Story and Gameplay
GRAVEN has been on my radar for quite a while as I thought for sure it was going to be a modern throwback to the amazing fantasy shooters Heretic and HEXEN which clearly there has been a lot of inspiration drawn from the look and atmosphere. That is about where the similarities end. Maybe I want this game to be something it isn’t meant to be but around every corner, I just kept waiting for this to get interesting, especially after finding awesome items like your first sword and how good it feels to chop baddies down with it.
GRAVEN starts out interesting enough as you are plopped in a dark village overrun by disease and all sorts of baddies. As soon as you start exploring your first dungeon though, you spend 90% of your time smashing boxes looking for mana, health potions, etc. Sadly, your awesome looking fire spell doesn’t do much of anything but set things on fire and is not intended to be used for combat much at all which is a huge shame. The more and more you delve further into the game, you just see more missed opportunities for things that are awesome (sword combat) and things that are a huge letdown (most magic). There is a lot of things to like about GRAVEN but there are so many missed opportunities in the gameplay areas mostly.
Graphics and Audio
This is a retro dream of being able to run in 4K at 120FPS with zero hiccups yet the game looks classic but fresh as well. It’s hard to find any fault in the audiovisual portion of GRAVEN as it looks and sounds absolutely like it should, the near-perfect mix of old and new. Massive props in this area but I just wish the gameplay could match the graphics and audio.
Feedback and Conclusion
In the end, I was going to give this a lower score due to the fact there are just too many odd gameplay decisions, especially around the magic system and pacing but that there is a solid romp into a moody atmospheric retro experience, also, I think the game has a ton of potential. Make a few shifts in combat and magic and this would easily be a solid 8. Props to a small team for pulling this off and I hope that patches and changes can make this more into the Heretic and HEXEN nod it should be.
