In this preview we will tell you about Graven, a first person action game set in a fascinating dark and corrupt fantasy world
Graven is a action fantasy in prima persona developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms e 1C Entertainment. The title will be released in the future on both PC and console, but at the moment it already is playable in early access on Steam. Buying a stock in early access is always a risk but luckily, thanks to our preview, you can find out what state Graven is currently in.
A corrupt world
In Graven you will dress as a priest who has been exiled from his order and ended up in a decaying city reduced to ruin by a dangerous one sore. Once in this place, a mysterious ferryman will equip you with a stirrup and a book of spells, and then send you without much explanation to fight against the abominable creatures that infest the area. From here on you will have to do everything possible to try to soothe the suffering of the inhabitants and discover the nebulous history of the city.
Graven’s introduction really is very charming and manages to leave its mark also thanks to one good direction and excellent dubbing. Unfortunately, however, despite this very interesting opening, in the course of the game the story will not advance much. This happens because early access will allow you to play only the first 4 hours game and consequently you will be forced to stop just for a moment before you can get your hands on very important information. Obviously with the next big updates this lack will be filled, but we still want to let you know that at present you will not be able to delve much into the history of Graven.
Friction Fight – Graven Preview
Throughout the game your aim will always be to to cross areas full of dangers to achieve a given goal. In addition to various simple but cute puzzles and riddles, the biggest obstacles you will find in your way are obviously the enemies. In Graven they are present many different monsters and to defeat them you can rely on numerous tools. Of course, you will always have your trusty staff and spellbook available, but you can find or buy too swords, crossbows and many other weapons.
Obviously one of the most important aspects of a game that focuses on enemies so much is the fight, but unfortunately from this point of view Graven has many flaws. The combat system is extremely crude and to defeat the monsters all you have to do is constantly circle around them to avoid attacks and hit them repeatedly until they collapse to the ground. Also often the actions of the enemies will not be very precise and as a result you could end up being multiple times unjustly damaged.
Another big flaw is related to magic, which unfortunately they will have in the course of the game an extremely marginal utility. In early access you can only use electric and fire spells but, in addition to allowing you to solve some environmental puzzles, they will have almost no use. Technically it is possible to exploit these spells also against enemies, but in practice by doing this you will get gods almost non-existent advantages.
A retro charm – Graven preview
From a technical point of view there is not much to say about Graven. The title is extremely light and for sure you will be able to maintain 60 FPS even using not particularly performing PCs. Furthermore, despite being an early access released very recently, during our test we only came across very few bugs.
As for the artistic side, Graven immediately managed to capture us thanks to his unique charm. The graphic style of the game is a kind of 3D pixel art which is very close to that used for the former Quake, and is able to convey a retro charm without being old. This style is applied in an excellent way in the creation of environments, objects and above all enemies, thus allowing players to immerse themselves in the world of Graven without difficulty. In addition the game also boasts a large number of extremely accurate animations that will help make every action of your protagonist enjoyable.
Conclusions
Now the point of our preview has finally arrived where we take stock of Graven. The title it really has a great charm, but unfortunately at the moment it is sunk by a bad combat system and from lack of content. There are many in the game good ideas, such as the ability to equip your staff with gems that offer different effects, but unfortunately in this state of early access they are not exploited properly.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no hope for Graven. The game has been available in early access for less than a month e it still has a long way to go. If Slipgate Ironworks continues to add content and especially improve the combat system, then Graven could easily become the worthy heir to cult titles like Hexen.
Graven is available now in early access on Steam. If you are interested in staying up to date with all the news on the world of video games and much more, then continue to follow us here on TechGameWorld.com. Furthermore, in case you want to buy some games at an advantageous price, we suggest you take a look at the many offers on Instant Gaming.