For those who loved the '90s FPS series "Hexen" back in the day, you may be interested to know that a Hexen 2 spiritual successor known as GRAVEN is now available on Xbox, and the first console impressions seem pretty good!
If we sound surprised by that, it's because the PC version got off to a lukewarm start with the critics back in January (it has a Metacritic average of 65 for that platform), while the Steam version only has a "Mixed" user rating.
Here are a couple of contrasting reviews from Steam about GRAVEN:
"Bronsun on Steam: Fun, classic FPS, RPG that reminds me a lot of Heretic and Hexen from Raven Software. I really love it."
"Alebak on Steam: Graven is a pretty significant disappointment. I enjoyed Heretic and Hexen and when I heard that there was a new retro shooter styled game coming out going for that sort of style, with some immersive sim stuff thrown in as well I was all for it. While it has the aesthetics that I was looking for, I find the rest of the game to be undercooked."
Many of the reviews warn that you shouldn't go into GRAVEN expecting a "straight up boomer shooter", as it also features elements like puzzles, inventory management and a "Dark Souls-like" hub world. In fact, some even go as far as saying it's not particularly reminiscent of Heretic or Hexen, but rather plays like an action-adventure title.
However, you look at it, the good news is that the Xbox version has some decent ratings on the Xbox Store so far based on the small number of reviews it's received. We'll throw a couple of examples down below of what we've found:
SkuzzyxWuzzy on Xbox: "Atmosphere and aesthetic is top notch. Plays like an old school adventure with action, puzzles, secrets, and actually having to read quest logs etc. Not an easy hand holding game, but that's half the fun as it is. There are bugs, and some of the animations are still while in combat. It has jank for sure, but lots of charm. Great to see this finally come to consoles."
Death Tapper on Xbox: "Addictive but buggy and janky Hexen-like (Hexen is better though and NEEDS to be remastered/remade). Lots of exploration and light Metroidvania elements. Can be pretty tough at times but I haven't been this invested in a while. An update to fix floating NPCs and items would be nice."
If GRAVEN sounds like something you're interested in trying on Xbox, you can buy it now for £22.72 / $25.49 via the Xbox Store. We'll throw some more details about the game itself along with some screenshots below:
"A marriage between modern development tools and techniques with a stark late 90s aesthetic brings the first person action-adventure GRAVEN to life! Featuring character designs by Chuck Jones (Duke Nukem 3d, Half-Life) and the voice talent of Stephan Weyte (Blood, Fire Emblem, Dusk) in a dark yet distinct medieval fantasy experience."
"A faithful priest of the Orthogonal order–exiled unto death for a crime in defense of another–you live again in a small boat, adrift in a swamp. A stranger ferries you to solid ground and bestows upon you a cryptic warning, along with a mysterious staff and book. Go forth, pious priest, alleviate suffering, uncover deceptions, and smash the eldritch perversions encroaching upon reality itself.