Graven Reviews
Despite three years in Early Access, it's hard to recommend Graven at launch. From odd design choices to bugs and progression issues, the unfortunate conclusion is that Graven is a real missed opportunity.
It feels like there were some very specific ideas the creators of Graven wanted to communicate. But while those ideas sometimes weave together with the game’s dark fantasy, old-school shooter style to form some immaculate vibes, that’s about as deep as it gets. The game seems confused about whether or not it wants to be an awesome action game, a thoughtful explorative puzzler, or some kind of mutant Soulslike gimmick. It sputters across the finish line not really achieving anything but a cool look, undermined constantly by boredom. It’s a shame, because Graven has a hell of a vibe. But there’s simply too much bonkin’ and not enough bangin’.
Graven had some problems during its early access periodo and sadly the 1.0 version doesn't solve all of them, nor does it make it a really compelling game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Graven has enough puzzles, secrets, weapons, and spells to keep it engrossing and compelling throughout.
Time-machine nostalgia and a pixel-perfect retro vibe can only carry Graven so far. Combat, exploration, and level design have to ferry the player to the end. Unfortunately, Graven has enough issues in these areas that its very promising premise isn’t quite fulfilled. Players who grew up with mid-90s shooters will appreciate what Graven has to offer, at least for a while. Ultimately, it might make them appreciate how far we’ve come.
Graven feels like it's a game with a identity crisis. Along with being a boomer shooter, it also feels like it's trying to be an RPG, a dungeon crawler, and an immersive sim. Sadly, none of these ideas really feel like they come together well enough, and even the core combat feels incredibly unsatisfying owing to a lack of hit reactions from enemies. This is a shame, considering how interesting its world actually ends up being.
Graven is an intriguing mix of genres, but it doesn't manage to express its full potential.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Graven is a quality addition to the FPS offering, it gives a fair challenge and will especially please fans of fantasy horror games and the dark ages.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
GRAVEN aims for an intriguing combination of exploration, combat, and puzzle solving. All are decent, neither is truly good and the game cannot seem to decide what kind of experience it wants to create. I really wanted to use the spells, especially fire, to kill enemies, without resorting to blades or arrows.
Graven tries to swim against the market stream and offer something new, resembling games like Hexen and Heretic, but that's pretty much all it does and eventually falls short in almost every other department.
Review in Persian | Read full review
GRAVEN manages to recreate the 90s action game, but that comes with the same issues that those games did.
Graven is a retro aesthetic FPS with great aspirations through which it intends to pay tribute to the mythical Hexen, Heretic or Blood, but it fails when it comes down to it. You can see the love and effort that Slipgate Ironworks put into developing a title inspired by classics from the '90s. However, there are several elements that work against it, making it difficult to recommend.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Graven tries to be a game for everyone and ends up being a game that's hard to recommend to anybody. All of its mechanics are halfbaked, and, to make matters worse, buggy.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
GRAVEN's shortcomings will hold you back from really enjoying it. Although the design and atmosphere are great, it's not enough to overcome the frustrating gameplay loop. Fans of the genre will find plenty to enjoy, but for most, the overall experience is likely to tip more into the frustrating than the exciting.
Graven tries a little too hard to bring back the glories of early 90s shooters and gets the look right, but doesn't seem to realize the gameplay's retrograde complications dampen the potential enthusiasm.
In terms of atmosphere and creativity, this game is going places. The mixture of retro first-person shooting and RPG elements is excellent, and the presentation was pretty good. When the combat clicked, it made for a fun time. Sadly, the game was also hampered by a ton of framerate issues, random freezes, a completely pointless and forgettable plot, and a lot of questionable design choices.