Ravenswatch may be one of the few previews I’ve done that genuinely left me with more questions than answers. Sure, I had a general idea of what the game might be like when I got a small glimpse of it roughly a month ago, but I didn’t know what to expect once I sat down to play.
I’ve got to say, Ravenswatch is one of the more impressive roguelikes I’ve played in a long time. Combining intricate gameplay with a unique sense of style and atmosphere, this game kept me thoroughly invested during the many hours I spent lost in its world.
Though I touched on it briefly in my preview, the story of Ravenswatch concerns the land of Reverie being invaded by a plague of nightmare creatures. The player takes on the role of one of the titular group’s members—famous folklore heroes, each brought into the fold for their own personal reasons. Together, these unlikely champions must fight against the darkness and put an end to the source of the nightmare once and for all.
In true roguelike fashion, Ravenswatch is actually pretty light on story, giving players only a faint idea of the premise and leaving the rest up to context clues and the game’s environment to tell the remaining story. Players can unlock the character Grimoires, which provide a more personal account of what led them to the Ravenswatch by playing the game and ranking up each character, but for the most part, it’s up to the player to infer.
Honestly, I think this works, but it’s also a bit disappointing. Ravenswatch has such a unique setting and a fusion of different characters from a wide spectrum of folklore that a more expansive story would have only made the game more interesting. The game could have drawn many more elements from each character’s respective stories to implement into the overarching narrative, making the world of Reverie feel much more fleshed out and lived in.
Not to say it doesn’t have many elements already, as certain characters like the Three Little Pigs and the pirate Sinbad provide optional side quests, but it could have felt much more cohesive on a meta level. Like I said, this is more of a nitpick and doesn’t really affect the game’s story overall.
However, it’s the gameplay in Ravenswatch that really hooked me—far beyond the usual draw of difficulty and grind that typically captivates me with roguelikes. It started with the game’s unique cast of characters. Each one is incredibly distinct, featuring its own style of basic attack, power attack, special ability, and defensive move. In many roguelikes, characters tend to feel somewhat similar, usually distinguished by the weapons they use; however, believe me when I say no two characters feel the same in Ravenswatch.
Scarlet—who is based on Red Riding Hood—utilizes twin blades that allow her to build combo points, which she can use in a deadly dash attack dealing massive damage, while the Pied Piper—who became one of my favorites—fights from a distance with twin-stick shooter controls while also slowly amassing an army of rats that he can send at opponents.
“The combat feels consistently exciting and engaging, feeling like an excellent blend of Hades and Diablo…”
Fighting monsters and completing certain objectives grants players XP, and upon leveling up, they can unlock modifiers for their abilities, allowing them to build them in distinct ways. If players collect Dream Shards from massive crystals around the map, they can take them back to the Sandman to upgrade their abilities or buy various other enhancements, so there’s a lot of incentive to explore and fight effectively.
The combat feels consistently exciting and engaging, blending elements of Hades and Diablo as players hack away at enemies while managing their special abilities effectively—since every ability has a different cooldown timer. This makes experimenting with every character much more fun and interesting, as you see what separates them not only in the macro but also in the micro.
The way you fight and explore plays into the second thing that Ravenswatch hooked me with: its time mechanic. Players have 18 minutes to explore each area—split into four days and four nights—and when the time is up, they must confront the boss. While this puts an interesting onus on players to choose when to fight basic enemies or when to run and find greater rewards in the form of items and upgrades, it also introduces unique elements to the combat.
Certain characters’ entire playstyle can change during nightfall, granting them not only new abilities but also new mechanics for existing ones. Scarlet is both Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and at night, she transforms into her lycanthropic self—eschewing her faster, more roguish way of fighting for ferocious attacks and a more head-on style of combat. The Piper’s musical notes become a bit stronger at night, and his rapid-fire special changes from a fan formation to a straight shot, making him much more deadly on the battlefield.
If I have one issue with the gameplay, it’s that Ravenswatch—despite claiming to be playable in both solo and multiplayer—really doesn’t feel suited to solo play. Enemies can become incredibly tough, especially in the later levels, and some bosses and mini-bosses feel completely impossible to take on alone. While it’s not exactly a deal breaker, it feels like with a little more balance, Ravenswatch could rival Hades for how many hours players will sink into it.
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Visually, Ravenswatch has an incredible style. Blending moody atmosphere and eldritch environments with a captivating cel-shaded aesthetic, the game feels like a living comic book. Furthermore, it utilizes bright colors for its characters and enemies against the more muted landscapes to make them really stand out.
The music is equally intense, highlighting the more horror-centric themes of the game. One thing I like is how, despite the main themes of each level never changing, every character has a unique motif that plays when entering combat, making them feel even more distinct on an audio level.
A month ago, Ravenswatch wasn’t even on my radar, and now it’s all I want to play. Its unique style, incredible gameplay, and hauntingly beautiful world make it unlike any other roguelike out there, and I can see myself devoting hours of my life to it. Fans of the genre are sure to find something they love here.
