Played on: Xbox Series X, PC
Ravenlok is a game that I discovered a while ago on Xbox Game Pass; An indie RPG developed by a small studio based in Toronto, Cococucumber. The game has since vacated the service, but I managed to squeak in a full playthrough of it before it left, after many months of procrastinating and being distracted by other games.
Being a voxel-art action-RPG that's loosely inspired by the Alice in Wonderland mythology of Lewis Carroll, Ravenlok puts you in control of Kira (whom you can rename if you want. I gave her my name and didn't realize she was female right away. Oops.), a teenage girl who ends up discovering an old mirror in a barn within the house that her family has just moved to, a mirror that ultimately pulls her into the fantasy world of Dunia. Met by the fantastical citizens and declared to be a heroine of prophecy, Kira then decides to rise to the occasion and liberate Dunia from the scourge of the Caterpillar Queen, a not-so-subtle analog to Carroll's Queen of Hearts.
I moved between the Xbox Series X and PC versions of Ravenlok during my playthrough, though I admittedly spent far more time with the Xbox Series X version, after my PC strained to run Ravenlok at comparable settings to my Xbox console. The PC version of Ravenlok is apparently great if you can max out the settings (outside of Microsoft's ecosystem, it can also be bought from the Epic Games Store, but not on Steam at this point), though if that's not an option for you, the Xbox Series X version is plenty polished, and still a superb way to enjoy the game, presenting striking 4K resolution and super-smooth 60fps performance with no hassle.
As for the actual mechanics, they're almost proudly uncomplicated. Ravenlok presents its environments through a series of voxel-like corridors (pro tip: If you don't know what a voxel it is, it's kind of like a 3D pixel. Think Minecraft, and you have the right idea), with players able to explore the world freely as they unlock it. Combat is fully in real-time as well, with players mashing the X Button in order to swing a sword, while occasionally using other buttons to pull up and navigate a menu in order to do things like toss enemy-devastating explosives, or heal Kira. You can also mix things up with a few special techniques that are mapped to the shoulder buttons, for functions like charging through enemy mobs, attacking several enemies at once, and other more advanced maneuvers that help you manage Ravenlok's frequently crowded ambushes of enemies. This being an RPG, Kira also levels up and becomes stronger as she amasses experience by defeating enemies to boot, which in turn allows players to get stronger, healthier and better able to wield their techniques.
The combat and exploration in Ravenlok is very accessible, but also a little monotonous. A lot of this game, and I do mean A LOT of this game, simply involves running across various hallways, and mashing the X Button until everything dies. Ravenlok's boss battles present a few more curveballs at least, namely since you can only damage the (impressively large!) bosses at various points when they opt to be vulnerable (because video games), so they're a little more engaging. A little.
All in all though, Ravenlok, while still reasonably fun for an RPG veteran like myself, ultimately plays very much like a starter RPG. That being said, it does make for a great introduction to the genre for newcomers that want to get into this kind of video game, and don't want to be overwhelmed with too many options and gameplay mechanics; Kira is the only character you control, her progression path is as straightforward as it gets, her potential maxes out at level 20, and even in the final area, you're still winning most battles by mashing the X Button relentlessly.
On the plus side for more seasoned RPG gamers that might be underwhelmed by Ravenlok's lack of challenge however, the game's presentation is nonetheless great, especially at an effortless 4K/60fps clip on Xbox Series X. The world of Dunia is strangely enchanting in all of its voxel-y glory, and while this game's characters disappointingly aren't voiced (this is possibly intentional, as Ravenlok seems like it wants to loosely emulate the style of silent dungeon crawlers from the distant past), they still have enough of a unique design to intrigue and entertain you. The villainous Caterpillar Queen was a particular favourite of mine in terms of character design, as she almost looks like some kind of pop-up book nightmare. It's really cool!
I also found Ravenlok's extensive roster of achievements to be quite satisfying to earn. I amassed all 1,000 Gamerpoints' worth of achievements from the game before it disappeared from Xbox Game Pass, and considering how simple Ravenlok's gameplay and exploration is especially, the game packs in quite a few fun and crafty secrets for achievement hunters to look out for. Going after achievements could be another way to offset the otherwise relaxed difficulty of Ravenlok for RPG veterans too, especially when you can stretch the game length from around five hours to maybe about eight hours total, if you're trying to cap its achievement roster. Yeah, for an RPG, Ravenlok is incredibly short, but considering its proudly simplistic design ideology, that fact likely won't be shocking to you.
Overall, I found Ravenlok to be more of a charming distraction than a serious test of my skills, but I'm still very glad I played it, especially when it's such a confidently Canadian game. Even Kira's initial real-world farm house is confirmed to be somewhere in rural Canada, and that's pretty cool, what with my home country remaining frustratingly underused as a setting in most video games at this point, including Canadian-made games. Regardless, if you want a breezy 'light' RPG that you can easily blast through, or want to help a child or a more casual player take their first steps in the genre, I'd definitely recommend Ravenlok as one of the ideal candidates for an introduction to modern RPG's.
It's really too bad that Ravenlok is no longer available on Xbox Game Pass at the time of writing. That's truly a perfect place to discover it, especially when the game has remained a console exclusive for Xbox since its release, and its PC version remains unavailable on Steam, even over a year after launch. I feel like I almost need to re-train to catch up with so many cutting-edge RPG's that I haven't been able to take on lately, but fortunately, Ravenlok nonetheless reminded me why I love this genre of gaming so much, even when it's happy to stay in first gear in this game's case.
IF I HAD TO SCORE IT: 8/10
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