RPG Codex Review: Vendetta - Curse of Raven's Cry
[Review by Lord_Potato]
Before we begin, I have an admission to make: I have a soft spot for the underdogs. Furthermore, I value ambition over craftsmanship. When it comes to gaming, I prefer indies and medium-budget titles over AAA blockbusters. While not as visually attractive and polished, they often contain novel ideas which cannot be found in more expensive productions due to being considered too risky. They also tend to be less sanitized than the AAAs, which are often burdened down by the sheer weight of political correctness. When developers don't have tens of millions of dollars on the line, they can allow themselves to be more courageous. Their game does not have to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, so there is no need to 'streamline' it into complete and utter brainlessness.
I'd like to thank another member of RPG Codex, Konjad, for bringing Vendetta: Curse of Raven's Cry to my attention. Most of what I'd previously heard about the game in articles and on YouTube was very negative. It was supposed to be an unfinished, bug-ridden mess with a broken combat system, a poor excuse for a story, an unlikeable main character, and edgy dialogue. Furthermore, its publisher TopWare had been accused of dishonest practices such as posting fake reviews on Steam, which might be the reason the game was removed from the platform for a certain period of time. However, Konjad's very enthusiastic opinions about Vendetta inspired my curiosity and motivated me to give it an honest try. Fortunately, the game had since returned to Steam after its mysterious disappearance, where I was able to purchase it with a 75% discount during a sale.
Without further ado, let's jump in and find out whether the game's bad reputation is justified or whether it truly is an underappreciated gem that deserves more attention. I hope my review will provide some answers to these questions.
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Weigh Anchor and Hoist the Mizzen!
Vendetta: Curse of Raven's Cry is a game with a very troubled history. Passed from one studio to the other, it was released prematurely without being tested properly. The bugs made the game difficult to play and easy to hate. Its complete disregard for the current political climate strengthened the negative reception it received from the press. The alleged shady practices of its publisher proved to be the last nail in the game's coffin.
That's a pity, because I found Vendetta to be a fascinating RPG that does a lot of things well in spite of its many bugs and imperfections. The game offers an interesting and dark world to discover, good writing with lots of delicious vulgarity, ingenious quests, memorable battles, and a dynamic economy. Its character system might not be the greatest out there, but the ship management makes up for it.
In summary, Vendetta is an ambitious title that tries to provide the complete pirate experience without compromising or cutting corners. Its creators obviously poured much love into it, spending years fixing its problems after its release. I recommend that every RPG lover give the game a try and I sincerely hope you enjoy Christopher Raven's adventures as much as I did. If you're spooked by the bugs, keep in mind that the game is regularly on sale. For the $7 I paid for it, it's basically a steal.
