Ravenswatchhas left early access and is now available to players for its official 1.0 release. This is a co-op roguelike with a top-down perspective, where players will take control of heroes that are inspired by classic stories almost everyone is familiar with. It boasts a high replay value and items unlocking as you go deeper into the game with each run and new characters to unlock and play.Ravenswatchis entering the fray and showing us fresh new takes on stories like Beowulf and Little Red Riding Hood.
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Reverie Needs Aid
The story inRavenswatchis delivered in several ways that are unique. The overall world gives players an idea of what is going on and how bleak everything is. Completing optional missions while waiting for bosses and exploring the map will give more context about Reverie in each zone and talent unlocks for the characters you are playing. With each run you’ll gain experience per character to increase their general rank. Each rank will give you the backstory of a character. For example, Scarlet is a character built on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but was infected with the lycanthropy curse. The details of her story and curse will be delivered as the rank is increased with each run of the game you do.
This is an interesting way to deliver character stories while still building up the world ofRavenswatch. It’s awesome to see established stories everyone is familiar with take a new turn and show us something unexpected. Our legendary heroes have fallen in ways that some may not expect and with every rank increase we are given more information on what came to be with them. Each story is narrated to us after achieving the next milestone rank, and it’s entertaining to learn just what happened to make our characters so different from the iterations that we know about. From Aladdin’s story to Carmilla’s, they’re all a new take on these classic stories and are all well done.
Tried and True Roguelike Action
The combat forRavenswatchis likeHadesbut at a slower-pace. There are various attacks you’ll use where you’ll be utilizing skills, managing cooldowns and figuring out the best ways to use them in fights. There are a total of four starting characters to choose from for your journey right away. Scarlet, The Pied Piper, Beowulf and The Snow Queen are going to be the immediate options. With these four come another five becoming available by completing Chapter 1 with several of our heroes. Each character is different enough for you to feel the need to learn how they each work; none of them are just a reskin of another moveset. This is a perfect way to get players to switch up characters and experiment to find out which ones are their favorite, as well as just trying out all the available options.
The combat forRavenswatchis likeHadesbut at a slower-pace.
When starting up a run, you’ll notice that you aren’t immediately thrown into a town or specific set of fights. Areas within the game are zones you’ll explore while waiting for Master Nightmares, which are boss fights that will take place after a set amount of time passes in your current zone. Each boss is a new eldritch horror that you must overcome and defeat using your newfound knowledge gathered through each area you’ve gone through. Each boss still demands that players keep an eye out for multiple sets of attacks to dodge while still making progress on any mobs they spawn.
As you continue through each zone, you’ll gain upgrades for your talents to expand on combat to allow you to keep evolving through combat. With combat comes challenge modes as well. Challenge mode runs are available the second you start the game. For example, one challenge named “Untouchable” will decrease the cooldown of your dash while reducing healing by 50% and enabling foes to hit harder the less health they have. At the start, there are five challenge modes available, each offering its own perks and hindrances, with some giving a score modifier as well. A custom mode is available for players to create challenges if they are seeking a specific type of gameplay.
The options available are great and each run feels unique, each zone offering side quests for you to complete to get extra loot and experience points. Optional bosses are plentiful and as difficult as each final boss is per zone, some are arguably harder as well. The combat is challenging and the heroes at your disposal are unique, requiring different ways to take down enemies. Enemies and player characters will be brighter than the world around them, making everything in combat stand out and manageable to deal with. All of these are brought together to create an amazing gameplay experience where you feel like you are adapting to the game on the fly and becoming a legendary hero.
Closing Comments:
Ravenswatchis a solid tried and true roguelike with many different ways to play through the options of heroes available to players. It’s difficult and rewarding for solo or co-op parties and does its best to be an interesting experience. With the diverse cast of heroes and challenging side quests, it’s hard not to queue up several runs a day. Every character we have was given the care of a compelling story on why and how their tale took a darker turn. We see the developer taking something old and making it new for us once again. It’s truly awesome to see old stories given new life to become something else altogether.
Ravenswatch
Version Reviewed: PC
Reverie is in danger and it is up to the heroes of myth and legend to take up the mantle and protect the world from what may come. Take up arms as heroes like the legendary Beowulf or the dhampir Carmilla against the foes that have threaten to corrupt the world and eliminate Baba Yaga.
