Of all the incredible indie games I played at Digital Dragons 2025, Vranygrai is the one I can't get out of my head. I was already keen when Ivan Kubal, Hangar 13 alumnus and solo developer behind Czech indie studio Dire Badger, pitched his demo to me as The Witcher 3 meets God of War. But it's only when I sit down to play Vranygrai that its grimdark, Hellblade 2-adjacent tone hooks me for good.
In a world teeming with dying gods and dark supernaturality, Vranygrai sees a lone pagan priest known as a volkhv (think of him as a Slavic druid) on a mission to free his sister's soul, which is trapped somewhere between the world of the living and that of the dead.
Promising magic-melee "Soulslite" combat and a tight, linear narrative told across hub-and-spoke exploration zones, Vranygrai already looks and feels better than I expected it to at this early stage in its development – and Crimson Desert hopefuls will want to pay attention.
