Graven is THE answer to the lot of us who are still waiting for a Hexen 2 sequel. It is a dark fantasy action game inspired by the legendary first-person shooters and immersive sims of the ’90s.
Developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and 1C Entertainment, the retro shooter was announced recently at Realms Deep 2020 with a dark and murky trailer.
In Graven, you are a disgraced Priest of the Orthogonal Order looking for vengeance after a heretic member of your order sacrifices your adopted daughter. As all good action-packed games, the priest sets on a road of chaos and righteous fury against the ones who wronged him.
When the dust settles, you are tried and found guilty for your crimes. Cast into exile in the burning sands of the desert, you are transformed from a desperate priest to a badass bounty hunter sent by the Creator.
Graven takes inspiration from classic shooters, immersive sims, and action RPGs. You’ll explore open-ended environments, and wield powerful weapons and destructive magic to rid them of evil.
You’ll use fists, kicks, magic staves, wrist-mounted crossbows, and demonic grimoires to slay over 30 different enemies and solve environmental puzzles.
Graven will not have a clear way-point system that players are accustomed to in modern games. You will have a journal where your character will log in all that he hears and all that had happened. Based on this information, you will have to find your way forward.
But going backward is also important. Once you upgrade your spells and equipment, you can return to areas you already explored to uncover secrets using your new abilities.
Most importantly, Graven will have up to 4 player co-op at launch. The game will support both online and offline co-op, but it isn’t clear yet how it will play out. Will you journey to other players’ worlds like in Dark Souls, or will you face specific scenarios together?
Graven is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch in 2021.
