3D Realms announces
GRAVEN, a fantasy action/adventure first-person
shooter coming to PC, and consoles next year with four-player local and online
multiplayer support. This is in development at Slipgate Ironworks and will be
co-published with 1C Entertainment. They are calling this a spiritual successor
to
Hexen 2, Raven's 1997 sequel to their 1995 sequel to
Heretic.
They offer a
Reveal Trailer with some gameplay and the following details:
Revealed
at Realms Deep 2020, GRAVEN delves
into a gruesome medieval world of deities and monstrosities as a disgraced
Priest of the Orthogonal Order. When a heretical member of the Order sacrifices
the Priest’s adoptive daughter, the Priest lethally retaliates in a bout of
righteous fury. Tried and found guilty by his brothers and now exiled to the
burning sands, he closes his eyes for one last prayer, for peace. The Creator
speaks to him directly: “You will have to earn your peace.”
Heed the Creator by hunting down the foul heretical sects responsible for
conjuring plagues and twisting the natural order of the seasons. Blending
action, exploration, and puzzle-solving, GRAVEN takes cues from classic
shooters, immersive sims, and action RPGs alike. Journey across three expansive,
open-ended regions, and scour the lands to purge evil.
Carefully observe a reactive world to find the way: with a journal, the player
drives the exploration instead of following waypoints. Listen to townsfolks’
woes and slay the monsters responsible for their torment. Banish over thirty
distinct enemies from plagued madmen to swamp beasts with powerful sorceries
such as wild blasts of lightning and scorching rays of flame. Solve
environmental puzzles with those same powers, altering the world with spells.
Wield destructive conventional weaponry, including magic staves and
wrist-mounted crossbows. Find hidden gold to upgrade weapons and spells at
blacksmiths and alchemists. Return to previously-plundered areas with new
abilities to uncover secrets and entirely new areas. With more than 30 weapons
and spells, GRAVEN encourages experimentation. Play solo, with one friend in
split-screen co-op, or even in a party of four online for complete arcane chaos.
“GRAVEN began as a game we had often dreamed of,” said Frederik Schreiber, vice
president of 3D Realms and Game Director on Graven. “‘What would a spiritual
successor to a Dark Fantasy series such as Hexen, have looked like if it was
made in 1998 in the original Unreal engine?’ We think the answer is GRAVEN. We
hope you do too.”