Ravenswatch is quickly rising up the world of indie roguelikes with their unique gameplay and interesting world. Developed by Passtech games, Ravenswatch seems to be an interaction on their formula from their other famous title, Curse Of The Dead Gods.
Ravenswatch is a multiplayer roguelike where we can control characters from various folk tales and legends such as Aladdin, Beowulf, Son Wukong and go through various environments to get rid of the nightmare creatures plaguing the world. It is available on Playstation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch.
The Gameplay Mechanics
As mentioned before we can play this game with up to 4 players, the enemies hit like a truck from the very beginning and health flasks are few and far between. This difficulty forces the team to work together at taking down groups of enemies and working together to save resources.
The diversity in the set of characters make sure there is a character that suits their unique style of play, for example, Beowulf is someone who is melee focused as he swings a greatsword. Another character, Snow Queen is more suited towards ranged play as she shoots piercing ice and slows down enemies by freezing them.
Each character has their own unique abilities and traits that players must master in order to reach the Nightmares that are plaguing their world. The key here is learning how to crowd control since there will be multiple mobs of enemies on the screen at any one time.
The objective is to go through various environments on a 4 day cycle and defeat the Mother of the Nightmare creatures that are plaguing the world. Since we control characters from well known folk tales it makes sense that these environments hide tough enemies and bosses from said folk tales.
Beautiful Visuals And Style
The artstyle is similar to their previous title, inspired by a comic book style with bold colors and detailed character designs with just hits of ink splashing to portray a natural feel. As this is a roguelike there are procedurally generated worlds for each run.
Each world generated looks stunning and extremely detailed, the art style shines here too with every environment making them feel alive and lived in. It fits so well with the game’s setting of a dark fantastical atmosphere.
The map also encourages exploration, as hidden throughout each world are treasures, side quests and resources that no doubt help in getting more buffs or currency thus making it easier to unlock weapons or upgrades.
The Free DLC
The free DLC is called Romeo & Juliet and yes as the name suggests these two characters have to be played together. Romeo is a melee character wielding his rapier for rapid thrusts against nightmare beasts, he also has charge attacks that can close the distance between him and any targeted nightmare.
Juliet however plays a more ranged approach, relying on her guns to disperse the nightmares, she also has some AOE attacks, like one where she spins and shoots in a 360 degree manner to damage surrounding enemies.
Just like with the previous characters, teamwork is essential in playing these characters, as their attacks and special abilities complement each other. For example, Romeo can throw a timed bomb in the shape of a red rose and if Juliet shoots it, the bomb explodes early.
Conclusion
Ravenswatch is quickly gaining a following with close to a million players on each of their platforms altogether, it has also received high praise for multiple reviewers and casual players alike. Passtech games have truly outdone themselves in creating a masterpiece such as this that combines roguelike gameplay and adds in multiplayer.
It is a game for those who enjoy roguelikes like Hades or Deadcells but the multiplayer aspect of the game is just a cherry on top. The game was released on the 26th of September and has been going strong ever since with developers promising more updates are on the way.
