Graven is 3D Realms’ attempt at a spiritual successor to Hexen 2 and it looks rad

Hexen 2 might have been my very first shooter. I mean, I still played it late but coming off the PS2 platformers I’d spent most of my youth playing, Hexen 2 was pretty wild to my twelve year old brain. How did I find Hexen 2 before Doom or Serious Sam or Duke Nukem? I don’t know, guess I just had some really weird friends at school. The sub-genre of sword and sorcery action first person shooter is a genre that’s largely been forgotten for beefy space marines and soldier dudes which is a real travesty because… well, why wouldn’t you want to play a shooter with a magical staff instead of a gun? That’s what Graven is all about and it’s already looking pretty neat.

Co-published by 3D Realms and 1C Entertainment and developed by Slipgate Ironworks, Graven is a game that’s very purposefully pulling from the Hexen formula. The publishers claim that it’s a spiritual successor to Hexen, with “open-ended regions”, an abundance of puzzles and loads of fantasy monsters to burn with fireballs and shock with lighting spells. Speaking on Graven, game director and VP of 3D Realms Frederik Schreiber said, “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.”

Graven is expected to drop at some point in 2021 and will arrive on PC, PS4, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and finally, the Switch. That’s a lot of consoles to get your game onto but I suppose that’s the burden of a developer putting a game out in the next year. If you’re a Hexen fan, I suggest taking a look at the full on 10 minute gameplay trailer linked above. It’s scratching itches I didn’t even know I still had.

Last Updated: September 8, 2020