Redfall

Initial reveals of Redfall didn’t look terrible. The lighting, shadows and overall mood that Arkane Lyon was going for looked intriguing and could have made for intriguing supernatural action. Things took a turn when it was confirmed not to launch with a 60 FPS Performance Mode on Xbox Series X/S.

Nothing could have prepared us for the actual game, though, with its broken animations, lackluster facial animations, terrible effects, pop-in, bland world with lifeless textures and overall lack of polish. The 30 FPS mode wasn’t the worst on Xbox Series X, but the motion blur still isn’t ideal. Having no animated cutscenes throughout the game feels like the cherry on top of this dumpster fire of a presentation.

AEW: Fight Forever

When AEW: Fight Forever was announced, it was hyped as paying homage to WWF No Mercy on the Nintendo 64. You can feel that with the perspective and some of the idle animations. However, it also feels like it wants to be a major wrestling title with its price without doing the appropriate groundwork with its mechanics, animations, features and much more.

The animations during actual combat look and feel incredibly janky. Some wrestlers barely resemble their real-life counterparts, and the glitches and bugs, like wrestlers clipping into the environment or phasing through ladders, are just terrible. The fact that so much work went into nonsensical mini-games rather than polishing the overall presentation – like having full entrances, fleshing out Road to Elite or improving the character creator – says a lot about the overall focus.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

On the one hand, you have to feel bad for Daedalic Entertainment. It probably wanted to make an adventure game and explore different avenues for the legendary character, like the moral choices between Smeagol and Gollum. However, unlike Deponia, it went with an action-adventure focus in full 3D. It also focused on some of the least interesting parts of Gollum’s life imaginable, like spending time in prison guiding a bird and then, get this, guiding a fellow prisoner.

Throughout all of this, the facial animations, texture quality, environments, and so on look horrible. The performance is also horrid with all the glitches, clipping and whatnot. If priced lower, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum may not have received much blowback. Unfortunately, at $60, with day one DLC costing extra, it just looks so much more awful.

Crime Boss: Rockay City

When you’re watching glitzy, edited trailers for it, Crime Boss: Rockay City looks decent. The lighting and shadows aren’t the worst, and sometimes, the city seems to come alive due to multiple light sources. On closer inspection, the textures on environments, characters and weapons look off.

The enemies animate in such a rudimentary manner. All NPCs suffer from almost no facial animations, and the big-name Hollywood actors fare only slightly better, looking uncanny at best and wooden at worst. One could forgive this if the script was better or the gameplay was compelling, but alas.

Ravenbound

Ravenbound could have done something with its lore and presentation. Not many games dip into Scandinavian folklore with its dark themes and whimsical yet terrifying creatures. Unfortunately, it seems that developer Systemic Reaction’s reach exceeded its grasp. The massive open world feels dull and lifeless with the same enemy camps and the same-looking enemies with the same limited animations (right down to the same telltale charge before an attack).

Texture quality in the environments and on models is poor, while Ravenbound’s performance was very iffy at launch (visibility during rain while activating Ravensight was non-existent). All in all, its mid-tier presentation needs a lot of work and polish.

Wanted: Dead

Wanted: Dead is a game that badly wants to emulate the look and design of sixth-generation console titles. Which is fine, but it didn’t need to look this poor. The textures on characters and environments already look pretty average, but outside of finishers, the character models animate stiffly with little by way of facial animations. There’s a constant jank to it all, but at least it’s over-the-top and crazy, right?

It feels like the same problem as AEW: Fight Forever – that developer Soleil wanted to make a throwback title instead of polishing the presentation but slapped a “homage to the classics” label on it to excuse the same. “It’s supposed to look like this, you see!” Regardless, the overall result is awful, even with the random wackiness.

Farming Simulator 23

It should be reiterated – when I saw the critics panning this game, I had to do a double take because Farming Simulator is generally well-liked. Farming Simulator 22 sold over 1.5 million copies in its first week and has 94 percent positive user reviews on Steam. So how did we get here? Farming Simulator 23 didn’t release on Xbox, PlayStation and PC like other platforms.

It arrived on iOS and Android and was ported to Nintendo Switch. The production values are not up to par, and the overall scale, sense of freedom and feature set also suffer from this paring down. The worst part? Despite looking so middling, it runs terribly on Nintendo Switch.

Redemption Reapers

Considering the experience of Adglobe and Binary Haze Interactive on the stunning Ender Lilies, the shift to a more realistic style for Redemption Reapers is somewhat puzzling. Given the post-apocalyptic nature of this medieval world, the gritty monotone visuals make sense, but they still feel overly washed out at times. While the cinematics look decent, the environments look extremely dull.

