Of all the Roguelikes and Roguelites I’ve played over the years, most are 2D dungeon crawlers or side-scrollers, each with something subtle to set them apart from the pack. Ravenbound is more than just subtle in its uniqueness. It’s a 3D open-world Action Roguelike with Deckbuilding baked in. If a game is going to hook me, the best way to do it is to introduce something unique, and this is certainly unique, if anything.

Unfortunately, you’re going to have to make an account with Avalance Apex Connect to start playing Ravenbound. This isn’t optional, there’s no way around it, so I threw in my burner email address after sifting through a lengthy EULA before I could start the game. I’d expect this from a AAA online-only game but never an indie single-player game. This is bizarre, and you can best believe I’m hitting unsubscribe the second they reach out to me.

Once I got to playing Ravenbound, the game did a great job of getting me up to speed on its mechanics. The grappling hook feels great, and so does the timing for dodging and blocking. Doing these at the perfect time buffs you considerably which makes the combat a joy from the get-go. You’ll also find that cards can give you an edge, but you’ll need mana to use them accordingly, and that’s something you’ll need to seek out and battle to acquire.

Once you dive into the open world of Ravenbound, you’ll be able to traverse it expeditiously in your raven form. This is a thrill to control, and it’s neat to see what enemy types and objectives lie on the ground as you soar through the sky at a blistering pace. Most importantly you’ll see side and main quest objectives, where you can land at the press of a button and take off at any designated raven point throughout the world.

I did find my setup sweating at 4K as it struggled to find that perfect 60fps, but Ravenbound is nowhere near unplayable, and the combat/movement feels as smooth as can be. I did find a hilarious bug where I returned to the side quests’ city, and the NPCs were all invisible. That meant I was talking to a bunch of ghosts. Otherwise, the polish on this title is nice and doesn’t need much improving considering how huge its world is for a Roguelike.

The problem with Ravenbound, which renders it nigh unplayable, is a devastating lack of direction. While there’s an opening cinematic that establishes some lore, on the surface level, you’re just a guy fighting random enemies with no directive. Once you complete side/main objectives, you aren’t presented with any modicum of what to do next. This isn’t like The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind where you’re told where to go with no objective marker; I literally had to look up what to do once I finished my objectives, and so did most Steam reviewers rendering Ravenbound with a 47% approval rating at the time of writing.

It’s a challenge to suggest Ravenbound at the time of release, as it feels half-done and missing a lot of substance to make it a truly enjoyable experience. It’s clear Systemic Reaction put a lot of thought into this game, and with some level design redirection and better character models, this has the chance to be a really solid roguelike.

A PC review copy of Ravenbound was provided by Systemic Reaction for this review.

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Ravenbound

$29.99

5.5

Score

5.5/10

Pros

• Excellent Combat
• Raven Flying is Awesome
• Potential for a Great Game is There

Cons

• Utterly Directionless
• Rough Performance
• Unsatisfying Deckbuilding