Ravenlok

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Ravenlok
Official Poster
Developer(s)Cococucumber
Publisher(s)Cococucumber
Director(s)
  • Vanessa Chia
Producer(s)
  • Vanessa Chia
Programmer(s)
  • Martin Gauvreau (Lead)
  • Justin San Juan
Artist(s)
  • Edgar Abrego (Animator)
  • Danielle Magpayo
  • Simone Heath
  • Vicky Liang
  • Leona Wu
Writer(s)
  • Vanessa Chia
Composer(s)
  • Mike Lizola Rocha
  • Eggplant Music and Sound
Platform(s)
ReleaseMay 4, 2023
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Ravenlok is an indie action role-playing game developed and published by Canadian studio Cococucumber and released for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on May 4, 2023.[1] The game follows a young girl named Ravenlok, who finds herself pulled away from reality and into a fantasy land cursed by an evil Caterpillar queen.

Gameplay[edit]

Ravenlok is an action role-playing game that combines voxel tech with pixel art.[2] The game features a third-person perspective, in which players battle enemies using a sword and shield combo.[3]

Weeping-Fungi Boss from Ravenlok

Gameplay features include arena-based boss fights, a leveling system where players can hunt for new weapons and items to level up their skills, and quests where players can interact with secondary characters and uncover their stories.[4]

Plot[edit]

Ravenlok is a fairytale reimagining about a young girl and her quest to fulfill a dangerous prophecy.[2] The game follows Kira, whose family has moved into a new home in the countryside, after inheriting the estate from a missing relative. While investigating her new home, Kira falls through a mirror into a magical realm called Dunia, where she takes up the mantle of Ravenlok and embarks on a journey.[1] The developers have disclosed that the real-world home of Ravenlok is set in an unspecified place in rural Canada.[5]

Screenshot from Ravenlok

The game draws inspiration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with the protagonist being pulled through a mirror into a fantasy world. But unlike modern adaptations of the novel, the story does not appear to include its heavy subject material, such as mental illness.[6] Secondary characters and enemies include knights made of cards, a Queen of Hearts, a white rabbit, court jesters, playing-card guardsmen, and robotic versions of Tweedledum and Tweedledee.[7][8]

Development[edit]

Ravenlok was announced and a trailer was revealed at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase in 2022.[9] The initial trailer earned praise for its unique art style, which blends voxel-based character designs and non-voxel 3D assets.[10] The trailer references classic elements of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with both the storyline and character designs reminiscent of Carroll's famous works.[11] Ravenlok's early footage has also drawn comparisons to 2000's American McGee's Alice, another third-person action-adventure game and modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland.[12]

Ravenlok is the third and final installment in Cococucumber's Voxel Trilogy, following the releases of Riverbond and Echo Generation.[13][6] Ravenlok has been described as the culmination of their studio's exploration into the 3D pixel aesthetic.[14] Prior to Ravenlok's partnerships with Microsoft and Xbox, Echo Generation received positive online attention from both Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, and Xbox corporate Vice President, Sarah Bond, on Twitter.[5]

The Cococucumber team has spoken of leaning into themes of family, identity and finding your home in the structure of a coming-of-age story, while incorporating elements of different fantasy stories. Additional inspiration was found in exploring the idea of Asian identity.[11] While not explicitly mentioned, the protagonist comes from an Asian family.[5]

Ravenlok game director Vanessa Chia told Epic Games Store that "the works of Studio Ghibli are a wonderful source of inspiration, especially My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away".[11] The Cococucumber team have expressed that the game references a number of fantasy stories, such as Labyrinth, The Lord of the Rings series, The Neverending Story, and Over the Garden Wall.[5] Chia said that while the comparison to American McGee's take on Alice in Wonderland is interesting, American McGee's Alice, it is more of a reflection for the appetite for a new game from the auteur developer.[11]

The Cococucumber team have spoken about aiming to make an action role-playing game that builds upon their previous works' gameplay elements, specifically the turn-based combat in Echo Generation and Riverbond's dungeon crawling and arcade elements.[5]

Release[edit]

Ravenlok was released for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on May 4, 2023.[1]

Reception[edit]

Ravenlok received "mixed to generally favorable reviews" for Xbox Series X/S upon release, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[15] The game has been particularly praised for its art direction and atmosphere, pacing, and the incorporated Alice in Wonderland iconography.[16] PC Gamer described it as an "absolute treat", with every environment being "packed with detail rendered in unfiltered textures" and "packed full of voxelized decoration and lit impeccably".[17]

Game Rant's Dalton Cooper rated the game 4/5 stars, stating that, while Ravenlok may not be for players looking to "invest hundreds of hours into their games", it's a "short, sweet, easy game" that is "perfect to pick up and play", or as a "good starter game for kids". He praised the story for "never losing momentum" and being "consistently entertaining from start to finish", but stated that a hindrance is that the "camera can be overly restrictive at times."[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Romano, Sal (2023-04-12). "Ravenlok launches May 4". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  2. ^ a b Van Allen, Eric (2022-06-12). "Ravenlok is a new adventure from the makers of Echo Generation, arriving in 2023". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  3. ^ Pinheiro, Daniel (2022-06-13). "Voxel fantasy game Ravenlok announced with a new trailer during Xbox & Bethesda show". PC Invasion. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (2022-06-12). "Fairytale action RPG Ravenlok announced for Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  5. ^ a b c d e Shankar, Bradly (2022-08-19). "Toronto-based Ravenlok developer on the team's growth and shaking things up with each game". MobileSyrup. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  6. ^ a b Wood, Martin (2022-06-14). "Ravenlok Looks Like Another Bizarre Take on the Alice in Wonderland Story". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  7. ^ Ramée, Jordan (2022-06-12). "Ravenlok Revealed At Xbox & Bethesda Showcase With Colorful Fairytale Trailer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  8. ^ Wheeler, CJ (2022-06-12). "Ravenlok pulls you through a mystical mirror into a beastly storybook kingdom". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  9. ^ Nelson, Mike (2022-06-12). "Fall into the Fantastic World of Ravenlok Next Year with Game Pass". Xbox Wire. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  10. ^ Bonelli, John (2023-04-12). "Xbox Game Pass Confirms Yet Another Day One Game for May 2023". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  11. ^ a b c d Crecente, Brian (2022-03-07). "Ravenlok's wonderful '80s inspirations and voxel evolution". Epic Games. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  12. ^ Tibbetts, John (2022-06-14). "Ravenlok Looks Like We're Finally Getting American McGee's Alice 3". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  13. ^ Silva, João (2022-06-13). "Ravenlok is an Alice in Wonderland-like adventure game launching next year | KitGuru". Kitguru. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  14. ^ Lorrigan, Matt (2022-06-13). "Ravenlok is a Voxel Art Action-RPG Set in a Fairytale World". Xbox Achievements. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  15. ^ "Ravenlok". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  16. ^ Serin, Kaan (2023-05-03). "Ravenlok review - haste makes waste in Wonderland". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  17. ^ Tarason, Dominic (2023-05-03). "Ravenlok Review". PCGamer. Archived from the original on 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  18. ^ Cooper, Dalton (2023-05-03). "Ravenlok Review". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-08.

External links[edit]

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