First off, this is not a review, only my post-game reactions to The Raven.

I said I was not going to play it after learning it was an episodic game, bu-u-t GOG had it on sale at a steep discount so I decided to give it a try.
I should have stuck to my guns.

KingArt, or perhaps Nordic Games or even the Adventure Company, whichever, could not even be bothered to seamlessly stitch the episodes together.
Instead, you are treated to miles of credits at the end of each episode.
Lovely.
I sat through them once, who knows why, and only learned one interesting thing, that Rula Lenska voiced the Baroness.

Why, oh, why, do developers continue to use 3D characters?
If they are considerably better here than in that abysmal mess, GK3, their movement is still not good, to be kind, and they look as if they're made of plastic.
If it costs the earth to create characters that look and move almost naturally as they do in many RPGs, they should stick to what they can do well and forget 3D, IMO.

Boy, was this game dark!
I'd say it was a good thing there were hotspots since I couldn't even see some of the objects to click on them but the hotspots often didn't correspond with the exact place the object was.

Notices that things like Pictures had been unlocked thrilled me no end; I really needed that popping up in my adventure.

Oh, and someone really should learn the difference between a bolt and a screw.
I was driving myself nuts trying to find another screwdriver when Adil wanted to "unscrew" a hatch, which he eventually did with a wrench by some miracle.

I'll give the game this: the voice work was excellent and some of the characters, specifically because they were voiced so well, were engaging.

I agree with frazap who said the ending was wretched, not a direct quote but close enough.
Characters were lost, threads were not tied up and if this was intended to be the adventure game equivalent of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd it didn't work.

I just hope that KingArt doesn't inflict 3D on us again in the new Book of Unwritten Tales or make that game episodic!

Opinionated as ever,

Gil.

I have a totally different opinion, traveller

I enjoyed the game and thought it was a very decent Adventure !!

But then I probably don't bother "probing" all the "ins & outs" as much as you might

I wasn't probing, Mad.
These were things that really affected the game for me as I was playing it.

Gil.

Well, if I am enjoying the story and managing most of the puzzles I don't really notice what might be improved in a game. So perhaps I should have said "notice" rather than "probe" ?? Because very few of the things that seemed to upset you so much bothered me at all.

Maybe it's just that I'm just easily pleased

Thanks for your comments, Gil. I agree with much of what you've said, although I still enjoyed the game for the most part. I felt that the game started strongly, but unravelled with the second and third episodes, which not only felt shorter but also fractured with having to play as characters other than whatsisface. The ending made me groan in disbelief.

I found the movement awkward, too. On more than one occasion my character would get stuck jittering in one position, and I'd have to exit out of the game entirely to fix the issue.

I agree that the voice acting was top notch.

After all the time Legrand spent chasing the Raven, his reaction was a bit unbelievable, too.

So many things were glossed over, such as how the bomb got in the basement.
The mastermind had the blueprints, sure, but when did he plant it and where was it?
Did I just miss that?

How did Alex get away?
(I know, we were supposed to fill that in for ourselves.)
I guess this is where suspension of disbelief comes in.

I think you're right about the game going downhill from a strong beginning.
I don't know...maybe they had a professional writer script the first episode and perhaps sketch out the rest, then decided to take it from there without him.
They gave a lot of attention to Captain Di Conti's backstory, for instance, then just dropped him.

Some of the twists and turns were pretty decent but I had a fairly good idea whodunnit long before the mask was removed.
I suppose they took the spotlight off "whatsisface" since they wouldn't be able to have but it did leave me with a disjointed feeling.
As you say, as if the game was fractured.

Gil.

Thanks, Gil. Always nice to hear what our members think.

Well THIS member seems to be in an "enjoyed it" minority of "one"

Glad it was a good one for you Mad. That is truly what makes gaming so fun...we all enjoy games differently.

This is yet another series/serial that has piqued my interest so thank you traveler for your comments!