I really enjoyed Ravenswatch when I played its Early Access release last year. Since that point Ravenswatch has added in new biomes, bosses, characters, and more, and it’s all the better for it. It was already an incredibly solid and enjoyable roguelike, and that’s still true in its fully realised form.
Ravenswatch is an action roguelike with co-op, which I much prefer as a way to play, that features a much Grimmer take on a lot of the fairy tale characters it features. Actually, calling it a fairy tale settingis a bit of a push in some respects, given that it also includes characters like the mighty Sun Wukong from a Journey to the West, and Carmilla the Vampire, who I’m pretty sure is from the Castlevania show.
Each of these characters has their own mix of different abilities, but also their own unique passive upgrades. The result is that choosing a different character can help the game almost feel like an entirely new genre, with Gepetto commanding puppets to attack, and Scarlet, a girl with a red riding hood who can become a werewolf, demanding intense focus on how and when you choose to fight. It’s just very well-crafted, and things only feel better when you are playing with a friend or two, because you can all work together to craft complimentary builds.
Each run has you trying to gain strength, but also trying to uncover upgrades on the map, help out people via quests, take out big bad villains in arena battles, and just generally trying to become as powerful as possible, because after a few nights, you’ll have to go and fight a big old pile of tentacles or claws to get to the next level. It manages to feel fresh thanks to a mix of vastly different characters, but also because of the randomly generated events you can come across.
It helps that it’s all wrapped in just a beautiful visual art style as well. Seriously, this thing is gorgeous, and is just dripping with style. The artwork, enemy design, and characters themselves all look amazing, so if you’re someone who’s sold on good art, then you’ll be happy with Ravenswatch. There’s also a digital art book you can buy, which is a nice option if you fall in love with it.
You can even choose from multiple difficulty option in order to tailor the challenge to your own skill level, which is a lovely option for anyone who’s not as locked into roguelikes as me and my ADHD-addled brain. It also makes for a nice way to increase things if you do start getting better at the game.
