Ravenswatch

1. Summary

Ravenswatch is a co-op action roguelike where heroes from fairy tales and folklore clear an open map against a day and night timer before each of three chapter bosses. Players like it a lot. Co-op runs with friends get the warmest praise, and reviewers also single out a roster in which every hero plays very differently and a dark fairy tale look backed by good voice acting and music. Some call the combat smooth and the challenge rewarding once the game clicks.

Content is the main complaint. Every run crosses the same three maps and meets the same bosses, and some players say new heroes don't change that, least of all when the new heroes are paid DLC. Online co-op has its own problems: a player who crashes or disconnects can't rejoin, a host who leaves ends the run, and strangers in matchmaking quit early. Players split on the difficulty, the run timer, and how differently solo and group play are tuned. Long-time players complained about a run of balance changes, the talent rework in October 2026 above all, and the week of 12 October 2026 was the least positive week in the game's review history (66%).

2. What keeps coming up

What players praise

Co-op with friends is the main drawHigh

Co-op or playing with friends comes up in 33% of the longer reviews, more than any other theme counted. Players recommend it to couples, siblings and friend groups ("Fantastic up to 4-player Roguelike."), and several describe heroes whose abilities combine, so a team that coordinates gets more out of a run than four people fighting side by side. Some rate the co-op game well above the solo one: "If you are planning to play solo then this game is A tier at best." The same reviewer goes on: "Now if you plan to play in coop this is S tier without doubt." This praise is about playing with people you know; matchmaking with strangers draws much more criticism (see the frustrations below).

Every hero plays differentlyHigh

Reviewers also praise the roster: 19% of the longer reviews say the heroes are unique, distinct or play differently from each other. "Combat feels nice and every hero plays totally different, so switching keeps it fresh for a while." Players praise how each hero's talents and items push toward their own builds, and they name favourites from Romeo and Juliet to Gepetto and Merlin. Some heroes feel weak or awkward next to others, though, and some solo players say a few kits barely work alone.

Dark fairy tale art, voice acting and musicHigh

The look gets as much praise as the roster: 19% of the longer reviews mention the art style, visuals or animation, and voice acting or music comes up in another 8%. Players like the twist on fairy tale and folklore characters and the lore that each hero's story unlocks: "The art is gorgeous, the music is top quality, and the mechanics, although confusing at first, are great." Others call the game very polished ("The polish and quality is top tier. Voice acting is great!"). A few find the palette grey or the screen too red in fights ("why is EVERYTHING RED?").

Combat that feels goodMedium

Reviewers compare the fighting to Hades with co-op added, to Diablo, or to a cooperative MOBA, and 8% of the longer reviews call the combat or moment-to-moment gameplay smooth, fluid or satisfying. They like that enemy attacks are telegraphed, so learning the patterns pays off. Some describe the pace as slower and more deliberate than Hades, which a few early quitters dislike (see difficulty below).

Worth the price, often on saleLow

On value, 5% of the longer reviews call the game worth the money or worth it, and 3% mention buying or recommending it on sale. Only a handful call it overpriced. Some measure the value in hours played, and some say the price is easiest to justify if you have friends to play with.

Steady updates and attentive developersLow

A small group praises regular content drops and developers who respond to feedback: "They keep adding content, some free, some paid DLC, and have made changes to items that were unpopular." Others push back: in their view the updates bring heroes and balance changes but no new places to play.

Runs well on Steam Deck, Linux and controllersLow

Some players mention playing comfortably on Steam Deck, handhelds or Linux, and with a controller. A few controller players ask for rumble ("Please add controller rumble") and aim assist.

Where players are split

Hard and punishing, or hard and fairHigh

10% of the longer reviews call the game very hard, punishing or brutal, and they split sharply on whether that is good. Fans call it challenging and rewarding with a high skill ceiling, and say it clicks after a few runs. Critics describe enemies that soak damage and hit hard: "This game thinks that difficulty is just you dealing no damage while enemies take 20% of your health per hit with no reliable source of healing." A few players also point to an odd difficulty curve, where the first boss is the hardest fight of the run: "Baba Yaga final boss is the easiest boss fight, while the first chapter boss is now the hardest."

The run timerMedium

Reviewers argue about the timer or time limit in 11% of the longer reviews. Some like the pressure it adds to route planning: "People cry about the time limit but in all honesty it just makes you pick things you think you can do in that amount of time." Others say it rushes exploration and punishes careful play: "From the very start your clock counts down and you have to make the most of it". Players also note that a full run lasts around an hour ("Each run does take about an hour so keep that in mind if you're looking for a quick roguelike this isn't it.").

Solo versus group tuningMedium

Which mode is tuned fairly is disputed. Some say solo is too hard because the game was built for groups, and some solo players feel certain heroes barely work alone. Others say the reverse, that group scaling adds so many tougher enemies that co-op is harder: "The game punishes you for multiplayer and playing with friends by cranking up the difficulty and enemy scaling beyond reason." One reviewer writes that "Single player nightmare difficulty is easier than multiplayer twilight".

