Ravenswatch

About

Ravenswatch is a single player and multiplayer hack and slash game with fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Passtech Games and was released on September 26, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Discover Ravenswatch in its most complete version yet, bringing together the base title and all the content published during the first year. Battle the Nightmare with 3 new playable heroes — Merlin, Romeo and Juliet — customize your runs with 6 skin packs, and dive behind the scenes, with the digital artbook and official soundtrack. Edition contents: * Ravenswatch * Fairytales Skin Pack * Ravens …

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86%Audience ScoreBased on 9,779 reviews

gameplay936 positive mentions

grinding125 negative mentions

Unique and engaging combat with distinct and fun characters, each offering diverse and strategic playstyles and builds.
Great co-op experience that shines by encouraging teamwork and synergy between characters, making multiplayer highly enjoyable.
Strong artistic design with captivating lore, immersive voice acting, and atmospheric music that enhance the dark fairy tale setting.
Challenging but fair difficulty scaling that rewards skill and mastery rather than grinding, providing satisfying progression and replayability.
Active developers who regularly update the game, adding free content and balancing changes, demonstrating care for the player community.

Limited content variety with only a few maps and bosses appearing repeatedly, leading to repetitive gameplay over time.
Multiplayer suffers from technical issues including frequent disconnects, lack of reconnect functionality, and poorly implemented peer-to-peer hosting causing frustration and lost progress.
High difficulty spikes and sometimes unbalanced mechanics make the game punishing, especially in co-op where enemies scale significantly and revive mechanics can be frustrating.
Slow progression for unlocking character abilities and talents, with meta-progression being horizontal rather than vertical, resulting in less rewarding long-term advancement.
Timer mechanics and time pressure during runs reduce exploration freedom and can make the gameplay feel rushed or stressful, which some players find off-putting.