Character models also feel low-res, with animations that could have been better. It’s harsh, I know, especially since it doesn’t have the biggest budget, but even Harvestella from Live Wire (who also worked on Ender Lilies) looks better.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

It’s not that the aesthetic of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is bad. Team Ninja has always done good with its action hack-and-slash titles (except maybe Stranger of Paradise in terms of fidelity), and Wo Long’s showcase of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is quite good. Unfortunately, it’s weighed down by dull textures, lackluster facial animations outside of cutscenes and average-looking environments.

Its fidelity is probably on par with Nioh 2, which isn’t terrible, but considering the latter is a 2020 title originally exclusively for PS4, you’d expect some improvements at this point. Of course, the fact that Wo Long continues to have performance issues on PC also doesn’t help.

Greyhill Incident

Once again, when viewing the Greyhill Incident in trailers, it appears to be a low-budget B-movie-style game that could offer some fun and decent visuals. However, you’re exposed to wooden animations and awful character models during gameplay. The facial animations fare worse – the little grey aliens have very little, not even when taking damage or getting shot in the head.

Expected, but still lame, as their bored walking animations make you ponder their existence instead of feeling threatened. At the same time, while it does offer some interesting lighting and shadows, Greyhill Incident piles on the motion blur and washed-out textures. On the bright side, at least it’s true to the name with all the “grey” you’ll see.

Greyhill Incident

What could have been a B-movie horror game turns into an unfunny, painfully unaware low-budget horror game. Aliens invade your small town, and you go around “saving” people. You fight the aliens sometimes, and they’re as threatening as inflatables at a pool party. Throw in lots of awful dialogue, dumb objectives that are difficult to parse, a nonsensical plot, terrible voice acting and bugs galore, and the Greyhill Incident is just one of the absolute worst games of the year.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

How do you mess up a Lord of the Rings game, that too with one of its most recognizable characters? The Lord of the Rings: Gollum makes it look easy, focusing on bland events in Smeagol’s life with asinine mechanics and tedious objectives. The stealth is poor, and Gollum’s character is nothing like the books or films, not that the script does a good job of delivering something original. Such was the failure of this game that Daedalic Entertainment has stopped game development entirely, halting another Lord of the Rings title (rumored to be a sequel to Gollum) and focusing instead on publishing.

Stray Blade

Stray Blade does have some potential with its lore and art style. Unfortunately, this is quickly undone thanks to the annoying protagonist, frustrating combat where you can dodge some attacks and parry others (not both), poor and limited enemy design, progression-blocking bugs and more. Improvements have reportedly been made to the combat post-launch, but its other flaws still stick out.

Redfall

Arkane Austin’s Redfall could have capitalized on improved communication and paved the way for other high-profile Xbox exclusives like Starfield and Forza Motorsport. Instead, it crashed and burned, packed to the brim with bugs, dumb AI, a sparsely populated and boring world, lackluster enemy variety, stupid vampires, terrible weapons, horrible dialogue – and, of course, performance issues on PC. Playing on Xbox Series X/S is torturous, thanks to no aim assist or advanced control settings. Top it off with no matchmaking, and this “co-op experience” just sucks.

Crime Boss: Rockay City

With the initial announcement, Crime Boss: Rockay City appeared to have poured most of its budget into big-name Hollywood stars. Unfortunately, it didn’t give them much direction or compelling dialogue, and the gameplay feels completely superfluous. Missions feel like little more than shoot-outs against tanky foes, and the campaign is forgettable at best. What could have been a pulpy take on Payday’s heists ends up as a bug-riddled, cheesy mess.

Ravenbound

Despite Systemic Reaction’s previous titles, like Generation Zero, being middling, I was genuinely stoked for Ravenbound. A rogue-lite set in a fully 3D open world based on Scandinavian folklore sounded interesting. The actual game was a different story, with baffling design decisions for combat, the Hatred system, exploration, long-term progression and more. Underwhelming performance and bugs didn’t help either, and it all just felt so poorly put together. Like Stray Blade, there have been improvements, but it’s got a ways to go.

Beyond Contact

Though published by Deep Silver, Beyond Contact passed completely unnoticed when it was released last April. It’s a sci-fi survival open-world title with base-building and real-time combat with a bright aesthetic, which is all good, but it messes up so much. Most materials do nothing, base defense is poorly balanced, farming is way too much work for little rewards, and the less said about the combat and tanky enemies, the better. Beyond Contact could have been interesting and settled for being fundamentally mediocre.

Rendezvous

With titles like A Space for the Unbound highlighting the game development talent in Indonesia, it hurts to see stuff like Rendezvous. It’s marketed as a “2.5D cyber-noir pixel art action-puzzle adventure.” Sure enough, its aesthetic is very sharp and eye-catching. However, it offers little beyond that than annoying puzzles and stealth to go with its boring combat and half-hearted narrative.

Mia and the Dragon Princess

Wales Interactive has a reputation for FMV-style games, with some standouts (The Complex) and duds (I Saw Black Clouds). Mia and the Dragon Princess sadly falls into the latter category. The story, about Mia and the mysterious Marshanda as they meet and go on the run, is baffling and full of throwaway characters. There’s a lot of fight choreography courtesy of – I kid you not – “Ginger Ninja Trickster”, and you can make some choices which don’t lead to any satisfying conclusion. Is it a good or bad thing that it’s over quickly? You decide.

