In the past few years, roguelikes have continued to explode in popularity. With games like Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, and critical darling Hades, indie developers continue to put new spins on the genre and deliver challenging experiences that players embrace. However, as the genre continues to grow, it becomes harder to truly stand out amongst a slew of incredible roguelikes. In turn, some developers have turned to a classic mechanic that has yet to be widely utilized in the genre: cooperative gameplay.
That idea is just what developer Passtech Games intends to do with its latest title, Ravenswatch. Although Passtech came to prominence with its top-down roguelike adventure Curse of the Dead Gods, for its follow-up, it has decided to keep the thrilling action mechanics and add three other allies to the fray. Ravenswatch is a refreshing take on the roguelike genre that looks to be a great example of how cooperative action can serve a roguelike experience.
Ravenswatch puts players in control of a member of the titular fictional order of heroes who protect the realm of Reverie. Reverie is a dreamlike world of fantasy built off of legends and folktales, where mythological Norse beings live alongside fairytale characters like the Three Little Pigs. When a force known as the Nightmare invades and threatens this magical place, the Ravenswatch is called upon to vanquish the evil foe and bring peace back to the realm. Ravenswatch consists of four fallen heroes, bound by an oath to fight against evil.
Dripping with style through its Darkest Dungeon-like art style and dark fantasy setting, Ravenswatch allows players to choose from a roster that includes somber versions of fantasy characters like Scarlett the Red Hood, Beowulf, the Pied Piper, and the Snow Queen. Each character plays quite differently from the rest, and while the game can entirely be played solo, the focus lies entirely on combining each hero’s strengths in up to four-player online co-op play.
Each character represents a familiar playstyle for veterans of top-down action games. Beowulf is a melee tank-style fighter, swinging his massive two-handed sword through the battlefield, but he can also employ fire elemental attacks thanks to the small dragon that is bound to his soul. The Snow Queen is a pure magic caster character, sliding around the levels with ease and attacking enemies with ice-based attacks. The Pied Piper is a summoner or pet class, who utilizes his swarm of rats to attack enemies for him, along with using his flute to deal out musical damage.
Finally, there’s Scarlett, who seems to be the most interesting of the bunch, as she’s a ranged character focusing on firearms. Scarlett has another surprise ability: She can transform into a werewolf, (a clear nod to her Red Riding Hood roots), allowing her to shred enemies with melee attacks as well.
Aside from its interesting setup and style, the real fun to be had in Ravenswatch will be experimenting with different combinations of characters and builds. Players can upgrade and tweak each character on runs, and if Curse of the Dead Gods is anything to go by, players will need as much luck as combat skill to take on the game’s numerous bosses and challenges.
If Passtech can balance the gameplay to allow for a challenge between any number of one to four players, Ravenswatch could turn out to be really something special. It won’t be the first roguelike to experiment with cooperative action, but if it can succeed, this top-down fantasy action title could compete with the likes of Risk of Rain, Gunfire Reborn, and Spelunky, which isn’t a bad place to be. Ravenswatch is due to release sometime next year for Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.