by theygamesThe past twelve months have been fantastic for roguelikes, from heavy hitters like Balatro and Hades 2 to more under-the-radar but nevertheless excellent names such as Ants Took My Eyeball and Below The Stone. A real winner for me in 2024 was Ravenswatch – blending familiar fairy tale figures with ARPG combat halfway between Hades and Diablo, it quickly worked its way into my heart. The first major update, Nightmares Unleashed, is set to introduce a wealth of new events, enemies, and improvements, and following a brief delay we now have confirmation it’ll be here before the month of January is out.
Ravenswatch has a lot going for it, but its greatest strength is its roster of playable characters, which pull from classic fairytales and fantasy and all feel dramatically distinct and flavorful. The Pied Piper puts a unique spin on summoner classes such as Diablo’s Necromancer with his swarm of rats. Pinocchio-inspired inventor Geppetto builds dummies and puppets to distract his foes while he goes to town with hammers and bombs. Sun Wukong flips between his defensive Yin and offensive Yang stances during combat, and can use his ultimate to temporarily transform into any other hero from the action roguelike‘s lineup.
The result is an incredibly satisfying and rewarding ARPG that works wonderfully solo, but ranks among 2024’s best co-op games when played with friends. It’s about to get even better soon, as the upcoming Nightmares Unleashed update packs in a wealth of changes and upgrades. To kick things off, the patch introduces new boss patterns to all three Master Nightmare fights. Developer Passtech says that it wanted to create a “surprise effect” by ensuring that you’ll face a different combination of attacks each time you face one of these bosses.
Keys have been reworked. Previously requiring you to scour the map in order to discover them, they’ll now be revealed on the map when you get nearby or activate Vision Towers. Rather than just finding them, you’ll have to deal with a new event – Blood Rituals. These require you to defeat elite Cultist Summoners capable of calling on the Nightmare Bosses themselves, but can award you multiple keys based on your performance.
Once you’ve got your hands on some keys, there are a few options. Two new mini-bosses have been introduced. In Storm Island, you’ll find Abu Al Jaan, ancestor of all Jinns, who brings dangerous possession skills to the battlefield. In the Sewers of Avalon, you can face off against Melion, the transformed former servant knight of King Arthur. Now a werewolf, he’s joined by his loyal pack. Alongside these are new locked chests, which you can spend a key on to get a choice of ‘duplicate items,’ each giving you double its normal effects.
A new group of NPCs can now appear on your adventures. The Refugees are a gang of misfortuned souls who can “prove to be a glimmer of hope in your journey, or a bad decision around the corner,” so consider how you’ll approach them with caution. “We wanted to highlight the last few humans remaining in Reverie, and how they’re trying to survive,” Passtech explains. “They may become a great help if you choose to help them.”
There are two more objects to encounter during your runs. The Sacrificial Idol allows you to offer up part of your health in exchange for a boost to your damage. Astral Shrines, meanwhile, offer you a choice of three boons. You can pick up more Stars of Fate to reroll future drops and upgrades, relearn your full talent tree with a chance to get higher-quality options, or upgrade two of your talents at random.
Passtech Games confirms that the Ravenswatch Nightmares Unleashed update will launch on Thursday January 30. It was previously delayed due to an issue with console submissions, but is now set to launch very soon. Alongside the free new update, the Unleashed Sin Pack cosmetic DLC will also be made available for purchase at the same time.
Whether you’re in the market for something mystical and magical such as the best fantasy games, or want more ARPG action in the best games like Diablo, we’ve got you covered as 2025 rolls on.
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