Raw Fury 10th Year Anniversary — Overview

Raw Fury is one of those publishers that I love to keep an eye on, as you never quite know what kind of title will walk out of their door next. Their library of releases runs the gamut of fast-paced shooters, brain-teasing puzzlers, calm adventures, and heartfelt stories. Putting an emphasis on emotions and experience rather than genres and mechanics, it’s no wonder the publisher is still around to celebrate its 10th anniversary, and we were absolutely thrilled to find our names on the guest list for the festivities.

Our surprise wasn’t quite over yet, however, as the recent years of digital events had left us unprepared to receive plane tickets to the Nordic beauty of Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, wherein their main office resides. After a short flight and a surprisingly efficient express train, there we were, walking the streets of the Old City and taking in the history.

Taking care of our every need and understanding that travelling is rough, the first day was mainly free time to explore and settle in, though we did have a very nice Italian meal to kick off the festivities. The bustling streets of Stockholm were lively, as the summer period was in full swing and the weather was nice, but thankfully, the locals were as polite as they were friendly; they even managed not to laugh as I butchered the melodic native tongue.

The event itself took place at the House of Fury, which honestly looked like something from a movie set; the lounge walls were decorated with images from each of the publisher's titles, and you could hardly turn your head and not see some kind of game-related memorabilia. While this may seem somewhat intense, the space itself was very welcoming and comfortable.

Speaking of welcoming, the representatives we met with were absolutely lovely and energetic, putting up with our litany of questions and grumblings without missing a beat. After some short introductions, it was time for some gaming, and our happy gang divided into smaller groups to not scare the developers and have enough time to mess about with each game.

We started off our day by going toe-to-talon with a giant seagull in Esoteric Ebb, the isometric RPG inspired by both Disco Elysium and Dungeons & Dragons. As we gained the respect of a powerful warrior and managed to blow ourselves up trying to remove a few planks, the helpful Raw Fury representative laughed along with our clearly expert-level decisions while keeping us from spending the session locked in an epic staring competition.

Though we would have loved to spend more time in the land of Norvik, we were soon whisked away to the next demo, taking us from Clerics and investigation to survival and perseverance in Regions of Ruin: Runegate. Creating our custom Dwarf and setting off to explore the new realm that opened up to us, we fought a few groups of goblins, built a bridge both literally and figuratively, and managed to recruit the best companion anyone could ask for, a wolf named after the office's resident puppy, Ponyo.

Our third title to test was Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road, which continued our streak of warriors and castles, though this time it was the structure itself doing the meandering. Charged with protecting and upgrading our literal mobile home, we did our best to keep the horde of monsters back as we built turrets, took up emergency city-planning, and competed to see whose home would come out the other end unscathed. The mix of roguelike, tower defence, and bullet hell was, in a word, hectic, though we did have a good time and chatted about our different builds for a while after.

At this point, the day had gone on for quite a while, so we broke for lunch and reunited with the rest of the guests. To be honest with you, dear reader, this was my first live event, so I was beyond nervous about giving a good impression and being on my best behaviour. However, there was something about the atmosphere at the House of Fury that made it more like an outing with friends and like-minded enthusiasts. We ate dumplings, were enthralled by the aforementioned office pup, and poked fun at journalists, developers, and PR reps alike!

With our bellies full and our minds recharged, we were joined by a representative from Spooky Door, who led us into the horror-filled narrative of The Séance of Blake Manor. Though she did her best to keep us on track and help us along without giving us the answers, we may have dropped the ball a bit as we were befuddled by the simplest clues and insinuations. Regardless of our failing brains, we managed to experience a few frights, gained some crucial information, and even foiled a ritual as we skedaddled through the halls of Blake Manor.

Time waited for no journalist, however, and we were quickly rushed off to our final stop for the day, a lovely sit-down with the puzzle title, Craftlings. Chatting with the PR representative while doing our best to keep our little friends alive, we built the foundation of our village and even managed to set up a short production line from the mine to the smithy! Our day was far from over, as we had two surprises in store.

First off, the current CEO of Raw Fury, Pim Holfve, was kind enough to give us a few moments to sit down and chat about the company and his own visions for the future. An absolutely delightful individual, Mr Holfve shared his views on what kind of games the company is on the hunt for and what an up-and-coming developer should know. Second, and at the final stretch of the event, we were presented a so-far unseen trailer for an upcoming title, though mum's the word for now.

As the evening drew closer and the sun was slightly less bright — you’ve got to love those long Nordic summer days — we gathered for one more meal and bid goodnight and congratulations to the publisher. While we do our best not to play favourites, the experience made that small point of journalistic integrity oh-so difficult to uphold; the people were delightful, the games were interesting and were quickly added to my wishlist, and the event as a whole was handled with both grace and an approachable charm.

We here at GameGrin would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all involved for the great trip and would also request a steady stream of pictures of the office’s mascot. This is non-negotiable.