The field of view for this book is particularly intrusive and blocks a lot of my sight. You'll get a spellbook that allows you to conjure fire. While I did eventually get used to it, I feel like the reach for both weapons is rather short and created some frustration. The hitboxes for melee weapons confuse me, as there were plenty of times when I'd swing my sword or staff expecting a hit and not landing it at all. Often times I'd run out and depend on my sword to slash through zombies, cultists, and beasts.Īnd indeed, while ranged combat feels good, melee does not. Using ranged weapons is highly responsive and easy to aim with, but they rely on ammo. I also found a wrist-mounted ranged weapon as well as a handheld crossbow that shoots several bolts in one shot, with an alternate fire mode shooting explosives. For melee weapons, I came across a sword that was more powerful than my knotted, wooden staff. It is truly some masterclass work here.Įquipped with just a staff from the start, you'll soon gather new weapons and even spellbooks. Just by looking around in the environment, you can see just how hard this town has fallen. The reason I explain Graven in such a way is that the graphical style, while certainly emulating older titles, depends on showing and not telling. Barred gates with grasping hands reach through as the player ventures into the unknown. Later on, you'll make your way to a town square that various NPCs inhabit. Venture further and you'll delve into some musty and moist sewers filled with green water and undead. That you're soaking in the sights of this catastrophic town. While I hesitate to call Graven an immersive sim, the world itself is enough to make you feel like your smelling the awful swamp combined with the despair filling the air.
Yet, despite how horrendously ugly the town looks -with rundown houses, rats, and bodies littered everywhere-it's hard not to admire the atmosphere created by the developers.
When your brief voyage ends, you arrive in a town that is decrepit and in its worst years. The player has no choice but to listen to a speaking oarsman while soaking in the sights of this Grimdark world. The beginning minutes of Graven is spent on a boat through a dark, ominous swamp. The developers for Graven, Slipgate Ironworks, know how to make one good-looking game, and it's clear from the start. Graven is definitely a strong contender for the best-looking retro-inspired titles, fighting for the top spot with games like Amid Evil and the upcoming Gloomwood. The Dark Atmosphere of GravenĪlthough retro, low-poly graphics isn't a style for everyone, it's an immediate hook for me.
When I dove into the gameplay, however, that thought of looks not being everything sprung into my mind, and it's clear that Graven needs a lot of improving to be a success. The retro visuals that pay homage to the late 90s and very early 2000s are enough to get me excited after a single screenshot. This upcoming action RPG that just released on Steam's Early Access is one of my favorite looking games in recent memory. Graven is proof that looks can't get you everything in life well, at least as far as video games are concerned.
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