Subsequent to the Second Extinction I now view Systemic Reaction games with some caution. They are sometimes entertaining, although they are often very large and have some strange design choices made. The developer's latest roguelite, Ravenbound, falls under both of these categories. The fact that the game seems to be the first open-world roguelite makes it particularly intriguing. You can be sure it doesn't function at all if it sounds like something that probably wouldn't. However, the game has several highly notable features, thus the issue of whether or not Ravenboundis worth it remains.
The tutorial that opens the game teaches you the fundamentals of how to play. Your character possesses light and powerful melee attacks, a dodge, and a block. You'll mostly be battling stuff. Although the game suggests using a gamepad, playing with a mouse and keyboard is much more enjoyable. It's better to be able to simply use the mouse to look at adversaries since you'll usually always be battling groups and the lock-on makes it hard to keep an eye out for additional foes. Although the fight itself feels good, assaults can seem feeble because of how opponents respond to damage. The fact that they are all really mushy doesn't help either.
The fact that there are benefits for using evading and blocking at the appropriate moment makes Ravenbound combat some of the greatest around. You'll briefly increase your damage if you dodge well. On the other side, blocking causes an explosion that brings down adversaries. You may dodge as much as you want, but the quality of your block diminishes rapidly. Should it break, your character is rendered speechless. Additionally, you'll have a unique meter build up that, after a while, enables you to employ Surge mode. In spite of this, the fighting quickly becomes quite repetitive.
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You start each run in Ravenbound by stepping out into the open world. It's enormous, and in addition to pursuing the guardians of the game—which is your primary objective—you will encounter opposing factions. You are free to go around on foot or, if you'd like, take flight like a raven. Regretfully, the raven form's controls are not great. To defeat guardians, you must constantly get stronger. You may accomplish this by donning cards that increase your attack or defense and provide you other boons. When you finish a run, you get money that you can use to roll your characters and unlock new attributes for a random pool.
There is a significant disclaimer, however. Instead of providing an enjoyable and adaptable upgrading system, Ravenboundchooses to be baffling and perplexing. It takes three of an enemy's dropped objects for you to be provided fresh cards. Once you've done this a few times, Hatred is added, which makes you draw a card that increases the difficulty of the game. The majority of adversaries are attached to chests that you may open to receive fresh cards right away. However, each time you open one of them and fail to overcome a nearby large challenge and purify chests, you will get a Hatred card.
The issue is that only a small number of chests close to the challenge are cleaned. Furthermore, you will have to decline the cards that strengthen you in order to eventually be able to purchase one since you require mana to even equip cards, and regrettably, mana is largely obtained from cards. To be honest, I didn't like this at all. In addition to the absence of a map and the inability to locate cleansed chests, playing Ravenbound may be a hassle.
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Personally, I don't believe Ravenbound is worthwhile. The battle may be enjoyable and the game is extremely beautiful, but the repetitive action and annoying advancement mechanics make the game seem more like a job than it should have been. Put this one in the "it would have been really cool if not for x" bucket with Second Extinction.
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