. GRAVEN’s stylistic choices make it perhaps not a realistic looking game, but a beautiful game nonetheless.
Gameplay is your pretty standard medieval themed RPG style gameplay. You have the choice of a both melee and magic based weapons and you kill enemies just like any other bog standard RPG. What GRAVEN does differently, though, are its puzzles. GRAVEN is almost a rogue-like in its design, requiring you to unlock abilities and powers and moving back and forth across its world to unlock doors and solve puzzles. This adds replay value to even the demo itself and with the potential for more abilities and puzzles in the full game, GRAVEN is not just a one and done game.
GRAVEN feels like a blast from the past. A quick jump into the gaming time machine to an era when the dominant snack were pizza bagels and Gushers. Those yearning for a return to the aesthetics of classics like Quake will find GRAVEN to be a comfortable pair of pajamas to slip right back into. Those who are interested in the gameplay and the role playing aspect of this role playing game may also find something both interesting and valuable in this game. The small slice of GRAVEN that we have been able to play for this demo hints at a potentially amazing game. All I know is that I will be eagerly awaiting any further news and hopefully more chances to experience this game again before launch.
Check Out the GRAVEN Trailer:
You can wishlist GRAVEN for PC via Steam right now.
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My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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