The Last Worker

In The Last Worker, players control the last human worker who struggles in a world of automation and corporate greed. So it’s a shame that the protagonist Kurt isn’t particularly likeable or the writing very interesting. Some solid gameplay could have saved it, but unfortunately, The Last Worker offers awful mini-games and some poorly handled themes. Not even VR and unique mechanics can help.

Clive ‘N’ Wrench

Dr Daucas has stolen Professor Nancy Merricarp’s blueprints for time travel. It’s up to Clive (not that one) and Wrench, a monkey and not a talking wrench, to venture through time to stop Daucas. Making a compelling 3D platformer can be challenging, and Clive ‘N’ Wrench sadly fails where it counts. Controls and combat are terrible, and the performance leaves much to be desired (watch out for projectiles from enemies running at a different frame rate). It may have been something with more time and polish, but unfortunately ends up awkwardly skirting by.

Colossal Cave Reimagined

A 3D remake of the 1979 text-based adventure, Colossal Cave Reimagined comes from Ken and Roberta Williams, known for legendary adventure games like the King’s Quest series under Sierra Entertainment. Sadly, it’s let down by underwhelming visuals and outdated design, like annoying mazes and instant deaths. While the puzzles are decent, the remake feels unnecessary at best and downright frustrating at worst.

Curse of the Sea Rats

A Metroid-style title with hand-drawn animations and somewhat cute visuals, Curse of the Sea Rats ultimately wastes its potential. The rats may as well be human, without any unique mechanics designed around them (much less interesting scenarios for each of the four playable characters), and the world design is as confounding as it is boring. Cap this off with balancing issues, where some enemies are far more challenging than the bosses, and you have a fairly lop-sided, dull adventure.

Farming Simulator 23

At first, I did a double take on seeing Farming Simulator 23 rated so low. How could this be, especially when the previous entries were so beloved? It’s because this year’s iteration launched on mobile devices and ported to the Nintendo Switch. The result is a pared-down experience with limited freedom, fewer features, horrible performance and visuals, and a much higher price tag than the mobile versions.

The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR

Considering how well-received Until Dawn: Rush of Blood was on PlayStation VR (read: not very well), there was concern that The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR could repeat those mistakes on PlayStation VR2. Unfortunately, it’s worse, even with powerful technology and new features like eye tracking for scary blinking moments. It doesn’t present an interesting story or offer much beyond rudimentary rail shooter segments. Performance issues also bog the entire thing down, which isn’t something you want to highlight on Sony’s next-gen VR.

REDFALL

Redfall always looked like it was going to be very different from Arkane’s traditional offerings, but the general expectation was that, given the studio’s innate talent and impeccable track record, it would at least be a good, well put together game. In the end, it definitely wasn’t. Not only does Redfall almost completely lack the strengths one usually associates an Arkane game with, it’s not even good at the new things it tries, with everything from its open world and its co-op gameplay to its loot mechanis coming with major issues. Add to all of that some significan technical hiccups, and what you have is a game that woefully falls short of expectations for an Arkane joint.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: GOLLUM

Let’s be fair here, no one really expected The Lord of the Rings: Gollum to be anything more than middling or passably enjoyable at best- but we also didn’t expect it to be literally one of the worst games in recent memory. Daedalic Entertainment’s stealth action-adventure game took its sweet time to finally release, and when it did, it stumbled with its first step and fell flat on its face. Nothing about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum works. It has boring quest design, little to no exploration, broken combat and traversal mechanics, and a deluge of technical and performance problems that make it nigh on impossible to get through. You don’t play The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. You endure it.

LAYERS OF FEAR

For a while, Bloober Team has been pumping out psychological horror games that range from middling to genuinely good, and this year, the studio went back to the very beginning to bring back Layers of Fear. Combining, connecting, and reimagining the first two games while adding its own new content on top, the new Layers of Fear looks excellent and has a fascinating premise- but as is often the case with Bloober, it doesn’t do justice to that premise. It ends up being a fairly dull, repetetive, and rote game that relies on its visual prowess to the exclusion of almost everything else. We can only hope the Silent Hill 2 remake fares significantly better.

TCHIA

We’d had our eye on Tchia for a while before it launched, with Awaceb’s tropical action-adventure game looking increasingly promising with each of its pre-launch showings, and though the final product is certainly not without its merits, it didn’t quite live up to our expectations. Yes, it has a gorgeous setting, and making your way around the island is fun, for the most part. But the game’s mechanics and systems never quite manage to get their hooks in, leaving us with a pretty but fairly unremarkable experience.

