In a time where social interaction has been significantly reduced where people are discovering just how useful technology can be to meet that need, we need all of the cooperative games we can get. I’ve always been a bigger fan of cooperative gaming experiences over ones revolving around competition; I’m more into PVE than PVP. I also find that games centered around PVE, especially ones that lack a PVP component, tend to have a friendlier player base. This is the case with games like Monster Hunter World, my favorite example of this concept, and the more casual Heave Ho or Overcooked 2. While the game is still in development, Drake Hollow fits into that need for more co-op. It’s a game from the interesting and talented Boston studio The Molasses Flood, an indie group featuring members that worked on larger AAA titles like Bioshock Infinite, who is most known for their stylish take on survival games, The Flame in the Flood.
Drake Hollow does have some of that survival gameplay baked into its foundation but the twist here is that players are anchored by the need to foster a village of small plant creatures called Drakes, making it more akin to a small scale city building game. These little root critters are adorable and offer player benefits such as powerful buffs that can be upgraded by helping the Drakes age by giving them specific crystals. To ensure the Drakes (likely short for mandrakes) prosper, one has to build structures that meet their needs of water, food, and entertainment. The game starts off simple enough with just a couple Drakes to care for like crafting small dolls and beds made of leaves but steadily ramps up in complexity with a larger populace and more structures that have to be built within the constraints of a point system driven by the camp’s level.
Impeding this progress are creatures known as The Feral, twisted predators fueled by a deep red energy and hunger. These enemies come in a few varieties that can alter how one approaches them in combat. Combat is a straightforward mix of melee and ranged weapons that can be anything from a guitar to a hockey stick to a nail gun and beyond. These are uncovered mostly by breaking objects and chests in the world and they can break over time, much like what was seen in Breath of the Wild. There is a shop to purchase various items like weapons or seeds for farming but I found that most of my supplies were found by exploring the various islands.
The islands are sectioned off by this fog called Aether which can quickly destroy any player that spends too much time in it. Thankfully, players are able to use timed wards that create a bubble of safety. Carrying several of these on hand is crucial and the more of these one has the farther one can venture through the fog. The Aether is a dense fog that stays along the ground so one can see points of interest in the distance like a displaced church or a lighthouse. During an interview with Forrest Dowling, Studio Head of The Molasses Flood, he confirmed that any structure one can see can be reached. Drake Hollow generates a pretty large open space and a Pac-Man-esque wrap around occurs if one reaches any side of the square map.
There is a softness to the character models and environments that reminds me of the early days of Fortnite and even player movement can feel pretty similar to that wildly popular battle royale title. Melee attacks are a little more complex as one has to defend or dodge attacks to survive, although I do wish that the lock-on feature was more akin to what’s used in Dark Souls. The combos are simple in nature so I do hope to see some complexity added in the final release. I found that ammo for ranged weaponry was hard to come by, so most of my experience was spent whacking Feral beasts with various oddities. Shooting could also have more player feedback through some kickback and crunchier sound effects.
Sound design is starting to shape up but doesn’t hit the level of wonder that The Flame in the Flood features in its soundtrack. I did really enjoy the cute babbles and chirps of the Drakes though, the stars of the game. Just about everything these little creatures do is cute and fun to watch. I do wish that they were more capable of defending themselves and had more of a Pikmin function to them but that could be something that more mature Drakes are capable of and I could be simply unaware of their full capabilities. Most of my village was at the third stage of development by the time I stopped playing and even by then I had to rush home to slap Feral away when a raid hit.
Feral raids occur on a timer and about every 20-25 minutes a new group attacks the village. This means that players will have to stop gathering and return home to keep the Drakes safe and there is a handy item that instantly warps one back to the village. Raids prevent players from going to the farthest reaches of the map and pushes them more towards gradually working out the layout and establishing supply routes through connecting waypoints which are structures that can connect to supply trucks and be used by players to quickly travel from point to point by grinding on them.
Aside from the Drakes, waypoints are my favorite feature of Drake Hollow. These are structures that allow one to grind between a connected one. This results in this network of connected waypoint lines and it’s fun to chart out the map over time. This also makes travel much faster so having a good network will enable better gathering. Each island has various levels of corruption and to remove that corruption one has to break these brambles which can get repetitive but with enough players this will be a far simpler issue to overcome.
When we talked with Dowling he mentioned his fascinations with video game systems and how they play in tandem with each other. Given his career this interest makes a ton of sense and that idea carries over into Drake Hollow. Most of the systems do currently feel like some polish is needed but the foundation is solid enough to be fun even now. I found myself rather relaxed by the gameplay loop of jumping to an island, clearing it out, gathering, and rushing back to my village just in time for the raid. Drake Hollow is certainly better with friends but throwing on a podcast and caring for my little root dudes was pleasant. .
Those who sign up for the game’s newsletter just might see a beta invite in their inbox soon. Drake Hollow is starting out on Xbox One through the beta period but a Windows and Steam version is set to release alongside the final release. We can expect the final release to drop on July 17th and according to Dowling the team is on track to meet that date.
Learn more about Drake Hollow on their official website. Four beta codes were provided for testing and preview purposes.
