This gothic-inspired RPG indie will be my favorite hidden gem of 2024

On November 13, 2024By Pranco

I know I’m not the only one feeling a little rudderless after Baldur’s Gate 3. No RPG since has offered the rewarding exploration of Larian’s modern classic, nor the satisfaction of developing a character from a mangy loser into an unstoppable powerhouse . So I approached Drova with unfair skepticism. This unassuming-looking pixel art RPG was released last month and has flown under the mainstream radar, although it has already amassed a strong cult following and a very busy subreddit. I’m not saying this is the next Baldur’s Gate 3 – far from it – but it rewards exploration and new approaches to problem solving, which is more than can be said for any blockbuster RPG I’ve played this year.

It takes a while to understand why Drova has won the adoration of fans of the hardcore genre. For me, it took about four hours in this reportedly 40-hour game. The playable character is a nobody adrift in a miserable hand-to-mouth world who, from all evidence, is slowly finding his feet after the collapse of a largely forgotten and apparently well-advanced civilization. The people of Drova forage for berries and rodent meat when they are not performing grueling menial labor for the self-appointed authorities of this bleak world.

Drova definitely belongs to that tradition of the ruthless RPG that starts off unwelcoming and harsh. Using an array of rusty old melee weapons (you can quickly find a sword and shield, or a two-handed axe, or a spear) I can fight a single giant rat with perhaps only a scratch, but if I’m attacked by two or more at once, I’ll probably die. When it comes to fighting other people, forget it. It’s reminiscent of Piranha Bytes’ poor but satisfying RPGs, Gothic, Risen and Elex, where smart players will vigilantly avoid conflict for the first ten hours. Anyone who loved the blank vulnerability of the Courier in Fallout: New Vegas will appreciate what Drova is trying to do here, as will fans of Morrowind.

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Drova screenshots — (Image credit: Just2D | Deck13)

My first four hours in Drova I spend it wandering around a depressing forest littered with settlements and logging fields, and doing the bidding of various NPCs who aren’t much better off than me. Killing poisonous rats and completing tasks gives me XP, which is not spent on a skill tree, but on characters who can help me increase my strength or agility, or my specialization with a two-handed weapon or a sword, among other things and shield. No matter how many points (all) I put into strength, I don’t really have an easier time with those rats, and there’s no better weaponry in my price range – far from it, to be honest. Drova is a long, tough climb.

So I spent four hours poking around, and I started to get impatient with this game. I’m glad I persevered, because not long after I found The Pit: a large iron ore mine ruled over by local strongmen. This vast mine is of course full of monsters, but only past a certain point. At the top, most miners hang around, fighting for a piece of the scant remaining profits. Some enterprising miners and security guards resort to extorting their colleagues to gain an edge. Meanwhile, those who want to escape these petty hassles and go deeper for riskier and greater riches are also being heavily exploited. To make matters worse, anyone who leaves the Pit must give half of their income to Katsa.

DROVA – Launch Trailer – YouTube
DROVA - Launch Trailer - YouTube

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This is where Drova’s immersive role-playing game really comes to life, and it’s where I got hooked. The Pit is full of compelling characters connected to scenarios with many forks and outcomes. There is Murtagh, who protects the beds and robs sleeping miners blind. There is the hearing-impaired Roisin, whose earplugs are in high demand because fellow miner Oaf snores too loudly (I’m ashamed that I chose the hard approach with Roisin). My goal is to reach the deeper part of the mines, but to do so I must set off a surprisingly elaborate chain of events that results in, yes, at least one death, and many more stealth heists, backroom deals, and even some to cook. While the interconnectedness of these mini-stories is impressive, it’s the atmosphere that gets under my skin: everyone in this mine is trying to make ends meet, but the only way to make ends meet is to undermine and deceive fellow miners, because the rulers of this world has discovered that it is profitable to turn their subordinates against each other. It’s unrepentantly bleak, yes, but also weirdly funny.

The map of Drova isn’t huge, but it’s a lot of fun to explore. It’s packed with chance encounters, bizarre side missions, and mysterious locations that I’m sure I’ll have to revisit dozens of hours later. Best of all, Drova’s forking missions make the most of the vastness. Later, once I’ve secured all the iron ore I need to gain access to the exclusive Remnants Camp, I’ll have to convince some of the upstanding citizens to grant me access to a even more exclusive part of the camp. I can choose to convince either of two authority figures, and the means available to convince them are many and varied. Maybe I want to sneak into a loan shark’s house and steal their ledger, thus wiping the slate clean for someone who has the ear of an influential figure. Maybe I can change the predetermined course of a corrupt arena fight to please a gambler. Or maybe I can just go rogue and kill some people while no one is looking.

While the combat seems unpromising for hours, it gradually opens up, with a series of permanent abilities and single-use spell scrolls increasing the scrappy slash-and-dodge rhythm of the scraps. People on Reddit are reporting that it’s possible to become extremely, game-changingly powerful, which to me is almost as exciting as the multi-faceted outcomes of the story-rich missions. It’s a small-looking game with a surprisingly large scope, and it’s the first game I’ve played since Baldur’s Gate 3 that has me saying: Who cares, can you do that? Drova is on Steam.