CRIME BOSS: ROCKAY CITY

Over the years, many have tried their hand at the co-op first person shooter heist genre, and very few have managed to enjoy the kind of success that the Payday series has seen. Crime Boss: Rockay City was certainly eyeing that throne, and with its star-studded cast of actors, it looked like it might actually take a big swing. The actual game itself, however, was not only disappointing, it was just downright terrible. Whether you’re playing its single player roguelike campaign or diving into its co-op offerings, the game’s aggressive mediocrity taints every second you spend with it, with its awful voice acting, bland design, repetitive loop, and boring core gameplay dragging down the experience into the doldrums.

RAVENBOUND

Ravenbound has a promising premise on paper as an open world roguelite set in a world inspired by Scandinavian folklore, but when you actually get down to playing the game, you realize that it’s woefully underbaked in almost every way that matters. Its world is a vast one, but given how empty, bland, and vapid it generally feels, exploration ends up being significantly de-emphasized. Combat can get repetitive instead of decent enemy variety, while the game also does itself no favours with its poorly balanced difficulty curve. Add to that an unfortunately healthy dose of technical issues, and you get a pretty underwhelming game.

FORSPOKEN

A big new AAA open world IP from Square Enix? To say that people were curious to see how Forspoken would fare would be an understatement, even back when it was called Project Athia, though unfortunately, it didn’t even come close to matching expectations. A premise that’s interesting on paper is let down by annoying characters and poor writing. An open world that should have been begging to be explored ended up being empty and uninteresting. The combat system, while flashy and enjoyable, failed to make up for deficiencies in boring quest design. The fact that Forspoken failed to meet Square Enix’s commercial expectations was, ultimately, not surprising in the slightest.

THE LAST OF US PART 1 PC

Frankly, we’re still baffled that this was allowed to exist. Naughty Dog, more than almost any other studio in the entire industry, is associated with an obsessive level of attention to detail and quality assurance. Polish and Naughty Dog go hand-in-hand- which is why it’s so surprising that The Last of Us Part 1’s PC port might be one of the worst PC ports in recent memory. Even looking at brief clips and individual screenshots, it was hard to believe that something this broken had been allowed to release. When you actually played it, it quickly became apparent that the state of the game was somehow even worse. It’s a real shame, too, because this will forever be remembered as the manner in which this legendary franchise made its PC debut.

LEGO 2K DRIVE

Unlike many other games on this list, LEGO 2K Drive is not without its merits. Its world is vibrant and colourful, it has an impressive suite of customization options for building any kind of car you want, and, as you’d expect from a LEGO game, it’s very kid-friendly and easy to get into. It is, however, also quite vapid. What you see is very much what you get, and with that lack of depth, LEGO 2K Drive ends up like a shallow experience that runs out of steam too quickly, whether that’s because of its how uninteresting open world exploration is, or its lackluster optional content, or any number of other issues.

LEAP

LEAP isn’t exactly a game that’s grabbed a whole lot of headlines, so to say that expectations were high wouldn’t exactly be fair. But this is still very much a game that doesn’t do justice to its interesting premise. The sci-fi competitive FPS boasts slick visuals and cool traversal options, but all of that gets bogged down in its tedious gameplay loop and how unsatisfying its moment-to-moment gameplay largely feels. Especially in a genre that’s this competitive, LEAP fails to make a mark in any meaningful way.

STRAYED LIGHTS

We don’t want to be unfair on Strayed Lights here, because for a game developed by a small team with a unique vision, it does actually get some things right. The story, the music, and the aesthetic, for instance, are legitimately solid and worthy of praise. There’s plenty else in the game, however, that drags the experience down, from its frustrating combat to the lackluster platform to its technical issues. The fact that there are parts of the game that are genuinelty good makes the parts that aren’t feel that much more frustrating.

STRAY BLADE

You’ll never see us turning down the chance to play a new Soulslike, especially one that’s trying to shake up the genre’s formula the way Stray Blade was promising it would. But though there’s something to be said about the idea of viewing the genre through a less gloomy lens, the actual execution of many of the game’s core pillars leaves a lot to be desired. The clunky controls, uninspired level design, and technical issues combine to make Stray Blade quite a frustrating experience, even if it isn’t one that’s totally without its merits.

CRASH TEAM RUMBLE

Again, in the name of fairness, it’s worth pointing out that Crash Team Rumble is definitely a game that you can have plenty of fun with- especially for fans of the series, given how well it translates that Crash feel into a MOBA experience. As it stands right now though, it’s also pretty barebones, with its launch offerings, especially in terms of the modes on offer, being quite limited. Of course, we’re hoping that Crash Team Rumble will be supported so well that including it on this list in retrospect feels like a mistake- but with live service games, you can never tell how long of a lifespan to expect.

GREYHILL INCIDENT

A small production in every way possible, criticising Greyhill Incident would almost feel unfair under most circumstances- but unfortunately, there’s plenty to criticize in this game. The core premise of a survival horror game where your main enemies are aliens is certainly an interesting one, but from its awful dialogue to its painfully shallow mechanics to the mind-numbing level design, Greyhill Incident messes up (to say the very least) in too many ways to be anything more than a disappointment. And even that might be a generous description.

