Ravaged is a post-apocalyptic competitive multiplayer online vehicular shooter. That is quite a mouthful! The game has been on Kickstarter and surpassed its funding goals so there is quite a bit of hype from the community surrounding this game. It features exclusively competitive multiplayer gameplay with large sprawling maps for the player to traverse across and battle it out. With over 30 vehicles and weapons and 10 different classes to play as, the game has a lot of content right out of the gate…or does it?
Given that it is solely focused on making that one thing as fun as it can – shooting friends online in a few different game modes with a bunch of different stuff – it’s easy to overlook the game as a shallow experience in comparison to other offerings. There is no perk system, or skill trees, or a list of unlockable muzzles for your assault rifle – pretty much everything is available to the player that is new to the game. This eliminates a lot of the delineation between new players and elite players which is a good and a bad thing.
It’s nice because it allows everyone to compete regardless of their skill level or amount of time they’ve been playing. It’s also good because it’s clear from my time with the game and speaking with the team that they put all of their resources and effort into making a game that is just pure fun to play and they have mostly succeeded. The variety of vehicles on each level is fantastic with jeeps loaded down with 3 team mates zigging and zagging around to dodge the shots of a helicopter in pursuit up above – combat scenarios are often dynamic and highly engaging.
This is bad, however, because many gamers out there may get a bit bored with the experience. Since the game really is just about having fun with no storyline or real sense of progression, a lot of people may be left wondering: what’s the point? Well, if you are that type of player then this game simply just may not be for you. If you are the type of player, however, that plays games to have fun and has a group of friends to play with, then you could very well find yourself loading into the wonderfully ravaged world of Ravaged quite regularly.
Speaking of wonderfully ravaged world, the game is particularly nice to look at. The colors really pop on the screen, explosion effects are beautiful, character models are crisp and detailed, and each map has a very unique style. The lighting and reflection effects are especially nice to look at and really go a long way to selling the game. Character voices are forgettable and passable, as is any of the music in the game. Ingame sound effects are great, especially gunfire and explosions, which is all that truly matters.
Gameplay consists of choosing a team (either The Resistance, the more professional militant group, or The Scavengers, wastelanders fighting for survival) and engaging in first (or third, actually) person shooting and driving. Shooting seems to work fine and driving is responsive for the most part, with a bit of delay here and there. Flying vehicles are extremely difficult to navigate (as expected) so they will require lots of practice. There aren’t really any surprises here, it is pretty much your average shooter when it comes to shooting at people.
Each class has its own specialty whether it be assault, sniping, heavy weapons, etc. Each faction has its own take on the different archetypes, so you are encouraged to switch around and experiment a bit. There will be eight different maps to choose from and two game modes: Capture the Resource (similar to a traditional capture the flag mode) as well as Thrust which involves maintaining control points. Both modes may be played on any map.
Overall, the game is directed at a specific crowd: fans of competitive multiplayer shooters that are tired of the hierachal design most modern shooters today have. That being said, the game itself can be quite shallow in both content and appeal. You often do the same or very similar things over and over again, but the amount of fun to be had and pure randomness of the dynamic gameplay is a nice equalizer. Ultimately, if you like shooting people, driving things, flying things, and blowing things up in a beautifully detailed world as you vie for control with and against your friends – Ravaged is made for you.
Be sure to check out my video above for over an hour’s worth of hands-on gameplay during my play-session with members of the 2Dawn team. Ravaged released October 17th for PC at a price point of $24.99.
This review was based on a review download copy of the game for the PC provided by 2Dawn.
