After almost three years of early access being moulded and sculpted, the full release of GRAVEN is finally here. Come with me, loyal brothers and sisters as we delve deeper into the dark fantasy world, developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms, and Fulqrum Publishing.

You are a faithful priest of the Orthogonal order who has been wrongfully convicted and exiled unto death. Miraculously you live again, adrift in a swamp a stranger ferries you to solid ground and bestows upon you a cryptic warning, along with a mysterious staff, and book. Go forth pious priest, explore the wilds and beyond, alleviate suffering, uncover deceptions, and eliminate the eldritch perversions that threaten reality itself. Sounds intriguing right? However, unravelling this story will take some time to piece together due to the heavy focus on exploration in gameplay. What I’ve managed to uncover so far leaves me with hope for redemption and an eagerness to solve the mysteries that lie ahead.

While I love the story that I’ve uncovered so far, I have to say that getting to this point has been incredibly difficult for me to get to. Perhaps it’s partly because I’ve grown accustomed to the obligatory tutorial section that more or less shows you at least the basics.

Immediately being thrown into the deep end and having to pause the game to consult the menu to learn how to play is very jarring. I learned very quickly that there would be no hand-holding here, and I hadn’t even made it into the town of Cruxfirth yet. Once I came to terms with the fact I was on my own I decided to set out on my first quest to clear a blockage in the town sewers.

Heading on down into the bowels of the city armed with our trusty staff and a fire spell that you’ll pick up along the way, you’ll enter into your first taste of combat against some undead. This first encounter is a nice little skirmish that will help you learn the basics of managing stamina, mana, and close-quarters combat, which by the way feels incredible. Even though this task was a simple one to complete from here on out the objectives only get more cryptic and vague. Often tugging at the threads of hope that I was going in the right direction and ending up getting lost and turned around. Sometimes though it does pay to go the wrong way, as you’ll find yourself stumbling into various hidden areas that usually have a decent stash of resources and gold for you to pick up.

Back in the town of Cruxfirth, you’ll find a few different vendors that will sell you resources like health and mana potions, ammunition, and upgrades to your weapons for that ultimate powerhouse feeling. I upgraded my staff pretty early on which allowed me to hit harder and even obtain a nice little knockback that sent light enemies flying into explosive barrels. Combat feels very well-paced and often intense, using every tool in the arsenal including the environment.

If hordes of undead, pouncing dog-like creatures, cultists, and acid-spitting flying terrors weren’t enough, there are always the giant terrors in the form of bosses. Boss battles are the super challenge that made me feel as if I’d gone from playing a Doom-styled shooter into an Elden Ring boss fight.

I like how well the retro 3D art style fits the theme. It’s dark, gloomy, and incredibly haunting. Environments are packed full of different paths and often leave me feeling like a rat in a maze. I did experience a few issues with some flickering during the opening cut scene, other than that it’s been a very smooth visual treat.

The audio experience has been incredible, at this point I think I say this all the time but, it’s all in the details. I love it when the whole package just comes together and exists with complete synergy with the rest of the game. It is a haunting soundtrack that helps to make you feel on edge and very alone on your journey. Super crisp sound effects that make all those wonderful gibs feel positively brutal.

Overall GRAVEN is a pretty brutal FPS experience that isn’t afraid to throw you into the thick muddy waters of the unknown. Focused very heavily on exploratory mystery-solving, pulling back the curtain on some pretty awesome eldritch terrors. Fans of games like Hexen and Duke Nukem 3D are going to not want to miss out on this one.

Written by: Gary Nielsen