RISEN (PS4)

In the many, many years since its launch, the original Risen has amassed a reputation as one of the RPG genre’s proper diamonds in the rough, though with its 2023 port, there was way more of the rough than there was of the diamond. Janky animations, disappointing and minimal updates to the gameplay and visuals, clunky combat, and technical problems combined to paint the ageing experience in what wasn’t exactly the most flattering light. Maybe this is one flawed gem that should have been left in the past.

The execution begs to differ, though. Even as your wings spread out en route to fighting the final boss, the technical issues, combat, and world design threaten to weigh it down into oblivion.

"The goal of Ravenbound is to explore Avalt, gaining different equipment and Relics and becoming stronger to challenge an Ellri’s Guardian and gain their Blessing."

And that’s a shame because Ravenbound is interesting. The art style may not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s colorful while creating a sobering effect. Character models aren’t realistic and feel kind of limited with their animation, but the surrounding environments are nice to look at. This isn’t a game trying to wow you with its visual fidelity, so much as establish a mood and atmosphere to immerse you further into its world.

Until music blares in just as suddenly as it blares out, or the environment strobes ever so slightly while running away or becomes a visual mess when activating Ravensight while it’s raining or snowing.

Set in Avalt, a fantasy island, the story concerns the Ellri, who brought prosperity until betrayed by their sister (named, um, the Betrayer). They created the Raven, a mystical creature of immense power that could defeat the Betrayer, but were exposed during the ritual and subsequently imprisoned in Tombs. As a result, the Raven’s power is incomplete, and it must occupy a Vessel and grow its strength.

This sets up the process of choosing a random Vessel with unique starting traits, which expand as you complete challenges and unlock more with accumulated Legacy. You start as a Human, who can drain cards for Coins, but eventually unlock the Ulvar that drains cards for extra damage or the Simlar, which can do so for more Mana. The goal of Ravenbound is to explore Avalt, gaining different equipment and Relics and becoming stronger to challenge an Ellri’s Guardian and to fight the Betrayer.

"You have three Fragment slots – collect three Fragments, which is done by slaying enemies, and you can Empower them to gain a choice of three cards."

When you soar into the world of Avalt and fly around, there are numerous points of interest to explore. You can go pretty much anywhere, but you can’t just fly whenever. When landing and reverting to Vessel form, you must find the nearest launch pad to turn into Raven form and fly again. It’s tedious but also a sign of things to come.

Regarding Vessels, you have next to no choice in the early going. Rogue Legacy offsets this by making the first new classes relatively cheap and throwing in some interesting genetic quirks. Ravenbound’s Vessels get a Sword and Shield and then gradually Dual Axes, some armor, and either increased critical chance when Frenzied or more armor for their armor, which makes the early going rough.

When entering the world through a regional door, there are two waypoints. One leads to the town, where a sidequest – singular, not plural – awaits. Another leads to the region’s Tear of Hatred, which you must purify. You have three Fragment slots – collect three Fragments, which is done by slaying enemies, and you can Empower them to gain a choice of three cards.

These cards can range from better armor and weapons to more Mana, used to play said cards, Relics that confer different effects, Coins and even additional Relic Slots. More cards unlock as you fulfil certain conditions, like clearing a Tomb X number of times. They can provide powerful benefits, like Dawn’s Rot which consumes all of your Focus with an attack to deal 700 percent increased weapon damage, or Vined Amber Goblet, which inflicts Spored on nearby enemies when using Surge.

"While there is a huge world to explore, Hatred drastically reduces your choices. Better hope you get some decent cards from the freebies and don’t run into some particularly powerful Elites that can quickly destroy you."

Unlocking each card provides a goal to strive for over multiple runs. They’re also tied to a specific Fragment element, of which there are five. So you can farm enemies with those specific elemental Fragments in the hopes of getting a specific weapon or item drop or even specializing in certain types of damage. There’s still RNG to deal with, and based on my experience, it can go either way. Of course, that’s not the only issue you’ll have when getting geared.

It’s highly advised to go for the Tear of Hatred first because in Ravenbound, any attempts to gain power – like collecting Fragments, opening chests and so on – grants Hatred. Empowered too many Fragments? One of your slots is permanently locked due to Hatred, resulting in fewer card choices. Opening a chest in a corrupted area? You absorb a slot’s worth of temporary Hatred, which only goes away when Empowering Fragments, further reducing your card choices, and you gain some permanent Hatred.

Each permanently locked slot of Hatred grants five percent more damage to bosses and Elite enemies. So while you may or may not become stronger, your toughest foes are scaling up. It’s all the more annoying with Elites because they have the best loot and usually attack in groups of two or three. Now imagine dealing with that when they deal more damage and take longer to die relative to your mortality.

