Review for Drake hollow. Game for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 31/12/2020 The version for PC came out on 17/07/2020
The survival sector, from that "silent" revolution called Minecraft (not the first conceptually, but certainly the first commercially), has known and still knows an unparalleled development and extension. The survival elements that distinguish it, between the need to feed and to create a safe shelter, have become fundamental and, constantly, a paradigm of comparison and osmotic index of characterization of the playful offer. In summary: nowadays, we survive almost everywhere. In this sense, with Drake Hollow, The Molasses Flood studio - already known to the most enterprising players for the development of the interesting The Flame in the Flood and formed by some talented industry veterans - offers us a survival game with creative and cooperative elements. where, at the center of our busy play experience, we will basically have to take care of nice interdimensional creatures, the Drakes, threatened by a terrible para-natural phenomenon. But no more chatter, here is the review of Drake Hollow for Xbox One.
Drake Hollow is a third-person action game with strong elements that set the survival game genre apart. In the game, we will play an unsuspecting protagonist who soon, approached by a talking crow who will tell us about a world in danger that only we can save, will find himself unwillingly involved in the salvation of an entire universe. A universe, Hollow, populated as already mentioned by cute little animals called Drake and threatened by a sort of supernatural infestation, a little fog, a little water and called Aether, capable of creating terrible enemies and devouring the entire plane with terrible brambles. Our task, as expected, will be to free Hollow from the deadly pestilence through the activation of special crystals that we will find by exploring the game map. The title currently offers only one mode: the story. After creating our character, a few moments after a classic mechanical setting within the playful proposal of The Molasses Flood, the task we will have to carry out will be quite clear: exploring the wastelands of Hollow, in search of materials and other amenities, we will have to survive and, above all, make the friendly Drakes survive by building them a village, providing them with resources, food and other useful items, while protecting them from attacks by Ferals. A 360 ° "protection" that will cross various biomes and different seasons in which, as it is to be expected, the priorities and play directions will change in some ways.
If we wanted to effectively describe the playfulness of Drake Hollow, it will see us substantially committed to gwandering in search of wood, berries but also useful objects as makeshift weapons with which to defend ourselves, as mentioned, by the Ferals who will organize real sieges that we will have to repel. Of course, all this while we manage the village. From work tables to large pots with food for our little friends who, of course, will have to cyclically feed themselves, there are many elements to take into consideration. But, in a sort of Tamagotchi turning point, the Drakes will not only be defended and fed: we will also have to look after the overall comfort and even any leisure activities that our little friends can access. Which will result, for example, in the task of building them cute toys or other amenities because, mind you, our cute friends could also die (literally) of boredom. The expansion of the village will, however, have direct effects on the overall survival of the Drakes which, it should be emphasized, will not be just a burden. In fact, we will have the right to select some specific skills of our friendly friends, borrowing them as needed. For example, in a session dedicated to the collection of resources or aimed at the defense of our village, the Drakes will help us by giving us specific skills.
All while we explore one map several square kilometers wide, divided into many islands and islets interspersed with the pestilence and full of objects and enemies who will try to attack our magical existence and put a spoke in the wheel, while we fight to free the world from the terrible calamity. As said in the opening words, mechanically speaking Drake Hollow acts like a classic third person action game, divided into sections closer to the classic concepts of platform titles and others that, on the other hand, will align themselves with the paradigmatic trappings of action videogames although, in both situations, Drake Hollow offers an experience that is only sufficient and not particularly varied and intriguing . Especially as far as the fighting compartment is concerned: the clashes will all be quite simple to manage with enemies who, with some small aesthetic variations, will have identical skill sets and "copy / paste" behaviors. In this sense, we will have simplified possibilities of offense as well as the ability to dodge attacks. Add to this that the offensive weapons, which will be divided into blunt instruments and weapons to strike from a distance, can only be found and not built, unfortunately going to impact even the most successful aspect of the game, exploration. The whole cauldron Drake hollow, almost a trademark of the survival sector, it naturally suffers from a certain conceptual repetition over the long distance which is, however, partially stemmed both by the possibility of facing the game in online cooperative mode for up to 4 people, and by the good number of objects, weapons and buildings that we will be able to find.
Technically and stylistically, Drake Hollow is certainly a valuable product. The Molasses Flood has managed, through the use of Unreal Engine 4, to create a universe that is certainly intriguing and visually stimulating, although an aesthetic comparison with the design and stylistic choices made by Epic Games with Fortnite is not exactly impossible to do. In general, however, despite the conceptual closeness, Drake Hollow still manages to distance himself just enough to be visually original and personal. Characters and settings are well cared for, without making a miracle cry, and well defined (especially the Drakes and their eye-catching “vegetable” design). The level of detail, at the same time, will be sufficient even if not coherently equally distributed among all the elements on the screen, especially as regards the environment. Same thing, moving on to the more technical than aesthetic side, as regards the overall animations of both our character and, above all, the terrible Ferals, with a design that is certainly valid but, in some ways, jarring with the overall visual "softness" of the game. As for fluidity, it will be solid on the Xbox One X but not without sudden setbacks especially when there are a lot of elements on the screen.
Drake Hollow is a simple and, at the same time, fun title. It is not the revolution that the survival securities sector was waiting for but, at the same time, it is far from being a negative “ancien regime”. The title of The Molasses Flood manages to offer a standard but well-made and structured package of contents, as mentioned without really standing out from the crowd but without ignoring the needs of a title in the sector.
► Drake Hollow is an Adventure-indie game developed and published by The Molasses Flood for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 31/12/2020 The version for PC came out on 17/07/2020
