RAVEN’S HIKE REVIEW – RAVING and RANTING (PC).
Raven’s Hike is a puzzle-platformer by Wired Dreams Studio. It is challenging. The gameplay is easy, the audio and visual design are decent, and the puzzles can be difficult but fair. However, the story is pointless. RH was not a good fit for me by the end. Perhaps it will for others?
Raven’s Hike, a puzzle-platformer developed by Wired Dreams Studio that I received for review this week on PC. This is one of the most frustrating games that I have ever played. This is not unusual for puzle-platformers, but it’s not like Raven’s Hike is terrible. It’s quite smooth gameplay-wise. Visually, it has all you need and looks great, even if it is repetitive. Although the premise is a bit vague, the music is good.
It’s hard to express my feelings about Raven’s Hike. This argument is hard for me to accept, but it really depends on how you view gaming. This is an extreme example. RH is the place to go if you’re looking for a challenge. You won’t be disappointed if you are looking for more. There are definitely some improvements that can be made. But take this with a grain and use your judgment.
STORY – A GOOD WALKING SPOILED
PROMISED PRIME
Raven’s Hike has a story. It is only one sentence long. This sentence is not mentioned in the game. It is only visible on the page of the version you have purchased. Raven doesn’t speak and is the only tower creature that could talk, so it’s impossible to see this information while you play. It didn’t hurt the experience.
Let’s start with the premise. A game as gameplay-intensive as Raven’s Hike does not need a story. However, it does require context. This is in the form a premise. It’s a general idea that explains why we are doing this. Mario must save the princess. Doom Guy must kill demons in order to save Earth. This is what you get. Raven’s Hike Head dives into the pit of being too specific. “Restoring equilibrium” raises more questions than it answers.
END OF THE ROAD
The ending is terrible, and that’s just talking about answers. The ending is terrible. I don’t want to ruin it but I really hate the amount of time I spent on the game. It doesn’t provide any answers, and it doesn’t give the best possible explanation. If you don’t have the right setup, it won’t be possible to create a strange or esoteric end. Trust me, I looked for a story. I paid close attention to each level, looking for clues about Raven’s background, who she is, how she can save the world, her grappling hook, what this oblivion means, and what equilibrium means. I didn’t find anything.
Specificity is the real problem. A game doesn’t have to be multi-layered, with voiced cut scenes and a glossary. You need to realize that the more information you provide, the more questions you will have to answer. It would have been fine if the premise had been “help Raven reach top of the tower.” It wouldn’t have concerned me or caused me to think about it. The game suffers from the expectations sets. We don’t need to focus on the story.
GAMEPLAY- HIKING UP MY BODY PRESSURE
SIMPLE TOOLS, COMPLETE JOB
Have you ever played N. Raven’s Hike works in the same way as N but without running. Raven cannot move without her grappling hook. This raises more questions about why she is saving the world. But, to be fair, she’s very good at it. You can easily hang from walls or ceilings, move in any direction you want, and even change directions while you are moving. You will need to learn how to move in the opposite direction from the one you were going.
Although it might appear that I don’t take this seriously, that’s just the nature of the mechanics. RH doesn’t change the gameplay by adding new mechanics. It is more about adding new obstacles to which you must apply the mechanics. To illustrate how saws work, a room might have a simple to avoid saw. To test your knowledge, the next room will contain four saws, each operating at strange angles and with an asymetrical timing. It works! It works! The controls are easy, the movement is smooth, , and the puzzles are challenging.
GRAPPLING WITH FRUSTRATION
This game is very well designed on paper. But, papers are often disproven. RH does not differ. There is no room to make mistakes. Many puzzles are very precise and you will be killed if you miss a single nanometer. For making mistakes, you don’t get punished too much. Although respawning takes place in an instant and sends you back to the beginning, it makes every puzzle more difficult. There are four levels plus the final vertical climb up to the tower. Each level has 16 rooms. 64 rooms of trial-and-error are a test of patience and not skill.
Puzzle-platformers walk the fine line between frustrating and difficult. Raven’s Hike cartwheels along that line. You get to the final climb, when you have completed all four levels. It should have been great, as it was a mixture of obstacles I had seen before and an actual test of my knowledge. It was getting tedious. The game tracks how many times you die, and I lost over a thousand times during my run. It really comes down to the game you choose, but I had no choice but to physically disconnect myself from H every few minutes.
VISUAL AND AUDIO – THE HICKER’S AMBIVALENCE
Raven’s Hike looks great. It is a 2D pixel art style with consistent and distinct room designs. The room’s details are obvious from the moment you enter, which is a good thing, but it lacks variety. The rooms look different when you move from one level to the next. It all comes down to how long you spend in each one of those 16 rooms. All of them start to blend together at the end. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t really stand out.
The game’s music was a similar issue to mine. The music was good for the most part. It fit the visuals well, but it didn’t change. It did appear to have, although I don’t recall. It faded to the background. This isn’t necessarily bad. I didn’t hate the music but it wasn’t something I loved. It’s not difficult to remember the music, but I have trouble with it. The sound effects were enjoyable though. I liked the sound effects of the saws swishing and hitting a wall.
