Ravenswatch, the latest roguelike action game from Curse of the Dead Gods developer Passtech Games, is going to be launching in Early Access on April 6. We, however, were able to sit down with Margaux Saly, Associate Producer at Passtech in order to get some more information on what to expect in the game.
Ravenswatch takes place in the world of Reverie, where various heroes of legend and fairy tale such as Beowulf, Aladdin, the Three Little Pigs, and more must band together to fight Nightmares, a horde of wicked creatures intent on consuming everything in their path. Players will need a strong build and good teamwork (should they play co-op) to survive the enemy hordes and defeat the monster at the end.
Q: The game looks incredible from an aesthetic point of view, the models look great and the world looks rich. The art style resembled Hades in some aspects, was it an inspiration when designing the game?
Yes and no. There’s no denying the influence that Hades had on the indie video game industry, and even beyond, but Hades was not the main artistic reference we took for Ravenswatch. Ravenswatch is much more of a distant cousin to Curse of the Dead Gods, our last game, which was already using 3D cell-shading and had comic book inspirations. For Ravenswatch, we pushed the style even more towards an illustrative rendering, taking inspiration from traditional illustration like the drawings of Ivan Bilibine for example.
Q: We noticed the game features multiple characters that players can play, how many characters will be available at launch? Will using different characters have an affect on the ending?
We will launch the game in Early Access on April 6 with 6 playable characters available. Our goal is to reach 10 playable heroes, adding 4 more as we update the Early Access. At its final release, we hope to bring a very wide variety of characters and play styles. Finishing the game with different heroes will not affect the ending of the game itself, but it will allow you to find out more about your character and why they have gone on this journey.
Q: You mentioned in the description that the game has high replay value, what can you tell us about that? How does the game achieve it and what new elements does it bring per playthrough?
Each game will allow you to go through several chapters (only one chapter will be available at the launch of the game in Early Access) that are procedurally generated. You will not encounter the same challenges, or the same quests, and it will be up to you to compose yourself with the elements that will be offered to you during this adventure. Each hero also brings its own differences since they all have different fighting styles, which you can improve as you play through the game thanks to a skill upgrade system. Randomness will make you take different paths in each run, depending on your character build and the items or challenges you will encounter in the chapters.
Q: The game description says that the game is both single player and co-op, will there be some PvP elements in the game as well?
There is no PvP in Ravenswatch. You fight alongside your teammates to defeat the Nightmares!
Q: What would you say was your biggest challenge while working on the game?
Make the game as fun to play in single player as in multiplayer! Ravenswatch is playable in co-op up to 4 players and the experience is really fun in multiplayer. In single player, we had to make the experience as fun, or at least differently fun, because it was very important to us to provide the same type of quality as if you’d play with your friends. It is a challenge for sure, but we are very proud of the result!
Q: What can you tell us about the game difficulty levels? Can players choose different difficulty levels or is there one level throughout for everyone?
Ravenswatch will offer different difficulty levels, each more challenging than the last. We are also considering adding more accessible difficulty modes for less experienced players, or those who are not looking for an intense challenge. We’ll see what we can do during the Early Access!
Q: The game will be available in early access in April, when are your aiming for a full release? Also, will the early access go live on the same date for all platforms?
Ravenswatch will be released in Early Access on April 6, 2023 on Steam. We are aiming for a one-year Early Access. At the end of this, the game will be available on all other platforms (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch).
Q: How much content players can expect to see for Ravenswatch with early access launch?
Ravenswatch’s Early Access will feature the first chapter of the game, filled with various quests and activities. You will also be able to discover the first 6 heroes of the game: The Red Hood, the Pied Piper, Beowulf, the Snow Queen, Aladdin and Melusine, the Siren. A meta progression system will also allow you to unlock new content to enrich your game experience.
Q: Will players be able to play Ravenswatch offline or it will need an internet connection to play all the time?
You don’t need an internet connection to play solo games, but you do need one for online co-op.
Q: How much freedom the game offers when it comes to building your characters? Will players be able to change builds at any time in-game or it will be like choosing one type of build and improving it as the game progresses?
Each new run in Ravenswatch allows you to create different builds on the playable characters. Since this is a roguelite game, with each new run you will be faced with new randomized choices allowing you to take your hero in a new direction, or keep the one that has made you successful so far!
Q: In co-op, how will the loot be shared? Each player will have his/her own loot or it will whoever collects it?
In co-op, loot is shared, there is no competition. Each player will be able to collect their own items and their own in-game currency.
Q: Are there any plans to introduce crossplay for Ravenswatch?
We would love to! But it’s still a little early to say. I think we’ll know more about it and we’ll be able to communicate about it when we’ll work on all the console ports.
Q: Ravenswatch seems like a great game for Microsoft’s game pass service. Did you guys consider it bringing it to Game Pass? What are your thoughts about the service as a developer?
It’s too early to consider adding the game to the Xbox Game Pass. For the moment, we prefer to focus on the release of the game in Early Access and we’ll see what the future holds! We are in favor of this type of service because it is a very good way for us developers to make our games accessible to a whole new group of players.
As mentioned before, the early access will be limited to to Steam only and the game will launch on consoles as a full release once it’s ready. Curse of the Dead Gods was well received by the fans and we are hoping that Ravenswatch will do the same.
