My Personal GOTY 2024.

The game is insanely addictive. It's got an amazing, well crafted world that is a true delight to explore. Every nook and cranny will surprise you with a useful item, a tough opponent or an NPC in dire need of help. The world size might look on a smaller side at the first glance at the in-game map, but due to its populated nature it feels huge when you're immersed in it and can easily give 35+ hours for the first playthrough.

The progression in the game is incredibly gratifying. You start as a nobody, who can barely manage to get to the closest safe place while being in constant fear for your life, because of a few venomous bugs buzzing around. As time goes on, though, and you start to grasp how the things work around here, you get more XP, better items and start going toe-to-toe with the hardest enemies imaginable. And don't think that it's just the surface level feeling of getting more levels. No, your place in the world changes with your progression too. At first you're of interest to nobody, except for some bandits that want to get your precious gold and by the end of the game, you're an integral part of the community, with good friends (and a cat), who are always ready to help you.

The combat system might look too simple at first, but once you start getting used to it, you'll see it provides great variety. There are 4 melee weapon types, 2 range weapon types and a wide selection of skills to pair up with them. And by the time you start getting too familiar with the combos, focus and stamina management and learn all the possible skills for your weapon of choice, your life will get spiced up with an additional magic system to keep things interesting. Complementary dodge and parry mechanics are also included. As well as a number of traps, throwing knives, bombs etc that you can find and craft. It's all up to your imagination.

The enemy variety is impressive for an indie game, with distinct attack patterns that challenge you to master parrying and dodging timing. There are both more standard animal monsters like boars or bears, as well as more mythical creatures, mostly inspired by celtic mythology. And human enemies, though looking similar, employ distinct fighting styles by having access to all the same tools the player can find.

Another important part of the game is its plot and themes. I think it was executed well. I felt strong inspiration from celtic mythology and Princess Mononoke and while the first one was definitely a conscious thing by the developers, I'm not so sure about the second one ;) The main thematic part of the game is progress through conquering nature vs living in harmony with it and even though it might seem like something that's been discussed to no end, I actually think it was explored surprisingly well for this type of a game.
I can also say that while the game lacks voice-over for its dialogues, it still evokes strong emotions. Especially noteworthy for me was the good ending that had a unique way of highlighting my impact on this world, the connections I forged and how it was presented in a bittersweet way.
Additionally, tasteful exploration of a past civilization reminded me somewhat of Horizon Zero Dawn, which was one of my favorite aspects of that game (the similarity is in the style though, not that it's similar in terms of plot).

The last thing I want to praise is a combination of atmosphere, quests and npcs. I think Drova has a very unique approach to npcs, where you truly feel how trust is built up from the ground up through helping them via quests.The friendships felt earned, especially in a world so openly unwelcoming to newcomers. And the fact that quests don't have any markers and you actually have to pay thorough attention to everything that's going around you to figure what you have to do to accomplish your goals, makes the game distinctly immersive.

Is there anything I believe the game can improve on? Yes. Some quests, especially at the start of the game, felt a bit too straightforward and too easy to "solve" accidently. I also think the action that we as players are required to take and that many people have disliked should be reworked to let us go completely against that choice, but ultimately fail. That would preserve the same plot, but give a lot more feeling of personal agency in that moment. And I think Iron Mode shouldn't be a part of basic achievements.


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To fans of the Gothic series. I decided to start the review without mentioning Gothic, because I hope more people who haven't played it would find this game. However, I want to also highlight some things to those who have been in love with Gothic/Gothic 2/NOTR/Archolos for the last 20 years.
I think Drova gave me the same emotions I had when I first played Piranha Bytes games in 2007, so it definitely succeeded in establishing a genre of Gothic-like games. But even more so, I think it's better at hitting those Gothic vibes than Archolos was, because even though Archolos is the ultimate Gothic experience, it's built on top of the exactly the same ideas that we were playing around with for the last two decades, while Drova brings a lot of freshness and lets us step into a completely unknown territory, while providing the same desired "kick" in the end.


I would also venture as far as to say, Drova succeeded in places, where Pyranha Bytes has always been failing with their games. All PB games had an issue with late game being very on rails and repetitive, while Drova provides a very balanced experience through all its 5 chapters and it doesn't drag on for too long. To give you an example of how they do it without too many spoilers, I'll just write a small description for each chapter:
Chapter 1 - The great exploration of all the completely unknown things and joining a faction
Chapter 2 - An extension of playable territory with new interesting things (think Jarkendar in NOTR). Or completely skippable if you found that territory yourself in Chapter 1.
Chapter 3 - A quick and short main plot development
Chapter 4 - Pushing the player to new explorations as well as updating both combat and traversal mechanics a lot
Chapter 5 - A very tiny ending part.

Drova: Forsaken Kin is an absolute gem of a game. It has everything you want in a great RPG: Solid world building, challenging but rewarding combat, an interesting story with numerous side quests, tons of lore, and that feeling of "I'll just play for a few more minutes" that got us all sucked into RPG's in the first place. The most common comparison you'll see is to the Gothic series. I can see that, as Drova and Gothic both offer little hand holding and reward exploration and give you that feeling of accomplishment as you progress further, but something about the exploration and movement reminds me a bit of The Secret of Mana. It's not easy to get from point A to B, you have to figure ways around terrain as there are numerous blockades (hills/rocks/swamps) that make exploration less straight forward. I really like how Drova handles maps, too. Instead of just one giant map that shows you all the places available, you can get multiple maps throughout that give you more detailed information about the specific areas you are in. There are no quest markers or characters with exclamation points above their heads. You have to talk to everyone!

I have not finished the game as of writing this, but from what I've experienced, this is a game that warrants multiple playthroughs. You have two different factions you can join, along with several character classes that change some of the quests and outcomes. There are also multiple difficulty modes, and even the easier modes are still plenty challenging. I have yet to find any roadblocks in the game...it is fairly open world, so if you get to a spot that seems too difficult, go on to the next quest or try to go somewhere new. Drova does NOT have level scaling. You start out very weak, and you will get thumped by even basic enemies if you are not careful. You can also fight just about any NPC that you talk to...but be prepared to have them steal your gold if they beat you down! Combat is real-time, but still very tactical. You will not be mashing buttons on the way to victory here. Timing is everything.

To say I was surprised at how well this turned out is an understatement. It seemed to be in development forever, but it was worth every bit of the wait. Drova is another fine example of why independent developers are the heart and soul of gaming. Many large studios are charging $59.99 or more for rushed, unfinished, uninspired games. Developers like Just2D deserve our business for putting out products that wipe the floor with the major studios. I'm eagerly awaiting what comes next in the world of Drova!

GOTY 2024