Drova - Forsaken Kin

The dialogue is awful. Either the characters ought to be realistic, with hidden motives and desires, or theatrical, with a bombastic, lyrical quality of speech. Instead, characters are singular and one-dimensional, leaning more towards hating or trusting the lead character for no reason. The actual prose is sloppy and fake; if you speak aloud the worst offending lines, it becomes abundantly clear the writing staff never bothered to do so themselves. Metaphors are mixed and inelegant. Quests are ludicrously hamfisted; oh, I retrieved apples from a storage container for someone, and there's some missing, the quest-giver waxes aloud that there must be a thief in the camp. Never mind that I just rolled in and am an unknown figure in the camp, I couldn't possibly have just kept some of the apples myself. Then the quest just left-turns into the lack of apples being no problem at all, just get some berries instead. if the writing is this consistently disappointing in the first 60 minutes, it'...

It really is just 2D Gothic and it does a hell of a job at capturing that. Biggest flaws are enemies seemingly having less limits to how frequently they can attack or cast (slow/snare effects are especially overtuned) and everywhere feeling labyrinthine and annoying to get around. The latter is probably necessary for proper gating since the landmass is relatively small and so dense with secrets, upgrades etc. but it still feels bad frequently. You can go places you shouldn’t be and explore well over half the game in the first chapter if you want, which feels good. The world/theme is put together well but extremely generic. Interesting quests and story all the way through for me, though. If you want to go the path of magic you’ll get punished with an even harder first half of the game, or you can respec, but I do like that equip requirements are the sum of all your stats. Enemies and items don’t respawn but some get added between chapters. There are more than enough resources...

It's okay, but it feels like you've seen the vast majority of the game after an hour or so. Any weapon of the same type (6 in total: 2handed axes, 1 handed swords, spears, daggers, slingshot and bow), are merely straight upgrades with not much difference except the damage. The writing is okay and some of the quests are decent, but progression is really damn questionable. It takes a LONG time to get any kind of okay armor so you don't explode in 2 hits, a lot of the wild encounters are 4+ creatures and you are always alone except for very specific quests and it feels like just running around and aimlessly trying to find better weapons or armor without ever feeling like you meaningfully upgraded. Enemies are very spongy and it's a very boring strike-strike-dodge, strike-strike-dodge combat. This game has potential, but so far it feels very shallow and loses all steam and motivation very quickly. I gave it a genuine try, but it's really not quite there yet imho.

In summary this is a fine game, but keep in mind that: * this is a Gothic-like game and it may be really hard in the beginning * this is quiet big project that was done by indie developer - it has rough edges, a lot of them If you accept these two, especially the second one the game can be quiet enjoyable. Pros: * Gothic-style progression system - it does work * Quests - some of the quests are actually interesting and require some brain involvement. Of course, it is RPG game, so don't expect rocket science but still... Sometimes quest story telling does fail to work and you need to run around, but before doing it worth to stop and think a little bit. * Exploration - game rewards you with some extra story pieces, gear, interesting places. Cons. This is an indie game. And it is big. A lot of rough edges: * You'll often find yourself in situations when loot protected by difficult monsters is no longer needed when you realistically can beat these monsters. * You'll notice th...

Drova’s a finely crafted 2D action RPG mimicking a lot of what constitutes its principal inspiration, the Gothic series. Apart from the obvious camera difference, it adds an adrenaline bar used to fuel spells and abilities, an unnervingly Soulsian roll, creature comforts such as an actually readable menu split into actually helpful sub-menus. Otherwise, it’s often the same – including very limited stat system with very limited numbers initially, teacher NPCs telling you how to swing your weapons and skin your wolves, a tiny, but densely packed map… The gameplay itself is a blast. I finished Drova in under a week, whole 30h of it, addicted to exploring the world, killing monsters, doing quests, and growing stronger, very tangibly so. Drova is one of the few RPGs I’ve played recently that really let you feel that you’re making progress, that what challenged you before is a cakewalk now, that you can access more places and do more things. Exploration works here because of no ...

Not the kind of game you can play as part of a rotation. When you start Drova you should continue playing until finished, because the lack of map markers makes it much harder to jump back into when you've taken a couple weeks away. I don't understand the recent backlash against quest map markers. They are a modern staple for good reason. The combat is solid, if a little repetitive. The writing is fine. The sprites and sound design are good. 6/10, fun for a bit but there are better games out there.

Killed a guard after refusing to give them money. Wait i actually didnt end up killing them... I reloaded like 20 times to learn the ability spam. After I finished and actually won. I got a bad piece of equipment that is twice my level and thats it. Ruined my experience. Especially since he was just able to freely get up 2 seconds later and fight again even after taking his weapon....

A moody experience about exploring a doomed iron-age world on a brink of death, and people trying to escape that. Took about 40 hours to beat, including getting majority of all the optional stuff. Expect: - A densely packed and inter-connected world to get lost in and explore. - Running around and looting everything (no inventory limit, go hog wild). - Beautiful art and ambience. - Dying a lot. Don't expect: - Choices and consequences. Narrative is pretty linear. - Dialogue trees. People are a back drop, the world is the main character. - Jack of all trades character. Pick a weapon and stick with it. - Using magic from the get go. It's a late-game unlock.

10/10 ! Really enjoyed the game. It's one of ones I managed to complete and didn't get bored. Really enjoied the exploration part when you can go to late game areas and face late game enemies like harpies. This makes me feel that the world is big, unkown and dangerous. Great work team! Good luck with the future projects

Incredible game. I feel like this deserves far more recognition than it already has. The exploration brings me back to that cosy Skryim feel navigating the map and diving into the unexplored. My only complaint is that there's a lot of 'padding' in the game. For example, you won't unlock fast travel until like halfway through, and there really needs to be more options for better mobility, because there's so much walking back and forth. On top of this, you can't jump down from most ledges or climb up them so you'll find yourself backtracking a lot, which gets very annoying. Aside from all that, I highly recommend this game and I look forward to more releases from the developer in the future.