Balance changes and hero powerLow

Only 2% of the longer reviews complain about nerfs, weak heroes or balance updates, but the complaints bunch up after big balance patches, the October 2026 talent rework in particular. A Nightmare-difficulty player asks: "Why do they keep nerfing heroes? Is this supposed to be a competitive game?" A reviewer writing the same week liked the change ("the new rework on skills is also really good"). Several critics ask for weak heroes and talents to be raised to the level of the strong ones instead of the strong ones being cut.

Little meta progressionLow

Meta progression comes up in 3% of the longer reviews. Fans like that unlocks widen options instead of raising stats ("Very light on meta-progression, doesn't waste your time unlocking game mechanics or stats"). Players who want a stronger sense of growth between runs say the opposite: "There is no permanent improvement over time."

What frustrates players

The same three maps and bosses every runHigh

Repetition and lack of content come up in 16% of the longer reviews, and in 18% of the longer negative ones (161 of 896). Players describe the same three chapters, the same bosses and a small pool of quests on every run: "You play the same three maps each run with the same three bosses." It also comes up in 16% of the longer positive reviews (439), often as the one caveat, and some say it made the game go stale for them. A negative reviewer who praises the combat and the heroes still concludes that "all that depth is meaningless because there's hardly any content and the gameplay loop is identical every run." The requests are concrete: new maps or alternate versions of the chapters, more bosses, and an endless mode.

Online runs lost to crashes, disconnects and leaversMedium

Disconnects, desync, no way to rejoin, or a run ending when the host leaves come up in 5% of the longer reviews. A dropped player can't return to the run, so a crash late in a run that lasts an hour throws it away: "There's no reconnect system when the game crashes or disconnects, which ruins the experience when playing with friends." In matchmaking, reviewers add, players quit after dying: "people leave mid game because they die and there is no punishment for such behaviour." A few reviewers say online play has run smoothly for them.

New heroes sold as paid DLCLow

DLC comes up in 4% of the longer reviews, and the critical mentions object to new heroes and achievements going behind a paywall while the maps stay the same: "8 € per new character via DLC? Guess my recommendation." Another reviewer writes: "I hate it when devs are adding achievements that are locked behind paid DLC." A few defend paid heroes as the way to fund continued updates.

Little explanation for new playersLow

5% of the longer reviews mention a missing tutorial, unexplained icons and systems, or a steep learning curve. Early quitters say they gave up before understanding the map and timer ("There is not introduction explaining how things work or what new players should do."), while players who stayed say it makes sense after a few runs: "It was a bit tough to understand at first, but with a bit of time the concept of the game becomes clearer."

Talent rerolls and RNGLow

Randomness gets the blame in 4% of the longer reviews, usually the odds of finding a key talent: "When you desperately need one key passive for your build, you're basically gambling with terrible odds."

Voice chat on by default and no text chatLow

A small group asks for text chat or a ping system and complains that open voice chat is switched on by default in matchmaking ("add a text chat pleaaase!!").

Off-screen attacks, loading times and lost savesLow

Smaller reports include enemies attacking from off screen, long loading times ("LOADING TIMES! I really do hope they optimize those soon"), no way to save mid-chapter, and lost save data ("Sometime between Jan 2026 and now the game deleted my save.").

3. The player conversation

About six in seven reviews recommend the game, and some of the negative reviews open by praising the combat, heroes and art before explaining why they still voted no. Comparisons to Hades show up in 11% of the longer reviews. Some call it Hades with co-op or Hades with friends; a smaller group says the game is slower and more MOBA-like than Hades and was not what they expected.

Difficulty, the timer, the missing explanations and the repeating maps come up at every playtime, from reviewers with a few hours to those with hundreds. Other complaints grow with time played: reviewers with 100 hours or more raise paid DLC heroes, broken online sessions and nerfs to heroes they had mastered several times as often as those with under 5 hours. Some long reviews were edited over the years, and several flip their vote after an update in one direction or the other.

Week by week, the positive share mostly sat between the high 70s and low 90s from early access on. It dipped around balance-heavy updates that reviewers named: to 77% and 76% in two weeks of September 2023, to 74% in a week of March 2025, and to 71% and 66% in the weeks of 5 and 12 October 2026, when reviewers objected to a talent rework and nerfs to favourite heroes. The week of 12 October 2026 was the least positive in the game's review history.

4. What the developers could do

1. Add map and boss variety to each chapter, since repetition of the same three chapters and bosses is the most frequent complaint in the counts (16% of longer reviews) and what some players say made the game go stale.
2. Let players rejoin a run after a crash or disconnect, and keep the run alive when the host leaves, because reviewers describe whole hour-long co-op runs lost to a single dropped connection.
3. Ship balance changes that lift weak heroes before cutting strong ones, since the nerf-heavy updates, the October 2026 talent rework above all, drew complaints from long-time players and pulled the weekly positive share to its lowest.
4. Add an in-game tutorial and clearer explanations of icons, the timer and routing, because early quitters say nothing explained what to do.
5. Review group scaling against solo tuning, as players on both sides say one mode is far harder than the other at the same difficulty.
6. Pair paid heroes with free content such as new regions or modes, since reviewers object to heroes and achievements behind DLC while the maps stay unchanged.
7. Give matchmaking players text chat or pings, voice chat off by default, and a penalty for leavers, which reviewers ask for to make public co-op workable.
8. Improve talent reroll odds and controller support (rumble, aim assist), which come up less often.