Clearing a Tear of Hatred lets you explore the space around it without fear of Hatred from the surrounding points of interest (while also granting free Mana to play any cards found). However, these are fairly limited in their rewards. Past that, everything else is corrupted. So while there is a huge world to explore, Hatred drastically reduces your choices. Better hope you get some decent cards from the freebies and don’t run into some particularly powerful Elites that can quickly destroy you.

"Go to the Tear of Hatred, cleanse it for free Mana, and some non-corrupt loot nearby. Go to the town and take a side quest for some Coins. Empower Fragments and maybe get stronger. Repeat."

Also, there’s no map, so if you have to go to town to heal and come back to clear out the remaining non-corrupt sites near a purified Tear, it can take a while to find them. The waypoint for the Tear also disappears after it’s purified, presumably because more than two waypoints at a time is difficult for the engine to handle.

There is a way to sort of “game” the system by locking one of your slots with permanent Hatred, thus reducing the number of Fragments required to draw more cards. By collecting Aspects of Hatred from corrupted chests, you can essentially pick up a Fragment, roll a new card, cleanse the second slot, pick up another Fragment, collect the chest loot and repeat this process in another location. However, your card choices are still limited and RNG-based, while the Mana is limited. Some chests grant Mana, but you’ll need to seek them out.

When you’ve Empowered enough Fragments, you can tackle a Guardian that’s keeping an Ellri captive. Defeat the Guardian, and the Ellri cures your active Hatred. You’re then sent back to the starting tower and can choose a different door in future runs, starting you out in, say, a rocky plateau and desert region or snow-covered mountains, instead of the initial forest. It’s a lackluster reward, but at least you’ve completed some Challenges, earned some Legacy to unlock more Traits like new weapon types and races for future runs, and encounter more diverse Relics.

However, you’re still bound to the same gameplay loop. Go to the Tear of Hatred, cleanse it for free Mana, and some non-corrupt loot nearby. Go to the town and take a side quest for some Coins. Empower Fragments and maybe get stronger. Repeat.

"It’s all just fighting. No mini-games, timed platforming challenges, puzzles, NPCs with riddles, fishing or more than one side quest per region to mix up the gameplay."

It’s even more monotonous because there isn’t much variety to the points of interest – every single one involves jumping in and killing enemies. The enemies become more varied over time, from Huldra and Draugr to Trolls, and they do have different, albeit simple, patterns.

You also start seeing random chests and groups of enemies with banners near launch pads, preventing you from flying away until they’re cleared. But it’s all just fighting. No mini-games, timed platforming challenges, puzzles, NPCs with riddles, fishing or more than one side quest per region to mix up the gameplay. That side quest also involves killing, by the way, so it’s fairly moot.

There is some lore on stones and sites to discover that confer some Legacy, but the world feels pretty barren most of the time. The towns desperately need more upgrades outside of spending Coins for a random assortment of cards, healing and buying weapons. More personalities among the NPCs would also be welcome, and instead of constantly returning to a town to heal, it would be nice to have some portable healing solution that could be replenished.

"As a whole, combat is very spammy. Using a Guard to down enemies, or assailing them with charged Heavy attacks can feel good, but it gets repetitive."

Since combat is a core component, it has to be on point and well done. It has to encourage you to return for more. Ravenbound’s combat is very hit-or-miss. You have the standard Light and Heavy attacks, and both can be charged to deal more damage to break enemies and stagger them. You can also guard against attacks, which is more like a parry and become temporarily invincible if performed right, or evade an attack at the last second to become Frenzied for a damage bonus. There’s also Surge, gained by attacking enemies, and when activated, it also provides a brief damage bonus.

When taking damage, you’ll have a grey area of health which will deplete after some time. Damaging foes will restore that missing health, so picking up a Relic which increases the window that grey health remains is good.

Other Relics, Equipment and Traits can provide unique effects, like a well-timed Guard inflicting Weakness and Bleeding on an enemy, reducing their overall attack power and applying damage over time status. Of course, you can’t just guard against enemy attacks forever since there’s a minimum amount of guard health. Once that runs out, you’re left vulnerable for a brief period.

As a whole, combat is very spammy. Using a Guard to down enemies, or assailing them with charged Heavy attacks can feel good, but it gets repetitive. Two-handed weapons like the Longsword are slower, dual-wielded weapons are faster, and that’s more or less it. More mechanics are desperately needed, ideally without being at the mercy of RNG cards.

"Optimization needs some work, even when running the game on Medium settings, and there’s quite a bit of pop-in."

Of course, the combat can also be quite spotty. Sometimes you’ll dodge at the right moment and still take damage. Other times, you’ll Guard but not stagger an enemy because their attack actually didn’t connect, despite visibly appearing so.

As noted earlier, the enemy types can be pretty varied, even though their patterns are very basic. Expect a lot of jumping slashes, whether dealing with humans or creatures. At least the Guardians feel unique, having distinct attack patterns and phases despite not looking that different from each other.

