I had the opportunity to have a presentation of Ravenbound, a game developed by Systemic Reaction. In addition, you will have a small bonus with one of its games in trailer: Second Extinction. Little trip to the Nordic countries, prepare your mittens!
History
You incarnate in turn ships that welcome the spirit of the crow in order to fight your enemy, accumulating through lives and deaths countless experiences to reach your final goal: to exterminate the forces of evil.
My opinion: we play here with the principle of life and death in order to cleverly justify the fact that we keep resources for the rest of his adventure. The story seems classic, but unfortunately I don't have enough material yet to direct my opinion towards one or the other side, despite my love for the Scandinavian mythology on which it is based...
Graphics & atmosphere
The game offers us a more than decent show with really well done effects. Even if I could see some addicts here and there in the movements which seemed rigid to me at times. As for the Scandinavian atmosphere, we hit it right in with the scenery of snowy forests, places and enemies typical of folklore and which allow a very good immersion. Almost faultless for me.
Gameplay
We start in front of 7 doors that will open depending on the bosses you have killed during your adventures. You start as a crow flying over the area, in the open-world, to find places taken over by the enemy and teeming with soldiers. Resuming your form, you will fight them with the weapons at your disposal: weapon, magic, blocking and dodging. Some mechanics like dodging or perfect blocking will help you land skillful and perfectly adjusted strikes, or you can use magic to strengthen yourself and protect yourself with a magic shield.
You will gain cards that you can spend with your mana to increase your stats in any way you see fit. With this, you will increase your chances against the final boss who will give you no gift, so overwhelming is his power. If you unfortunately perish, you can choose your next envelope from the choices that will be offered to you. In the demo that was presented to me, I saw 3 choices that were totally opposite, such as passive increases in defenses, magic or attack. It's quite interesting, because throughout your adventure you can orient your style of play according to what you want, or what you need. Of course, some characteristics will remain as in any good self-respecting rogue lite.
Summary
Ravenbound offers us an inspired open-world Rogue lite with good dynamics. From the little that I could see, there are interesting fights and a more than aggressive boss. For my part, I am curious to know what will become of it and, possibly, I will do a full preview when it is released. Who knows, we may have a future hit in power?
Bonus
As promised, here is the trailer for Second Extinction, another game from the studio which is already in Early Access on Steam and will be officially launched on Steam and Xbox One on October 20, 2022. This co-op FPS offers you an experience of fighting against rabid dinos with unique weapon and skill equipment. Well, maybe I'll test it for you one day!
