Software:Ravenlok

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Ravenlok
Ravenlok Poster.png
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

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

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

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

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

Reception

Ravenlok received "mixed to generally favorable reviews" for Xbox Series X 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 a "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

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Romano, Sal (2023-04-12). "Ravenlok launches May 4" (in en-US). https://www.gematsu.com/2023/04/ravenlok-launches-may-4. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Van Allen, Eric (2022-06-12). "Ravenlok is a new adventure from the makers of Echo Generation, arriving in 2023" (in en-US). https://www.destructoid.com/ravenlok-trailer-reveal-xbox-pc-action-rpg-2023/. 
  3. ↑ Pinheiro, Daniel (2022-06-13). "Voxel fantasy game Ravenlok announced with a new trailer during Xbox & Bethesda show" (in en-US). https://www.pcinvasion.com/voxel-fantasy-game-ravenlok-reveal-trailer/. 
  4. ↑ Orselli, Brandon (2022-06-12). "New voxel fairytale action RPG Ravenlok announced" (in en-us). https://nichegamer.com/ravenlok-announced/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Shankar, Bradly (2022-08-19). "Toronto-based Ravenlok developer on the team's growth and shaking things up with each game" (in en). https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/08/19/toronto-cococucumber-vanessa-chia-ravenlok-xbox-pc-game-interview/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wood, Martin (2022-06-14). "Ravenlok Looks Like Another Bizarre Take on the Alice in Wonderland Story" (in en). https://gamerant.com/ravenlok-alice-in-wonderland-story-similar-bizarre-tone/. 
  7. ↑ Ramée, Jordan (2022-06-12). "Ravenlok Revealed At Xbox & Bethesda Showcase With Colorful Fairytale Trailer" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ravenlok-revealed-at-xbox-bethesda-showcase-with-colorful-fairytale-trailer/1100-6504508/. 
  8. ↑ Wheeler, CJ (2022-06-12). "Ravenlok pulls you through a mystical mirror into a beastly storybook kingdom" (in en). Rock, Paper, Shotgun. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ravenlok-pulls-you-through-a-mystical-mirror-into-a-beastly-storybook-kingdom. 
  9. ↑ Nelson, Mike (2022-06-12). "Fall into the Fantastic World of Ravenlok Next Year with Game Pass" (in en-US). https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/06/12/fall-into-the-fantastic-world-of-ravenlok-next-year-with-game-pass/. 
  10. ↑ Bonelli, John (2023-04-12). "Xbox Game Pass Confirms Yet Another Day One Game for May 2023" (in en). https://gamerant.com/xbox-game-pass-ravenlok-release-date/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Crecente, Brian (2022-03-07). "Ravenlok's wonderful '80s inspirations and voxel evolution". https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/ravenlok-wonderful-80s-inspirations-and-voxel-evolution. 
  12. ↑ Tibbetts, John (2022-06-14). "Ravenlok Looks Like We're Finally Getting American McGee's Alice 3" (in en). https://screenrant.com/ravenlok-trailer-reveal-american-mcgees-alice-3-sequel/. 
  13. ↑ Silva, João (2022-06-13). "Ravenlok is an Alice in Wonderland-like adventure game launching next year | KitGuru" (in en-US). https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/joao-silva/ravenlok-is-an-alice-in-wonderland-like-adventure-game-launching-next-year/. 
  14. ↑ Lorrigan, Matt (2022-06-13). "Ravenlok is a Voxel Art Action-RPG Set in a Fairytale World" (in en). https://www.xboxachievements.com/news/news-41908-ravenlok-is-a-voxel-art-action-rpg-set-in-a-fairytale-world.html. 
  15. ↑ "Ravenlok" (in en). https://www.metacritic.com/game/ravenlok/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-series-x. 
  16. ↑ Serin, Kaan (2023-05-03). "Ravenlok review - haste makes waste in Wonderland" (in en-gb). Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/ravenlok-review-haste-makes-waste-in-wonderland. 
  17. ↑ Tarason, Dominic (2023-05-03). "Ravenlok Review" (in en). https://www.pcgamer.com/ravenlok-review/. 
  18. ↑ Cooper, Dalton (2023-05-03). "Ravenlok Review" (in en). https://gamerant.com/ravenlok-review/. 

External links



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