There are also bugs. Some NPCs in towns would suddenly turn invisible, though they could still be interacted with. Optimization needs some work, even when running the game on Medium settings, and there’s quite a bit of pop-in. Weapon audio just randomly became muted at a point. Some Huldras dealt lightning damage at the beginning of a new run, which is apparently not supposed to happen, and quickly killed me.

The game is stable enough, for the most part – I only experienced one crash back to the desktop during a fight. The camera can also be finicky, having difficulty staying locked on Guardians during boss fights while not moving away from some Trolls I was trying to escape from, which felt awkward given my low health.

" I just remembered there’s a janky grappling hook, such is its impact on the gameplay."

As I said at the beginning, I wanted to like Ravenbound, and there are certain endearing things about it. Alas, it’s just a list of “could’ve” and “should’ve”. The Hatred system could have been a fun risk and reward mechanic. Combat should have been a fun amalgamation of dodging, parrying and slashing. The world could have been full of life and unique secrets to uncover. I should have been able to fly anywhere at the drop of a hat.

Instead, I just remembered there’s a janky grappling hook, such is its impact on the gameplay. Unless grappling up mountains is a game-changer for you, that is.

Ravenbound could still very well live up to its potential as a rogue-lite-hack-and-slash-meets-3D-open-world. However, its combat, world design, enemy variety, Hatred system, towns, NPCs, performance, environmental effects and more still need some serious work, and that’s before adding any new mechanics or variety to the gameplay.

This game was reviewed on PC.

PREMISE

Ravenbound is set in the fantasy world of Avalt, and as you may have guessed, it’s a world that is rife with conflict and brewing troubles. It lies in the constant shadow of the Betrayer, though a weapon could be used to defeat it and restore peace and order to the world. That weapon is known as the Raven and was hidden away in the bodies of many warriors known as Vessels- which is what you’ll be playing the game as. While death is part of progress in Ravenbound, your ultimate goal is to ensure the rise of a Vessel that’s powerful enough to use the Raven to fulfil its duty and defeat the Betrayer.

STRUCTURE

Ravenbound is taking quite a unique approach to its structure, in that not only is it a fully open world game, it’s also a roguelite.  Players will, of course, have the option to explore the world freely and head in any direction they want, but each run will also bring with it plenty of randomization elements. That means the world will be constantly changing, and everything from its locations to the enemies you will fight and the challenges you will face will be different across every run. What sort of a balance will the game strike between hand crafted design and randomization? That remains to be seen, though it’s an interesting concept nonetheless.

OPEN WORLD DETAILS

Where the open world side of things is concerned, developer Systemic Reaction is promising a vast fantasy land that will present players with plenty of opportunity for exploration, though it remains to be seen what sort of variety it will exhibit in its environments. From what we’ve seen so far, the world of Avalt will boast grasslands, towering mountains, snow covered regions, marshlands, forests, and more, all of which, according to the developer, is inspired by Scandinavian folklore. Meanwhile, not only will players have the option to explore the open world on foot, you’ll also be able to fly across it in the form of a raven.

COMBAT

What exactly can players expect from Ravenbound where its combat is concerned? According to Systemic Reaction, the game is built around a fast and tactical combat system. Equipped with weapons that are imbued with magical properties, players will, of course, be tasked with dealing out deadly damage through their own attacks, but apparently, it will be just as important to pay close attention to your enemies’ movements and attacks and pick the right time to dodge their incoming blows. Of course, the way your character powers up and the abilities you unlock will also change up the moment to moment experience in various ways- more on that in a bit.

ENEMIES

Systemic Reaction is describing the world of Avalt as a beautiful yet deadly fantasy land, which, of course, means you’ll be squaring off against plenty of dangerous enemies as you traverse the map. Like the world itself, the enemies you face will also be inspired by Scandinavian folklore. According to the developer, players will be locking horns with creatures like trolls, Huldras, undead draugr, and more. Enemy variety can be a crucial aspect of the experience in any game, more so in roguelite titles than most other, so hopefully Ravenbound will have plenty of enemy types in its locker to throw at players.

PERMADEATH

Ravenbound is, of course, a roguelite game, which means dying time and time again is going to be baked into the core experience. The central loop of the game revolves around building up the Raven’s power to the point where it can fulfil its ultimate purpose, which means you’ll be sacrificing plenty of Vessels along the way. Each run will see you playing as a different Vessel, and once the Vessel dies, they’ll be gone forever, which means you’ll be moving on to the next one. That said, that doesn’t mean your progress will reset completely every time. Speaking of which…

PROGRESSION

Finding the right balance when it comes to permanent progression can be tricky for roguelite experiences, and Ravenbound seems to be going about it in quite an interesting way. Its progression system revolves primarily around cards and a deck building feature. Cards will grant various bonuses, including the likes of new character classes, improved armour, more powerful weapons, relics to enhance your abilities, and more. Each time a Vessel dies, you’ll pick new cards to equip your next Vessel with, while you’ll also get access to new cards during every run itself, some of which you’ll be able to find in the world itself, while others you’ll happen across by chance. Building the right build and equipping your Vessel with the right deck for the run will be crucial to making progress in Ravenbound.

