Over three years on from the original Ravva, our 2D retro inspired magical owl returns for a new adventure. Ravva and the Phantom Library aims to polish up its late 80’s graphical style whilst offering more expansive levels and a smoother gameplay experience. It is definitely a step in the right direction and fans of the easier end of 2D platformers will have some fun here. Whether it ultimately will be a great game for you depends on a couple of key gameplay choices.
Ravva comes equipped with 5 different magic abilities, with her main wand attack being upgradeable in three strengths via powerups. These magical abilities are the same as the first game and switch up where an attack is thrown but also if they perform a special ability. The ice attack freezes certain blocks before they can be shattered. The bomb can blow up the floor. Fire attacks can trigger some sensors but also fires at a 45 degree angle upwards. You can only equip one at a time and thankfully switching between them is faster this time. You can also pick up some spirits too which embody one of your attacks for a special ability although saving them for boss fights is recommended.
After the initial introduction level you have free reign on Ravva’s first seven levels to complete in any order. No one level is harder than another, they just have different visual themes are a level gimmick. For instance one level has dragons breathing fire to avoid. Another has moving platforms to trigger. The toy land has vanishing floors and jack-in-the-box blocks you can’t stand on for long. You don’t get the gimmick in any other level so there is no cumulative learning or difficulty increase across the game. Whilst this makes the game quite accessible and freeform, it does mean you’ll likely reach the difficulty ceiling very early on. Mid level save points can help if you die but it won’t happen too often.
Where Ravva tries to pull you in is with its optional missions. You are tasked to complete levels quickly or to collect all the coins, secrets and kill every enemy. This is where the magic eye comes in and it was my largest criticism of the original and the same issue persists here. In order to find most collectables, you have to switch to a magic eye that illuminates all the hidden blocks and objects. That’s fine but there is so much to find that you spend the entire game spamming the button to trigger it and it slows the games pace down to a crawl. You don’t need to find everything but if you do want to, I found it made the game feel quite disjointed. It also exposes that our main owl character has such a limited moveset, things seem easy to get to but actually Ravva can only jump one block high so you’ll be left spamming the entire screen with the magic eye to see where the hidden block or switch is to get to it.
Bosses are varied and simple with a couple of attacks each. They don’t really pose any threat so long as you don’t charge in with complete disregard to your health. The final boss is its own level when you complete the first seven in any order. In a cool twist your coins you’ve collected across the game can unlock different powerups to help you out, making the collectathon feel a little more justified. The boss has some tricky moments but is still doable without spamming that magic eye though. Infact, if you avoid the collectathon the entire game breezes by in about 90 minutes – but its an enjoyable 90 minutes. The graphics are a step up this time around with much more varied theming and some lovely pixel art in places. Although Ravva isn’t spritely, she is very predictable and so I never felt like I had any cheap platforming deaths either. The basics of a great late 80s platformer is here, its just a bit lost in layers of extra faff to extend the longevity of the game. There is a speedrunning mode you can turn on and I found that to be most enjoyable way to play. Ignore the collectables and let the game flow.
Better, slicker and prettier – but still a little lopsided on the fun department.
Review copy provided by publisher. Out now on PC and console.
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