Ravenswatch Preview

Ravenswatch is a top-down roguelike action game from Passtech, developers of Curse of the Dead Gods, and is available in early access for a one-year period. Ravenswatch takes place in the world of Reverie. This storybook world is based on old legends and folk tales including the three little pigs, little red riding hood, and even Norse mythology presented in a dark-fantasy style. The Nightmares are taking over the world, destroying and corrupting everything in their path. It is up to you, whether playing solo or co-op with up to four friends, to stop The Nightmares and strengthen your character before the Master Nightmare shows up at the 20-minute mark. If you didn’t get through most of the map before this point, you will have to face off against this boss with a weaker character. The faster you are, the more powerful your character gets, so time is of the essence and you can’t drag your feet.

Since Ravenswatch is in Early Access, it may not seem like there is a lot of content. But the game has randomly generated maps and six very unique characters that make it feel as if you are playing a totally different game each time. Each character has their own unique attacks and combos they can do to help you get through as much of the map as possible before the big boss battle. In the beginning, you get to choose who you want to play from four characters:

• Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) — Lycanthrope — she transforms into a werewolf when it gets dark out, giving her new abilities to use until she switches back to her human form at daybreak.

• The Pied Piper — Infestation — up to 20 rats will spawn from the ground at regular intervals and follow you around, once activated, the rats will attack enemies up to three times, dealing five damage and dying after. 

• Beowulf — Last Wyrm — call on Wyrm to empower your next Special, Defense, or Power.

• The Snow Queen — Ice Skating — creates FROST under the feet of your enemies, making them CHILLED and slowing them down. During the day FROST will deal 30 damage, while at NIGHT it will last for six seconds.

There are two other characters, Aladdin and Melusine, that you can unlock just by playing a few rounds, and I can’t wait to see who else will be added when the full game releases. Ravenswatch offers both solo or a co-op mode with your friends to check out, so far I have only got a chance to play on my own, but I appreciate that the game has both modes so you aren’t required to find other people to play with. There is currently no cross-platform play, but when the full game releases next year — if it is on schedule — it is planned to have it available for play between all the consoles.

As soon as you start playing, you will get to select an upgrade from two options. Each of these power-ups has a unique ability and can make your character stronger by increasing the amount of damage that attacks do, or can increase the distance you can be from the enemy to attack. Once you earn some gold, you can visit The Sandman, who is located right by the beginning spawn point. He sells upgrades and consumables you can use to strengthen certain attributes or learn new moves. There is the option to fast-travel in the game whenever you find a purple platform; this will allow you to go to any other purple spot you have visited before, or to go back to purchase items from The Sandman.

At the bottom of your screen, you will see a bar that shows how to do each attack — depending on if you are playing with a keyboard or controller. This makes it incredibly easy to learn all the moves and is great for attacks that have a cooldown period as it will flash when it is available to use again! If you are using Scarlet, the bar will change to the moves that the werewolf form can use as soon as the time cycle switches to night. I like how the time of day affects the characters in different ways, adding an interesting mechanic to the game. Once night comes, Reverie gets dark, making it a lot easier for the enemy to hide in the shadows, so it definitely adds a new kind of challenge. If you happen to fall in battle, you have five raven feathers that you can use to come back to life. Once your stash is depleted, your run is done and you get to see a summary screen, which is presented as pages in a book. It displays the difficulty setting, your playtime, how much damage you did to enemies, how much damage you took, and how many raven feathers you used. Based on this, you earn points — XP — that are used to increase the rank of your characters.

Ravenswatch is a must-play title for people who appreciate games like Diablo or Hades. With a beautiful storybook art style, catchy music, and great character designs, there is plenty to love here. If you want replayability, the game offers a variety of characters to play as and randomly generated maps making each run feel unique. If the game gets too easy, you can always change it to a harder difficulty to mix it up. 

Online, people were complaining about the short runtimes, but I appreciate the shorter time commitment. I don’t always have the time to sit for hours trying to beat a level, so having an addictive, shorter experience is better in my books. I can’t wait until the full game comes out so I can take down new Nightmares on my own or with my friends!