Graven (video game)

Last updated

GRAVEN
Graven cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Slipgate Ironworks
Publisher(s) 3D Realms
Fulqrum Publishing
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s) Windows
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X/S
Release
  • Microsoft Windows
  • January 23, 2024
  • PS5, Xbox Series X/S
  • June 25, 2024
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Graven is a 2024 first-person shooter game developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing. Graven incorporates elements of the action role-playing game and immersive sim genres to create an "action-adventure puzzler". [1]

Contents

Gameplay

Graven is an open-ended journey through three expansive regions, where the player will encounter both dangerous enemies and friendly townsfolk. Various hints, quests, and upgrades are obtained from the world's non-player characters. The player can find a wide variety of weapons and spells, each of which must be put to novel use in order to progress. While some spells may be used offensively, most of the combat involves using medieval weapons against eldritch monsters. [1] [2]

The game supports solo play, split-screen co-op, and up to 4-player online play. [3]

Plot

Players assume the role of a faithful priest of the Orthogonal order, exiled for a crime of retaliation against the order for sacrificing his adoptive daughter. The game begins with the priest adrift in a swamp, ferried by a stranger to solid ground. He bestows vague instructions, along with a mysterious staff and book. The priest embarks to hunt down the foul heretical sects responsible for conjuring plagues and twisting the natural order of the seasons. [3]

Release

Graven was announced by 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks at the Realms Deep 2020 event on September 6. [2] The announcement included a 30-minute gameplay reveal. [4] The game was released on Windows via early access on May 26, 2021. The game was released in full for Windows on January 23, 2024, with versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S was released the same year on June 25. [5] The game is also scheduled to release for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. [6]

Reception

Graven received "mixed or average" reviews for the PC version, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [7] PC Gamer described as a spiritual successor to Hexen II . [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D Realms</span> Video game publisher

3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game Kingdom of Kroz. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the company popularized a distribution model where each game consists of three episodes, with the first given away free as shareware and the other two available for purchase. Duke Nukem was a major franchise created by Apogee to use this model, and Apogee published Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D the same way.

Saber Interactive Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin in 2001, it is controlled by Karch's investment company Beacon Interactive. The company employs over 1,350 people.

<i>Wreckfest</i> 2018 video game

Wreckfest is a racing video game developed by Bugbear Entertainment and published by THQ Nordic. Wreckfest is described as the spiritual successor to the FlatOut series and a cross between FlatOut, Destruction Derby and cult 1989 PC racer Street Rod. A notable feature of the game engine is the use of soft-body damage modelling, which enables location-based damage that affects the driving dynamics of vehicles in a realistic fashion.

Bombshell is a multidirectional shooter developed by Interceptor Entertainment and published by 3D Realms. The game was released on January 29, 2016, for Microsoft Windows. The game runs on Unreal Engine 3.

<i>Praey for the Gods</i> 2021 video game

Praey for the Gods is an action-adventure survival game developed by No Matter Studios. Initially released via early access in January 2019, and the full version of the game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox One in December 2021.

<i>Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom</i> 2018 video game

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a 2018 platform game developed by Game Atelier and published by FDG Entertainment. Part of the Wonder Boy series, it was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in December, for Windows in July 2019, for Stadia in July 2020, for PlayStation 5 in December 2021, and for Xbox Series X/S in August 2022. It was generally well received by critics.

<i>Session: Skate Sim</i> 2022 video game

Session: Skate Sim is a sports video game developed by independent developer Crea-ture Studios for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game is considered a spiritual successor to the Skate series.

<i>Warhammer: Chaosbane</i> 2019 video game

Warhammer: Chaosbane is an action role-playing game developed by Eko Software and published by Bigben Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 4 June 2019. Players choose to play as one of six character classes from the Warhammer Fantasy setting: a human soldier of the Empire, a High Elf mage, a Dwarf slayer, a Wood Elf scout, a Dwarf engineer, or a human witch hunter. The character must help save the Empire against the demons of Chaos. Downloadable content featuring a storyline around the undead Tomb Kings was released on 16 December 2019. An enhanced version of the game was released for Xbox Series X/S on 10 November 2020 and for PlayStation 5 on 12 November 2020.

<i>Wrath: Aeon of Ruin</i> 2024 video game

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a 2024 first-person shooter developed by KillPixel Games and Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and Fulqrum Publishing. It is built on a modified version of the Quake engine, making it the first major game release on that engine in nearly 20 years. The first episode was released on Steam Early Access on November 22, 2019, and was fully released on February 27, 2024.

<i>Ghostrunner</i> 2020 cyberpunk video game

Ghostrunner is a 2020 action platform video game co-developed by One More Level and Slipgate Ironworks, produced by 3D Realms, and co-published by 505 Games and All in! Games. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in October 2020, and Nintendo Switch in November 2020, followed by a next gen release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in September 2021. A version for Amazon Luna was made available in April 2021. A story expansion, titled Ghostrunner: Project Hel, was released on 3 March 2022.

<i>Godfall</i> 2020 action role-playing video game

Godfall is an action role-playing game developed by Counterplay Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on November 12, 2020. It was also released for the PlayStation 4 on August 10, 2021. An enhanced version of the game containing all downloadable content up to that point, titled Godfall: Ultimate Edition, was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 7, 2022. It received mixed reviews from critics.

In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.

<i>Worms Rumble</i> 2020 video game

Worms Rumble is a 2020 action game developed and published by Team17. As a spin-off of the long-running Worms series, the game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in December 2020 and for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in June 2021.

<i>Maid of Sker</i> (video game) 2020 survival horror video game

Maid of Sker is a 2020 first-person survival horror game developed and published by Wales Interactive. The game is set in 1898 in the Sker Hotel, on an imaginary island called Sker Island. The protagonist, Thomas Evans, is invited by his lover, Elisabeth Williams, to uncover the mysteries of the hotel after she notices her family's strange behavior. While exploring the hotel, Thomas learns cult followers called "The Quiet Ones" control the place. He finds notes and gramophone records scattered around the hotel that reveal the history of Elisabeth's family.

<i>Tempest Rising</i> Real-time strategy video game

Tempest Rising is an upcoming real-time strategy video game developed by Slipgate Ironworks and 2B Games, and published by 3D Realms.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chalk, Andy (September 5, 2020). "Graven is what Hexen 3 would have been if Raven Software had a time machine". PC Gamer . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Knight, Shawn (September 6, 2020). "3D Realms announces Graven, the spiritual successor to Hexen II". TechSpot. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, Mike (September 6, 2020). "FPS Classic Hexen II Receiving Spiritual Successor in Graven". Bloody Disgusting! . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. Lang, Brad (September 8, 2020). "Graven is 3D Realms' attempt at a spiritual successor to Hexen 2 and it looks rad". Critical Hit. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. "GRAVEN for PS5, Xbox Series launches June 25". Gematsu. June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  6. Romano, Sal (September 30, 2023). "Graven launches January 23, 2024 for PC, later in 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Graven". Metacritic . Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  8. "Graven Reviews". OpenCritic . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  9. White, Lucas (January 23, 2024). "Graven review: Bonkin' up all the wrong trees". Shacknews . Retrieved September 20, 2024.