According to legend, in a time of darkness a hero with raven hair will emerge to restore goodness in the realm.
Ravenlok, developed by Cococucumber, is a fairytale adventure filled with dark undertones and cute creatures. An evil queen, talking deer, and a room full of terrified soot bunnies are only some of the weird and wonderful characters Ravenlok will meet on the path to fulfilling her destiny.
After finding a mirror in the barn of her grandma’s farm, a young girl falls into the realm of Dunia. Here she is greeted by a friendly rabbit who tells her she is Ravenlok, a brave adventurer who is going to save the realm from the evil queen. After being briefly trained in fighting and the use of her special abilities, Ravenlok heads off on an adventure, guided by quests from the residents of Dunia, to battle monsters, find their relics and open the gate to the queen’s castle.
There are obvious similarities between Ravenlok and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. From the likeness of characters like the Mad Hatter, having Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee as mini bosses, and the evil queen who, while not named the Queen of Hearts, bares a striking resemblance to Wonderland‘s villain. Despite the connections, Ravenlok does well to hold its own ground, making you fall for its characters instead of relying on what you think you already know about the world.
As she progresses through the realm, Ravenlok visits some absolutely stunning locations. The graphics are beautiful and, in my opinion, this really shines through in the different locations. My personal favourite was Deer Lake, an enchanting forest filled with lush greenery, majestic deer to run quests for and critters to defeat.
Character design in Ravenlok is also especially well-done, particularly the mini bosses throughout the game, like Buvador the Bison, which are all absolutely stunning to look at. Everything comes together to create a truly enchanting and magical world that would fit right in in a fairytale.
None of the fights in Ravenlok are especially difficult and this game is probably not for those looking for a challenge. The combat mechanics are simple and spam clicking can more or less always win the fight. The combat becomes more interesting through the use of bombs and special abilities, which can help you deal more damage, do a flurry of quick attacks or hit multiple enemies at once. These have cool downs but don’t take too long to become available again.
The real charm in Ravenlok from the story and the quests. From liberating a small army of soot bunnies who are being forced to make costumes for Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, to helping a hedgehog open a shop, each quest is varied and has several sub-quests which help you focus. There was never a minute when I felt bored, or didn’t know what to do next. Quests you pick up that you are unsure about how to complete will fall into place as you continue the game and the quest log on the side of the screen will help you see what you need to do next.
There are a few different types of quest in Ravenlok. From fetch quests, to combat, to puzzles, there is a little bit of everything. I was really pleased once the main quest started that there was more to Ravenlok than finding an item and bringing it to someone else. I find it isn’t uncommon for smaller adventure games to lean heavily on fetch quests. Ravenlok manages to keep everything feeling new and fresh which I appreciated.
Saying that, the puzzles in Ravenlok aren’t too difficult and work more to further the story and keep you engaged than anything else, so don’t expect a puzzle game going into this.
Ravenlok definitely has room for improvement though. It’s a lot shorter than I would like it to be and, while the quests involved are all unique and interesting, there are only really three main quests to work through.
The game’s quest tracker could also use some work as it only shows the quest you picked up most recently. This isn’t the end of the world as more often than not working through the on screen quest is important for your overall goals, but it would be helpful for it to be easier to switch between tasks.
Ravenlok is a charming fairytale adventure filled with cute, quirky characters, gorgeous scenery and fun puzzles. While it is shorter than I would have liked, it is absolutely worth playing through for the charming story. If you are looking for a change of pace and a glimpse into a world filled with magic, this is absolutely the game for you.
Megan played Ravenlok on PC with a code provided by the developer.
