Published by Sometimes You for $10, Voron: Raven’s Story is a flight-based narrative adventure designed with emotion, wonder, and Norse mythology. This small, indie developed six-hour download has just as many ups and downs as the raven’s journey.
Playing as a raven, it is your job to fly from one place to another, perform a task like step on a pressure plate or carry an item in your beak to open a passageway, enter a new area, and repeat. Some areas are linear and more objective based whereas others are vast landscapes that give the player the freedom to enjoy being a bird.
The unfortunate problem comes from the act of flying, the verb that is performed the most. Double tapping A initiates liftoff but the dual analog control scheme is difficult to grasp and lacks precision. One stick is dedicated to movement while the other controls speed. Fly too much and the raven will get tired and can fall from the sky. Luckily, there is no death or health meters to manage so the raven will awkwardly ragdolls upon inevitable crash landings.
There are plenty of spots where exact flight patterns are required like picking up a pressure plate weight mid-flight or flying through stamina restoring orbs but doing so can quickly become frustrating with the confusing controls. I rage quit several times because I knew the task I needed to perform but just couldn’t execute it thanks to the cumbersome control scheme. This is one of those games where you will get upset, quit, then come back a day or two later to make fresh progress until the next needless challenging moment. Even with these moments of frustration, I still wanted to continue simply because of the unique premise about being a Norse raven.
Pressing a button also causes the crow to caw which acts like a beacon since there is no mapping system. This quickly vanishing guidance system is appropriate for a crow but not necessarily for a player as the circle indicator can appear behind you, but with the difficult control scheme that doesn’t compensate for quick turns, navigation can be troublesome. The alternative to flying is hopping but this form of transportation is more accurate but painfully slow.
Visually, the purposely lower poly presentation looks cool and has this impressive glow. It is an eye-catching game in an unusual way. The soundtrack is also subtle but promotes the somber approach of the entire flight-based, other worldly experience.
It is a shame because Voron is a creative, different, and appreciated experience; flying freely as a raven is pretty cool. However, in order to get to the good stuff, the player needs to fumble with the control scheme. It will be up to the individual player if the juice is worth the squeeze.
SCORE: 6/10
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
Please consider supporting me on Patreon or BuyMeACoffee.