gameplay
2,057 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
50%
4%
The gameplay of Ravenswatch is praised for its smooth, fluid, and challenging combat mechanics, unique and diverse character playstyles, and engaging, strategic roguelike loop that blends action RPG elements with MOBA-style mechanics. While the core gameplay is highly addictive and satisfying, especially in co-op mode, some players find the timer mechanic stressful and the content limited, leading to repetitiveness over time. Overall, it offers deep mechanics and strong replayability, but could benefit from more variety in maps, enemies, and progression to fully realize its potential.
- “The best co-op gameplay you can get.”
- “Gameplay is engaging and fast-paced but doesn't feel overwhelming.”
- “A roguelike with macro & micro elements, lots of different gameplay styles, game still being updated at times.”
- “The onboarding experience is bad as the game does a poor job of communicating less intuitive mechanics to you - in-game, you can't even see your ability descriptions, so it's inconvenient to get answers to your questions of how a character works.”
- “The gameplay loop is identical each chapter, and ultimately it's just a slog of killing things.”
- “The gameplay is painfully slow, both the movement and how long it takes to kill enemies, and there isn't much metaprogression.”
graphics
785 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
35%
The game is widely praised for its stunning, dark fairy tale-inspired art style that is both unique and immersive, with beautifully detailed environments, smooth animations, and expressive character designs. Visuals are consistently described as polished, captivating, and fitting the game's grim fantasy theme, contributing significantly to the overall atmosphere. While some mention the graphics aren't groundbreaking or are a bit simplistic, the cohesive art direction, complemented by excellent sound design and music, makes the game's aesthetic a standout feature.
- “The excellent graphic design is an added bonus; the style and atmosphere spill out of the screen.”
- “The art style and dark twist on classic folklore characters is astounding as well, every frame of animation conveying personality and highlighting the diverse skills at your disposal.”
- “The visuals and art style are visually appealing and contribute to the game's immersive atmosphere.”
- “Don't expect to be blown out of your chair by the graphics.”
- “The aesthetic is cheap and ugly, (but you can see that and decide for yourself of course) I understand it is intentional (but it's really just cheap).”
- “This looks like textureless polygons and low resolution shadows passed over with a lame filter... there really is no novelty to it, at least not as the general game aesthetic.”
story
573 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
74%
6%
The story is presented through character backstories, voice-acted lore entries, and a dark fairytale setting, creating an atmospheric and engaging narrative backdrop. However, it is often criticized for being minimal, repetitive, and locked behind challenging difficulties, with limited progression, quests, and world variety, which some players find frustrating and lacking depth compared to similar roguelikes like Hades. Overall, while the story adds charm and context, it feels underdeveloped and secondary to the game's gameplay loop.
- “Every time you die in Hades, you got some sort of story tidbit or power upgrade or something to keep you going.”
- “The story unfolds gradually through immersive dialogue, environmental storytelling, and mysterious quests that encourage exploration and discovery.”
- “Each hero’s backstory is tied to the larger story of the nightmare’s invasion, and uncovering these tales as you progress adds an extra layer of immersion.”
- “The story could be more fleshed out and generally more existent and the grimoire as well as the side-quests are way too hard and mostly unbeatable.”
- “The quest timer itself is too short to try and collect enough materials for the pig, and the overall timer just doesn't allow for you to deviate from the gear grind from going point to point.”
- “The story leans heavily on overused tropes, to the point of being distracting.”
replayability
407 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
55%
3%
Replayability in the game is generally praised due to its diverse cast of unique characters, each with multiple builds and distinct playstyles, as well as challenging difficulty levels and a rewarding progression system that encourages mastery. However, many users note that replay value is somewhat limited by the small number of maps and bosses, repetitive level design, and lack of significant post-run variety, with improvements in map variety and additional content anticipated to enhance long-term replayability. Cooperative multiplayer also significantly boosts replay value, making the game especially engaging for group play despite current content limitations.
- “Fantastic game, so much replayability - spent over 100 hours playing with friends.”
- “The replayability lies in mastering the well designed characters who are all an absolute treat to play, and in climbing the steep ladder of its 4 difficulty levels.”
- “Ravenswatch is a gorgeous, high-energy roguelike that is difficult, punishing, and endlessly replayable.”
- “The game has very low replayability as there's a small pool of skills and items modifying skills are not that game changing.”
- “This is the roguelike with the least amount of replayability I have ever played, and instead of improving the replayability by adding new bosses or new enemies or a new map, the devs focus most of their development on new characters.”
- “It doesn't have a lot of replay value due to playing the same 3 levels over and over.”
music
332 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