LAUNCHING FOR PC ONLY

Interestingly enough, Systemic Reaction has confirmed that when Ravenbound launches on March 30, it will be available only for PC. There’s no word yet on when or if console versions can be expected, but one would assume that at some point down the line, the game will be headed to additional platforms. Systemic Reacton’s previous game, Second Extinction, originally only launched for PC in early access, before also coming to Xbox consoles via Xbox Game Preview, so there’s a chance that Ravenbound ends up following a similar path (though nothing along those lines has been confirmed just yet).

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

When Ravenbound does launch for PC later this month, it won’t require a particularly beefy rig for you to be able to play it. On minimum system requirements, the game will need either an Intel i5 6400 or an AMD Ryzen 5 1600, along with either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4 GB or an AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4 GB, and 8 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, on recommended system settings, the requirements do get cranked up a little bit, with the game needing either an Intel Core i7 4770 or an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X, along with either an Nvidia GTX 1070 8 GB or an AMD Vega 56 8 GB, and 16 GB of RAM. On either setting, you’ll also need DirectX 12 and 25 GB of free storage space.

PRICE

As you may have guessed, Ravenbound isn’t going to be a full priced title when it releases for PC. Upon its launch, it will be available for $29.99. Given the fact that publishers are raising their games’ prices one after another these days, a game launching for a relatively lower price point is certainly a bonus.

Set in the fantasy realm of Avalt, the story centers on the Vessel for a powerful Raven. You must traverse the world, battling enemies like Trolls, Draugr and Hudras to become stronger. There are five regions to choose from, and defeating bosses in three will unlock the sixth door to The Betrayer, the final boss.

Locations change with each playthrough, and as players clear out camps and complete trials, they’ll receive more powerful gear, relics and weapons through cards. More cards are unlocked with each new life, as new Vessels have unique skills and starting weapons a la Rogue Legacy.

Ravenbound also has a live element, though no details have been revealed yet. Stay tuned in the meantime for more updates and gameplay leading up to its release.

As a Vessel for the Raven, players traverse five regions of the world through various doors. Only one is available from the outset, and as you clear enemies and explore landmarks, new weapons, equipment, and artifacts become available. Towns also exist to provide weapon and armor upgrades, but once you’ve obtained three keys, you can go straight to the boss’s tomb.

Death will send the player back to the starting area, where they can choose from new Vessels, each with unique traits and weapons. While story details are relatively ambiguous, the main antagonist seems to be a mysterious force called The Hatred. How players will stop it remains to be seen.

Ravenbound is coming to PC via Steam, with a closed beta arriving sometime in the future. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBPiCI4Dl3M

Ravenbound starts the player in a room with many doors. Only one is unlocked in the beginning and takes you to one of the five regions in the world. As you defeat that region’s boss, another door unlocks. Once three bosses have been defeated, the sixth door with the final boss, The Betrayer, opens. There’s also the seventh door – it unlocks when the game goes live and seemingly ties into the live experience.

Upon entering a region, players can fly around in raven form, going to different landmarks and fighting enemies. Each location has a difficulty rating, with one skull being the lowest and five the most dangerous. Clearing the location gives you cards like weapons, equipment or artifacts, and other items like healing potions. Combat consists of quick and heavy strikes, the latter capable of staggering foes, but you can also dodge, block and perfect block to stun surrounding foes.

There’s also a town which provides weapon and armor upgrades, and a potion shop for acquiring more health potions. Once you’ve obtained three keys in a region (with their locations easily discerned on the map), you head to the boss’s tomb. Unfortunately, in this playthrough, Laserna fell to the guardian before the boss.

Upon dying, the player returns to the starting room. You can spend any Legend earned during the run and choose a new Vessel. Each Vessel has unique traits – like one that only uses dual axes – but you can reroll the choices with Legend.

Ravenbound is coming to PC via Steam. A release date has yet to be confirmed, but a closed beta will be coming “soon.” To register, head here.

Along with random elements and permadeath, there’s also deck-building and fast-paced melee combat. Speaking to IGN, lead game designer Simon Laserna said, “It’s really exciting to be entering a new genre for Systemic Reaction. It’s been a fun challenge to combine our open-world legacy with rogue-lite mechanics and the monsters from the Swedish woods!”

Ravenbound is in development for PC and coming to Steam. Other platforms and a release date have not been announced. Though it wasn’t officially confirmed, Henderson’s report indicated that players could choose from one of three Vessels when starting a new run. Each would have different skills and weapons, and players could loot enemy camps for coins to acquire new cards.

There also seems to be a seasonal structure with new quests and enemies coming each month. Stay tuned in the meantime for more details.