Ravenswatch Review — Grimm Fairytale Action

Review-wise, this week has been pretty great for me; Bloomtown, the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Breachway, and Mouthwashing have all come across my desk and treated me to some downright enjoyable gaming experiences. I’m thrilled to say that Ravenswatch continues the pattern, delivering a game that combines some of my favorite tropes, aesthetics, and gameplay genres into what turned out to be an awesome game.

Ravenswatch is a roguelike game, which, if you’ve read my reviews of the genre, you know, easily impresses me. More than just another game that takes advantage of the genre’s fun gameplay loop, however, Ravenswatch approaches things in a way that makes it stand out from other roguelikes on the market, with a unique setting, unique mechanics, and a fun approach to game design that makes it all come together beautifully.

Starting with the unique setting, the premise of Ravenswatch is that you must prevent the end of the world by controlling a number of familiar fairy tale heroes.

Each of these heroes is taken from popular stories and uniquely ‘gothified,’ turning them into badass grim fantasy warriors. It’s a solid concept on its own, but we have to give props to Ravenswatch for how they chose to execute their translation of each classic storybook protagonist. Little Red Riding Hood makes her appearance as a werewolf, the Pied Piper controls rats, and Beowulf is a tanky fighter with a pet dragon.

Not only are all of these ideas faithful yet creatively reimagined aesthetic translations of the original characters, but the game also carefully incorporates aspects of these stories into each character’s mechanics in ways that feel fun and fulfill the fantasy of the character as presented by the game. This also allows these fantasies to feel strong without being overpowered or making the game easy.

The game is unusually designed for a roguelike, forgoing typical genre gameplay or combat designs favoring a system more akin to an ARPG. Every character has a preset number of abilities and starting stats, and killing enemies grant XP that allows you to pick from a randomized selection of morphs to these abilities. Again, the best part about all of this is that the game allows you to fulfill the fantasy of the character you’re playing and feel strong without breaking the game.

Little Red transforms into a werewolf during each level’s night cycle, against the player’s control, and replaces her assassin-like abilities with a more bruiser-like kit. Carmilla is a powerful vampire caster who must absorb the blood of enemies to power an incredibly deadly blood vortex that will shred through enemies but eat away at her health if she’s not careful. Aladdin is a nimble skirmisher with access to the lamp, allowing him to grant powerful wishes for himself and his team, making him a support that keeps his allies from wanting anything.

Character progression is locked behind your runs, allowing you to unlock further ability options by getting as far into the game’s chapters as possible. Ravenswatch also cleverly hides its versions of each character’s story behind progression, making you play a lot of your favorite characters if you want the reward of learning the game’s unique retelling of their story.

I really, really love the way the game handles its character abilities and upgrades. It allows for character building that is both fun and clever, with each character having several playstyles based on the options you pick up in-game. I love that Ravenswatch doesn’t forget that it is a game meant to be enjoyed, and it allows room for players to feel like their abilities are fun and impactful, not just stat blocks to be balanced.

The game’s level formula is also pretty unique for the genre; rather than traveling through procedurally generated rooms, each chapter generates a map with different objects located throughout, hidden from your view. You are then given a set amount of time, usually about 20 minutes, to explore the map, gathering upgrades and XP before a boss spawns and forces you to fight it. The level is only complete once the boss is defeated, and you have the chance to complete difficult challenges before it spawns to lower its HP, or you can outright challenge it right off the bat if you feel you’re strong enough.

It really feels like an ARPG, nicely and neatly condensed, offering you some of the best features from a game like Diablo with the convenience of a roguelike title.

The best part is that the game is also multiplayer, allowing up to four players to join in the fun at once. I really, really love this, and I’m hoping to get the chance to play the game with some friends soon myself.

My only real criticism of Ravenswatch is that the game doesn’t seem to provide a tutorial. The game itself isn’t hard to learn, but the definitions of some mechanics are not taught or explained by hovering over their icons, leading to a bit of trial and error. For example, it took me forever to take upgrades that offered rerolls for upgrades or shops because I didn’t understand what their term for the mechanic meant.

The worst part about Ravenswatch is the way it leaves you wanting more. I want to see more characters, abilities, power-ups, maps—just more. The game doesn’t even lack variety; it features a generous cast of characters and a ton of power-ups and augments. It’s just all so good that I want more, and I would really like to see this game constantly updated with new heroes, even if they all come as DLC.

Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Ravenswatch is available on Steam and PlayStation.