36%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality, atmospheric fit, and strong contribution to the overall dark fantasy and roguelike theme. Reviews highlight a dynamic, immersive soundtrack that enhances gameplay intensity and mood, with memorable compositions often compared favorably to notable titles like Hades and The Witcher. While a few find it occasionally repetitive or less prominent, the consensus views the music as a standout feature that complements the art style and gameplay beautifully.
- “Easily the best video game OST I've ever listened to, and yes this includes Supergiant and E33.”
- “The delivery of lines from your actors is pretty superb, but what really makes it beautiful to me is how you can tell the people doing the sound and music can make it all fit together naturally: the dialogue, the music, the sounds, how loud each thing is in comparison to another, tone... it all works.”
- “The music is wonderfully composed, the heroes are creative and smooth to use.”
- “Gameplay is Hades, story is kill evil, soundtrack is there... idk man... very very weak recommend.”
- “The music will drive you mad with its telegraphed ostinatos all over.”
- “I'm taking off one star because I feel the music should pick up pace, or become more tense, as the fights get more chaotic or drastic.”
character development
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
42%
2%
The character development in the game is widely praised for its unique, creative, and diverse designs that blend dark fairy tale themes with innovative gameplay mechanics. Each character feels distinct with varied playstyles, skill sets, and engaging combat, contributing heavily to the game's replayability and overall appeal. While some note a lack of deep narrative development and long-term progression compared to similar roguelikes, the standout artistry and functional design of the characters remain a highlight.
- “Character design is outstanding; each character feels unique and plays completely different.”
- “The character designs are definitely this game's strength; each is unique in design, theme, and play style, and learning each character and how to best chain their abilities makes for extremely fun combat.”
- “Each character design is well thought out, unique, and wonderfully themed.”
- “While there isn't much character development or depth, the inspiration is enough for me to look into this dark-twisted fairy tale.”
- “The single player game works well and seems to be fairly bug free (single player), the down-side is this just doesn't have the long term character development of something like Hades; you level up long-term but only to unlock new trait options and skins, you never actually get more powerful in any noticeable permanent way, so it is very much a rogue-like and not a rogue-lite.”
- “But for now, Ravenswatch is missing the spiraling rabbit hole of random, complex character development that roguelike staples have given us.”
grinding
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
3%
95%
Grinding in the game is widely viewed as tedious and repetitive, with slow character progression and lengthy runs that often feel more like farming or MOBA-style resource gathering than engaging gameplay. While unlocks and build experimentation can offer some variety, many players find the lack of map and enemy diversity, combined with grind-heavy progression, makes solo and even co-op play feel frustrating and time-consuming. Overall, the grind-driven loop detracts from the experience, limiting replayability and enjoyment for those not motivated by incremental unlocks.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “Admittedly, they did rework some systems which I was interested in trying out, but I'm not regrinding 15 hours with weaker versions of the characters' kits in a game I already thought was difficult to the point of tedium (not actually that hard, just everything is a slog to drain their HP and you pull every enemy in a mile radius) just to see if now it's a game I'm happy with.”
- “Each character takes literal hours of grinding to unlock their full kit. This means that build diversity is super dependent on grinding up each individual character from scratch. It's really grindy to unlock all of the abilities given how the acts don't vary really between replays.”
- “Also, it takes a considerable amount of time to unlock all of the talents for a character (I fully unlocked only one character so far, 37 hours in) and then when you decide you want to play another character you have not played before you need to start grinding again, so in my case I often preferred just playing the one I already fully unlocked.”
atmosphere
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
28%
3%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, immersive, and richly crafted dark fantasy setting inspired by folklore and fairy tales, enhanced by striking art design and a haunting soundtrack. The blend of moody visuals, eerie environments, and evocative sound design creates a compelling, somber tone that deeply engages players. While some note limited atmospheric variability early on, the overall ambiance is considered a standout feature that richly supports the gameplay and narrative.
- “The atmosphere is enhanced by hauntingly beautiful visuals and a moody soundtrack that perfectly complements the grim tone of the narrative, drawing players into the somber and perilous realm they must navigate.”
- “The setting in which we bring all these folk tales' characters to life in one place feels like a worlds-collided mashup of their and others' olde fables, and the slightly sombre, out-of-time atmosphere alongside the obvious effort put into the game's aesthetic is quite beautiful.”
- “The atmosphere is beautifully crafted, with a rich, dark fairy tale aesthetic that sets the perfect tone.”
- “I, like others, wish there was a bit more variability in atmosphere/enemies of the game.”
- “You can't enjoy the entourage and gameplay design, the atmosphere of a dark fairy tale, because the game is equipped with an unnecessary timer, which constantly forces you to grind instead of exploring.”
