Once more down the rabbit hole.
Releasing day and date on Xbox Game Pass, Ravenlok is a charming and voxel-based adventure game, taking the titular character through an Alice in Wonderland-inspired outing. Despite its short 4-hour length, Ravenlok offers fantastic boss encounters, enjoyable combat, and is absolutely gorgeous to boot.
Ravenlok comes to us from Cococucumber, developer of both Riverbond and Echo Generation, a studio that has seen great success by debuting their titles on Xbox Game Pass. Ravenlok also serves as the studio's final game in their voxel trilogy, which is a shame since what it is here is often gorgeous.
The game begins as Ravenlok, or whichever you initially call her, has moved to a new home with her family, far away from the city. This new farmstead acts as a basic tutorial environment as you'll gather a few items, converse with her parents, and finally discover a special mirror that transports her to the world of Wonderland.
When you arrive in Wonderland, you'll have a few basic objectives. Find a sword and shield, and chat with the few locals that fill out the game's initial environments. You'll shortly stumble across a locked door to the Queen's castle, requiring three heart-shaped items that are rewarded for defeating three key missions that take place in this fairytale setting.
Progression throughout the game will often require a single-use item such as a clock hand, elevator handle, or candle wax used to seal some broken glass shards together. By exploring each location or retrieving items for many of the game's cast, Ravenlok will eventually face this evil Queen and save the kingdom.
Ravenlok is certainly designed with a younger player in mind. It's remarkably easy and contains just enough depth to keep your interest. You'll easily be able to collect a wealth of health potions and while a few bosses will certainly cause you to use them, standard foes rarely put up any sort of challenge, making the requirement of a shield to feel like a wasteful accessory.
Combat itself is pretty basic with a simple attack that can be spammed to no end. While other gaming heroes are often limited by some sort of stamina system, Ravenlok requires no respite, able to continually attack until whatever is in front of her has been defeated.
Ravenlok will have a few special attacks as she completes each area, from a slicing dash to a fury of sword swings, these attacks work off a very generous cooldown, constantly keeping these special abilities ready for you at almost any given moment. The sense of power you have here is great for a younger player who doesn't want to feel frustrated and keeps you feeling strong, especially as you upgrade your overall power by spending a feather currency you'll be earning in the tens of thousands.
The money you'll find to purchase health potions and bombs can be found everywhere and even just leaving and re-entering the same location will respawn all money pots, allowing you to endlessly farm them. While bombs can feel useful against the common foes you'll encounter, they sadly don't really deal much damage at all to any of the boss characters. I will say that with the game pausing the gameplay to access your potions and bombs is a smart choice and allows the player to tend to their wounds without the fear of taking damage while doing so.
Apart from combat, you'll have a few stealth scenarios, but these merely result in you just not getting touched by an enemy. There are only a few instances of this as you navigate a maze of environment and foe, trying to interact with either a series of crafting tables or security switches.
Most of the game has you exploring areas, completing side quests, and tracking down required items as well as solving a series of puzzles. From counting the number of animals in a certain area to following the notes of a botanist to activate a panel, none of the puzzles require much thought and usually can be solved by just knowing what to be on the lookout for.
If I had to place a major criticism upon Ravenlok, it's that its camera is often disappointing and can often block elements of the environment depending on where you are. While you can move the camera around to certain limits, the fact that this is even a thing really makes me wish I could move the camera around entirely in most locations, especially the more open areas that are not done in a side-scrolling-like presentation.
Ravenlok is not going to present you with any sort of challenge or bring you anything new from its adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. It's a charming adventure about a little girl placed in the role of a chosen one set to save the land from an evil Queen. Its puzzles and exploration are light and fun, and its combat is fast-paced and enjoyable due to the rapid use of its special attacks. If you're looking for a game to easily wrap in an afternoon and earn a good chunk of achievements without even really trying, then Ravenlok is certainly worth the download.
Developer - Cococucumber. Publisher - Cococucumber. Released - May 4th, 2023. Available On - Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows. Rated - (E 10+) Fantasy Violence. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - Ravenlok was downloaded and played on Xbox Game Pass.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.