Ravenlok Review

revenlock, is a title from the indie studio Cococucumber that was featured at the Bethesda Games Showcase and later at The Game Awards 2022. With Voxel Art graphics aesthetics and a very Alice in Wonderland setting, it looks like a flashy adventure game .

Ravenlok in Wonderland

In this adventure, we will take the role of a girl who has just moved with her parents to a farm in a town. Doing the chores of an ordinary move, inside a barn, she discovers a mysterious mirror that transports her to a world called Dunia in which anthropomorphic animals swarm everywhere (here are the similarities with Alicia).

In this strange land, an evil queen reigns over the world of Dunia. Upon arrival, we are told that we are Ravenlok, a chosen heroine who must put an end to the regime of Caterpillar, the evil queen.

Certainly, Ravenlok takes inspiration not only from the work of Lewis Carroll, but also from other classics of universal literature. This can be seen in the setting created, where we will have different places taken from typical fairy tales such as a mushroom forest, huge trees that serve as homes, sumptuous houses, etc. In terms of setting, the game offers a lot to see.

As for characters, we will have composer rabbits, painters, teachers, giant cats, witches, etc. Each of them is in charge of granting us missions while giving their point of view of the situation in Dunia.

Between Link and Souls

Ravenlock, is an adventure game with hints of role-playing, even from the Souls formula, keeping the distance. On the one hand we will have to carry out missions for the different non-hostile characters that we find. On the other hand, facing enemies with a sword and shield. In the first instance, it gives us a starting choice, which seems to be relevant as choosing our dog’s accessory, but the game quickly forgets about it.

Let’s move on to the missions, many NPCs will give us tasks to solve that have to do with things they have lost or something they need, however, they abuse this mechanic. Many of these tasks that have to do with finding something for someone, do not have any placeholders or indicators except for the texts on the screen. The problem is that we will have to wander until we find the character or the object that we need to complete the mission, it is practically a ¨find out how you can¨.

In addition to the missions, we will have different other optional tasks such as collecting some rabbit-shaped figurines, activating statues scattered throughout the kingdom, getting some sheet music for a pianist, etc. The game also makes us solve one or another simple riddle to give some variety.

Regarding combat, the game wanted to implement the aforementioned FromsoftWare formula but making it very basic. We have a sword and a shield, (which by the way, you have to find in one of the missions) while the sword works well, the shield is almost decorative because mostly we will be using the dodge action that does not have to do with the stamina bar . This resistance bar does not run out with each hit, only using the shield, but it will not be necessary to dodge, a pity that they wasted this resource.

The enemies hardly present a challenge, and basically, they will stay waiting to be attacked or that we pass through their range of vision. They are very varied and they reappear after changing scenarios, useful for farming money that is used to buy objects or feathers to level up.

By advancing and leveling up, we will obtain new skills that have a cooldown time such as ice ball magic, a charge with our sword, etc. By defeating enemies, we will obtain feathers, which serve as a currency to level up with a certain character and improve our stats.

Even so, the game is very simple, the ones who will make things a bit difficult for us will be the bosses, who have very defined patterns. They are quite showy fights since the bosses exceed us in size, and therefore in attack range. They are the ones that will really make us use the health potions and thrown bombs, although the latter do not do as much damage.

plaid looks better

Aesthetically, Ravenlok is very striking with vibrant colors, fantasy settings and that unmistakable Voxel art look, being the best part of the game. It runs very smoothly and no graphical errors such as bugs, slowdowns or other glitches were found.

Musically it is a game that has some interesting pieces with quiet, gloomy themes and an interesting song that the pianist rabbit plays for us when he fulfills his mission. It does not have voices, except for the babbling of some characters or enemies, although it does come with texts in English.

Verdict

Ravenlok is a different version of Alice in Wonderland with a main character of another name. She has a simple plot as if it were the work of Lewis Carroll but with changed characters, although the NPCs do not have deep backstories and little substance. At the playable level, she is a very simple and generic formula that will not dazzle the player since it hardly presents a challenge except with the bosses. Aesthetically it is a beautiful and vibrant game, which is where it stands out the most but in the rest it is a duty.

Note: This review was made on Xbox Series X and the code was provided thanks to Cococucumber.