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[mèx]

The first major patch of DROVA Forsaken Kin, one of the best indie games of the year, is out!

This is the "feedback patch", as it addresses a lot of points that were raised by the community.

Some highlights:

• Added quest chain and NPCs for fast traveling
• Added new item to reset learning points spent on attributes
• Added a warning before entering the Red Tower to indicate point of no return
• Reworked the rebinding system to allow more customization
• Added a new category to journal to help find and memorize people in the world
• Added names of people and creatures when looting them
• Added more markers to be placed on the map
• Added a new menu to (re)view tutorials from the pause menu
• Added more save slots (PC only)
• Added a shortcut to trigger camera zoom from within the game (PC only)
• Added shortcuts to player menus (inventory, journal, etc.) to swap between tabs without clicking (PC only)
• Added option to disable to auto-aim with controllers
• Lots of balance changes
• Lots of bug fixes

You can find the full changelog on Steam.



If you are wondering what is DROVA, it's similar to Gothic, but in 2D. Yep, it's that good. It currently stands at 96% positive reviews on Steam (3k reviews total).

The focus of DROVA is exploration and challenging methodical combat, where experimentation is always rewarded. No encumbrance management, no bullshit survival elements, crafting is kept simple and to the point.
It's just you and the world of DROVA, the sense of exploration and getting stronger is fantastic. The lore and writing is overall interesting, with believable and non-overbearing dialogues.

Get it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox or Playstation. It plays wonderfully on both mouse/keyboard and controller.

 

[Labadal]

Great game that has fliwn under the radar. I need to get back to it, and finish it.

 

[Pakoe]

Just added it to my wishlist, looks interesting

 

[Dr.Morris79]

DROVA, foreskin?

 

[amigastar]

Interested in the game but first i have to finish The chronicles of Myrtana.

 

[Alexios]

Looks like something that should be on mobile, like Caves of Lore (not a knock, I'm looking for games for my phone, lol).

 

[Shadowstar39]

Awesome. I bought the game but put it down for ys 10 on switch, stalker 2 on Xbox, silent hill 2 on ps5, and a ton of city builders/strategy games on pc.

I'll get back to it. I loved it so far.

 

[mèx]

Finished the game in around 50 hours.

Not sure how a random indie team came along and successfully made a Gothic spiritual successor. Totally out of left field. Compared to Gothic it’s more modern and not as tedious, and unexpectedly it’s a very polished game! I haven’t encountered a single bug personally.

I really liked how you can approach the game in any way you want: for example, after helping the first village, I fucked off and explored the whole map with subpar armor and weapons. At times I had to give up and move to a different zone, but little by little my character was becoming stronger, allowing me to go back and clean up zones in which I could not progress before. Overcoming an enemy that you are not “supposed” to beat is always satisfying, and if you explore around there are plenty of moments like that.

The character power progression is one of the best aspects of the game. This is not one of those RPGs where you get an item that gives you 0.7% additional damage. When you get a new weapon/armor you really feel like you got stronger. Same when you manage to unlock new talents. You start the game being a weak ass nobody, and by the end you are an indestructible unit mowing enemies down left and right. And this progression feels natural, which is not something easy to achieve.

The lore/stpry is interesting. As soon as you start the game, you immediately understand that the world of Drova is going to the shitter. The story is delivered in two layers: the first is directly via dialogues and interactions with characters, and this mostly deals with the current situation/events in Drova. The second is via exploration: as you explore, you discover little snippets about the past civilization that lived in the world of Drova, what they did and how this situation came to be. Overall it’s well-done I would say, nothing earth shattering but quite pleasant nonetheless.

The combat is solid. For most of the game it’s very methodical, since enemies can kill you in few hits. You really need to learn the enemy patterns and exploit your surroundings to make some progress in the most difficult areas. There are no invincibility frames unless you dodge: this means that if you get surrounded and you are out of stamina, it’s basically over. So you really have to think about how you approach every fight. There is a plethora of items (traps, bombs, spells, etc.) to help you out, and I would advise you to use them as they can make quite a difference.

And… there is no hand holding. No map markers, no fast travel, no level scaling, you go around and figure things out. The maps are literally maps, a piece of paper on which someone has drawn a map. If you think all of this might be tedious, think again: the game is very dense and it’s made to accommodate these design choices.

The game is not perfect: stealing is a bit too easy, knocking out characters has no big repercussions, some puzzles are a bit weird, etc.. But these do not compromise the game too much, they are small blemishes (at least to me, your mileage may vary).

I’m kind of surprised the RPG PC community is not all over this. I hope the good word of mouth is going to help the popularity of this game.

 

[Stamps1646]

The game is great, one of the best indie titles I've picked up this year.

 

[mèx]

The patch is out on PS4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S.

If you planned to play this one or you are in a mood for a great RPG, it's a great time to jump in!

Spoiler: Patch console status

 

[dreamstation]

How does it play and control on PS5? Easy to play with controller and all that? Thanks.

 

[thief183]

This game is Gothic in 2d, and it is awesome.

 

[mèx]

How does it play and control on PS5? Easy to play with controller and all that? Thanks.

I tried to play with a controller for a couple hours (I played mostly with M&K) and it's great.
The only "weirdness" is that if you want to change the attack direction, you have to use the right stick. You get used to it after a few minutes though.

 

[Sentenza]

I just "platinumed" this game on Steam yesterday after two full playthroughs (and a couple other incomplete ones).

While I wouldn't call the game "flawless" by any mean, It's hard to overstate how much I enjoy the journey.
And after Archolos we have a have a second demonstration that a PURE Gothic-like structure (unforgiving at the beginning, minimal on the hand-holding, designed to feel threatening all the way through until you are finally a powerhouse yourself in the endgame, etc) is still a killer formula for an RPG and not even remotely as "outdated" as some developers would want you to believe.

It's baffling that before going the way of the dodo even Piranha Bytes itself, the creator of this particular style, failed multiple times to replicate the brilliance of their early output.