Punishing: Gray Raven Overview

Punishing: Gray Raven is a title from Kuro Game. It came out in 2019 in China but only got released globally in 2021. It is a mobile game where players have to complete combat missions in a sci-fi environment.

Gameplay

This game is different from what players have been accustomed to. Here, you can control a squad of characters—up to three of them, to be exact. These characters are called “constructs,” and you need to choose how they move against certain types of enemies. However, you can only really “control” your own character as far as movements and game progression are concerned.

The combat is a typical hack-and-slash, but the storytelling is visual in format. As you fight enemies in real time, you get the chance to obtain colored objects called “pings”. These pings give you the chance to unlock special skills.

One special combat ability that you can have is chaining. If you chain different pings of the same color, they produce an evolved version of that skill.

The game also allows you to evade attacks. If you do this, you will trigger what is called bullet time. What this means is that time will slow, but you can move at the same pace. When the bullet time occurs, you have better chances of landing massive hits to your enemies.

However, evading attacks will drain your stamina. Once your stamina is depleted, you cannot evade enemies anymore.

You can strengthen your squad as you progress. You can level up and promote them to various levels, making them more powerful. You also have the option to equip them with gears. As you advance in the storyline, you can unlock more constructs and choose who you think would help you better in your journey.

You can also get constructs by playing gacha games or by participating in in-game events. To play the gacha mechanic, you have to use in-game currency, which you can obtain in the game or buy with real cash. What makes the gacha mechanic unique is that it has a pity system. If you are unlucky enough not to land great items, the gacha mechanic will give you rare items, but only after meeting a certain number of pulls.

More about constructs

These characters are machines. However, they have human traits, so perhaps we can call them cyborgs or Ais. One of the constructs you get to play with at the onset of the game is Liv. This character has three models. They are called Eclipse, Lux and Luminance. They have different skills and skins. However, they are the same “person.”

The great thing about the characters is that nobody is outclassed. It is up to you to level them up. Although some are more powerful than others, there is no significant gap in their abilities, skills and powers.

Is it addictive?

Yes, it is addictive. The thing is that it requires a higher skill level from players. It is not your typical hack-and-slash game where anybody can easily progress in the storyline.

We can say that it is challenging. If you do not like the challenge, then this game is not for you – you’d better complete the VulkanBet Login then and play the VulkanBet casino slots that don’t require much skill and effort. The game is meant for those who thrive in winning difficult battles—boss fights that are seemingly impossible to beat.

What you will observe in this game is that the enemies are relentless. They will consistently throw attacks to the extent that your fingers are sore. Playing it for a while now, we can say that the AI makes enemies attack every three seconds or so.

The difficulty is what makes the game addictive. The player comes to a point where he believes he can win, and this is what makes the player pursue the challenge. Once that boss fight is over, the player is ready for more, just having proved that he is better than the previous boss.

Is it really that difficult?

Yes, but we can still say that it is fair. For example, you can dodge an enemy attack. If you dodge at the right time, the game will trigger bullet time. Some people call it the Matrix effect, in reference to what Keanu Reeves did to dodge bullets in The Matrix movie.

To prevent system abuse, you can only activate the bullet time every 12 seconds. While some players think this is fast, think again. Twelve seconds is a long time if you are under attack from all sides. What this means is that you cannot spam the game by dodging it all the time.

You have to engage in combat to move on. This forced engagement is what makes the game difficult. You need to develop your fighting skills and level up your characters to win. You have to make wise decisions to win and not depend on the dodge ability.