Synopsis:
-Ravenlok is a 3rd person, fantasy adventure game. You play as Kira, a girl who finds a mysterious mirror in the barn of her new house and is transported to an Alice and Wonderland-type fantasy world called Dunia.
-You meet a bunny named Finn, who mistakes you for the prophesied savior Ravenlok, who is supposed to deliver Dunia from the power of an evil queen. Basically, Finn gives you a sword and a shield and wishes you good luck.
-You meet several others on your journey who help out, including Camy the cauldron who sells healing potions, Hedgehog Etta a store owner, Enid the witch who sends you to do tasks and blesses you with abilities, and Decker, a shuddering rat who sells levels. It all combines for a cute little community and brings a bit of depth to the game.
-Ravenlok is very reminiscent in style to Cococucumber’s other titles like Echo Generation. I played Echo Generation a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic. This title isn’t turn-based, but I saw a lot of similarities.
-As far as style in this game goes, though, there are tons of obvious nods and homage paid to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Pros:
-The game design for Ravenlok is masterful. I love the story, the approach, the graphics, the execution, and the delivery. It all just comes together very nicely. You begin playing, know exactly what to expect, and the game delivers.
-There are collectible bunny statues throughout the game. In order to collect them, you have to do a little dance, which I thought was an interesting touch.
-This isn’t a terribly difficult game. I got it done in a couple of days. Not to mention, there are 50 achievements, so achievements were poppin’ left and right.
-There are plenty of side quests to keep you busy, but the main story is always progressing as well. I never felt like it was a chore to break off the main path.
-XP mechanics, death forgiveness, and progress all came very easily. For instance, if you killed a bunch of enemies, and then died, the XP was saved forever. So, if there was a section you couldn’t get through for any reason, after attempting it 4 or 5 times, you’d have enough XP to level up and do more damage, to make the section easier. That’s good game design. (Personally, side note, I don’t think the game was hard enough to warrant a NEED for this, especially not frequently, but that’s just another pro in my mind.)
-The puzzles were also engaging. They weren’t so difficult that you found yourself wasting time trying to figure them out; with enough interaction with characters and the environment, the solution became clear.
Cons:
-The camera didn’t behave as I expected it to. It was always fixed in one direction, though there was a bit of manipulation; you could pan from side to side. In a free-moving, 3rd person game like this, I would have loved to have full control of the camera.
-There were a ton of bosses. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing in my eyes, but I felt like they came too often. Almost like there could have been more normal gameplay and movement in between. But I guess that’s what comes with a short game, so I’m not complaining.
Analysis:
-Storyline is wonderful
-Gameplay is fun
-Mechanics are nearly perfect
-Graphics are fantastic
-It isn’t difficult
Is it worth it?
-Is the game worth the price? Yes. Even though it’s short, I’d play this again.
-Is the game on game pass? Yes.
-Is the grind worth the gamerscore? Yes.
-Easy completion? Relatively speaking, yes.
-Would I play this game if it had no achievements? Yes. 5 yeses. That doesn’t come often.
TBD Score: 8.30
4.5