Today we’re taking a look at The Adventure Company’s The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief, Episode 1 which is available now on steam and the series will be making its way to consoles.
In the game, players assume the role of Swiss police officer Anton Zellner who embarks on a mysterious and unwitting adventure to hunt down the Raven or a would be imposter. Set in the 1960s and with a veritable cast of misfits, the game offers some point and click adventuring that’s perhaps well suited for all ages.
Whilst the story might be fairly interesting and engaging. High class characters, expensive one of a kind jewels, a cat like thief and a spot of murder are worthy ingredients to retain interest. Yet, the game itself is a little lacking, making progression horribly easy for the sake of moving the rather brief episode forwards. Players will have to wrestle with poor controls (using a gamepad) and horrendous game glitches if they are to navigate the episode with much success as the character controls like a very slow tank. Whilst there’s perhaps no reason for the somewhat aged and balding Zellner to run about, it does make for a very slow paced game which probably will annoy the impatient.
Interactions with the 3D world is accomplished by looking at objects and then selecting an action. There’s also an inventory to combine items and use at specific points. It’s all very clear, and if stuck there are aids to make things easier.
Graphically, the game does look rather simple, with low detail in some instances and a more animated look than anything despite some locations looking more colourful than others. There are glitches where the character might disapear or even not interact any more with any of the items, but these are easily overcome with saving the game often, and if you forget there’s an auto save which might prove useful.
The audio is of a reasonable standard, with expected performances from the cast that bring the interesting characters to life. Whilst the dialogue can be a little stoic, the game does maintain its quality thoughout. The soundtrack is non intrusive, and at times quite pleasant, looking like a fair bit of attention was spent on creating a mysterious atmosphere.
The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief Episode one of three isn’t massively time consuming in terms of content, although the laid back pace might slow things down a little. With between 2-5 hours worth of play the game isn’t something that requires a replay bar going back to collect any missed achievements. Each episode will release at the end of the month leading up to September, so not really a long to wait considering the purchase includes all three episodes.
The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief is an interesting game in terms of its story, but the slow pace and poor controls hamper what could be an interesting series for fans of the genre and family members looking to solve the mysteries together. Anyone else might feel a little let down by the lack of significant events on offer making for a game that’s a little dull. Hopefully, now the scene is set the rest of the story can unleash a little more excitement into the mystery. As it stands it might be better off waiting until more episodes are released to get a greater picture of the game.
As a stand alone game irrespective of the other two forthcoming episodes, The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief Scores 5.5/10 – Review by Robert Cram.