- “Map design reminded me a bit of D4 beta, it is grim, creepy and conveys a thrilling atmosphere.”
optimization
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
48%
11%
Optimization is generally praised, with many noting smooth performance, stable 60 FPS even on midrange or older hardware including the Steam Deck, and well-optimized gameplay. However, co-op mode and multiplayer can suffer from performance dips, longer load times, and occasional disconnects, indicating room for improvement. Some users also mention specific skill or animation optimizations and minor bugs impacting smoothness, but overall the game is considered well-optimized compared to many AAA titles.
- “Extremely well optimized, rock solid 60 fps basically 100% of the time.”
- “Very good optimization, even when there are tons of enemies on screen.”
- “While the game has limited content, what is present is extremely polished, with very few glitches, incredible optimization, and highly satisfying gameplay which controls really well.”
- “Very poorly optimized, runs abhorrently poorly despite having low poly characters running in ugly looking environment.”
- “The performance is a little bumpy at points, mainly in co-op where the enemy count scales quite high, even on my high-end machine the game suddenly seems to tank down from 144 fps to 40-50 fps.”
- “The multiplayer mode is badly optimized; if players have timeouts and you are reviving them, it can happen that you can't get out of the revival and stand around for up to 3 minutes, unable to do anything or get killed defenseless by enemies.”
stability
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
72%
The game generally runs well and is stable in single-player mode with good optimization across platforms, including Steam Deck and Linux. However, its multiplayer and online components are notably buggy, with frequent glitches such as freezes, desyncs, matchmaking issues, and UI problems that disrupt the experience. Despite these stability issues, the core gameplay remains enjoyable, and some bugs are expected to be addressed in future updates.
- “It runs great on Steam Deck and Linux in general, compared to, let's say, Shape of Dreams which barely runs on Steam Deck on low settings.”
- “Basically bug free early access that is fit to be a full game.”
- “No crashes experienced, performance is great and no glitches.”
- “The matchmaking is plagued by connection issues: you wait 5 minutes to get a lobby, then syncing glitches occur, sometimes booting you or freezing the UI, requiring a reboot.”
- “Multiplayer is a buggy mess with desyncing and frequent connection problems making co-op unreliable.”
- “Worst matchmaking system: AFK players cancel game launch, buggy server randomly removes you from party, infinite starting screen.”
humor
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
3%
The game's humor is widely praised for its quirky character voice lines, funny interactions, and chaotic multiplayer banter, especially enhancing the cooperative play experience. Players enjoy the humorous and unpredictable moments during fights and character synergies, which keep repeated runs entertaining. While some find the humor mostly situational and occasionally repetitive, the overall tone is lighthearted and often hilarious, making it a fun, memorable experience with friends.
- “Character voice lines are quirky, funny, and full of personality, which helps keep repeated runs feeling fresh.”
- “Charging into reverie together, sharing banter, coordinating fights, and laughing through the chaos elevates the experience into something truly memorable.”
- “Even things like the in-game barks at each other's characters are tailored to who they are interacting with, have a good amount of content (some repetitiveness but to be expected) written that isn't boring to hear or listen to and quite hilarious at times.”
monetization
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
Monetization in the game is a major point of contention, with many users criticizing aggressive DLC advertising and perceived reliance on microtransactions that feel like cash grabs. While some appreciate the absence of in-game stores or intrusive microtransactions, the overall limited content and expensive price, combined with grind-heavy stages, leave many feeling the game prioritizes monetization over quality and lasting engagement.
- “- No annoying microtransactions or in-game store.”
- “No microtransactions.”
- “There are no bs microtransactions.”
- “The very limited amount of content doesn't warrant the game's current price tag of $25 plus a swathe of microtransactions.”
- “Shame because it plays well and looks great but now it just comes off as a shallow cash grab that will have people grow bored immediately and move on to the next game.”
- “If they still want to make a good game after that by all means go for it but as of now just another mediocre cash grab from a studio that will give you fewer and fewer updates unless they are paid DLC.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Emotional responses to the game are mixed, with some players deeply moved by the nostalgic and wholesome storytelling, particularly the creative use of Brothers Grimm lore and character embodiment. However, others feel a lack of emotional impact from gameplay progression and character growth, citing little excitement or sense of achievement. The art, music, and character design receive praise for evoking heartfelt moments and enjoyable experiences despite gameplay frustrations.
- “The heroes are done with such panache and intelligence that it made me feel like I was playing Dawngate again, which is a compliment not to be thrown out lightly.”
- “This game really made me feel like incarnating these special characters from my childhood memories.”
- “Great controls, stunning visuals, different combat roles/traits for heroes suitable for players, the audio and music is really heartwarming to listen to, and the hard-felt struggle to level up makes this game really competitive!”