Raven's Cry Key Art

Raven's Cry Review - Buggered Beyond Belief

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Published: February 12, 2015 1:00 PM

Let’s get something out of the way. Raven’s Cry, as it stands currently, is not a game you should spend a single penny on. This game simply isn't finished. Your ability to play it will be severely hampered by constant game-crashing bugs and broken quests.

A Chequered Past

Storm clouds were gathering over this game's development as far back as the fall when its release date was pushed back several times.  It was hoped that the extra time would allow for a bit of polishing on the game’s rough edges, but now it seems clear that the small development team at Poland’s Reality Pump studio had simply bitten off much more than they could chew. Raven’s Cry is so chock full of the kind of bugs and glitches that make old games so hilarious to look back on that it’s hard to believe that it could be released with a triple-A price tag in 2015.

It’s a shame, too, because, despite its design flaws, at its core it has enough enjoyable mechanics to push you through its tale of murderous pirates and revenge on the high seas. Combat happens in two places, in hand-to-hand swordplay, and in ship-to-ship gunfights. The learning curve of ship-to-ship battles makes mastering the art of steering your vessel while manning the guns especially satisfying. There are four different kinds of ammunition to use, all of which serve different strategic purposes.  Shipboarding involves a system so poorly explained by the game that it's best avoided altogether. Sword fighting is more tedious, but at least the game doesn't force you to engage in it too often.

Story and Design

While the game was never going to win awards for its looks or its story, Reality Pump’s own Grace 2 engine aptly renders the tempestuous and moody environment of the seventeenth-century Caribbean colonies. Raven’s Cry isn't lacking in artistic direction; port towns are lush, lively, and convincingly alive. The game's soundtrack succeeds in establishing an atmosphere of foreboding darkness or drunken revelry, as each scene demands. Character models won’t blow you away but are adequate to the task.

The story itself revolves around Christopher Raven, a pirate on a quest for vengeance. He’s actually an interesting protagonist, as he takes himself incredibly seriously but is often met with mockery instead of terror. With the option to handle most encounters as you wish, Captain Raven is as bad as you want him to be. The world does a good job of convincing you of its base brutality, although the game’s writing is uneven - most of your exchanges are tedious and repetitive. On the other hand, the story takes some interesting turns as the chapters advance, and Captain Raven must explore his own mind through a vision quest.  Hand-drawn animated vignettes serve as a glimpse into Raven’s past and also into the developer’s artistic ambitions. Eventually, you’ll even meet a female character who isn't a prostitute!

Problems, Problems, Problems

The game seems to be a tale of oversized ambitions. As evidenced by reviews for their previous game, Two Worlds 2, Reality Pump appears to be making a habit of shooting for the moon- creating games with enough content and systems to warrant a full price tag without being able to actually finish or polish their bug-riddled software.  It’s clear that a lot of effort was put into developing a degree of depth in the secondary systems: trading, ship maintenance, crew maintenance, and factions are all present. It’s hard not to think that if the developers had sacrificed some of these features, they could have released a game that people could actually play.

And again, it really is a shame because just as I was on the verge of gathering enough Reales to upgrade from a schooner to a Galleon class ship — just as I had put the frustrations of figuring out which quests were broken and how to use the upgrade trees—Raven’s Cry decided to crash on me at a pivotal point in the story, throwing up a wall of glitch that I may never see the other side of. So far, Reality Pump has released one patch. Slowly they’re working on a second one. At the same time, they’re working to fulfil the promises of extras that they made to their pre-orderers.

Raven's Cry - The Verdict

A dark spin on the pirate fantasy may be tantalizing enough to convince you to give it a shot, but do yourself a favor and wait until the game has been thoroughly patched up. After that, I can honestly say that there will be some worthwhile fun to be had with this one. For now, Raven’s Cry has left a very bitter taste in many people’s mouths. One can only hope that the studio will learn its lesson and start treating its customers with respect.


TechRaptor reviewed Raven's Cry on PC via Steam with a code purchased by the reviewer. This review was originally published on 02-12-2015. While care has been taken to update the piece to reflect our modern style guidelines, some of the information may be out of date. We've left pieces like this as they were to reflect the original authors' opinions and for historical context.

Review Summary

3
There's a fun game buried underneath this total lack of polish, but for now, it's broken and unplayable.
(Review Policy)

Cons

  • Far too unpolished to recommend
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