Ravenbound

I think Ravenbound has a solid foundation as a roguelite, but it’s buried underneath some mechanics that aren’t enjoyable enough to keep you engaged. Also, if you’re one those people who don’t like “always online” games, skip this one because you won’t be able to play Ravenbound otherwise.

Ravenbound’s limited successes do not come from an abundance of new ideas, but combining or juxtaposing old ones. If Ravenbound was a full-price, triple-A game I’d be a lot less forgiving of its flaws. No matter the price, it’s still derivative, janky and in serious need of optimization and bug fixes. But at less than 30 bucks, it’s maybe worth a gamble for fans of open world RPGs and action roguelikes. Provided, that is, that they temper their expectations and can overlook the game’s sometimes messy mechanics and other shortcomings.

Ravenbound strives to conquer the gaming skies, but its ambitiously fragile bones break underneath the weight of its own unpolished body. The world is an empty shell which desperately needs the mighty soul of some open world God, that will solve repetitive gameplay, technical issues and fill this husk of a world with some actual content, rather than just endless fighting. Neat ideas are here, and the intriguing genre mixing provides a well-deserved breath of fresh air, that unfortunately gets quickly spoiled by frustrating shortcomings.

There isn’t much for me to recommend in Ravenbound — its beautiful landscapes and somewhat fun combat won’t be worth the hours of fighting RNG, a lack of deck-building mechanics, and basically non-existent healing options.

A huge melting pot of different ideas that comes out rather bland. Its nice ideas are undermined by the shallowness of the experience.