This New Action Game Commits the Biggest Sin of Early Access
Ravenswatch, the new game from the devs of Curse of the Dead Gods, recorded a moderately successful debut in Early Access. Players praise most elements of the game, but one major problem spoils their fun.
Yesterday saw the Steam Early Access launch of Ravenswatch, an action adventure game from Passtech Games, a studio known for such titles as Curse of the Dead Gods, Space Run or Masters of Anima. The reception of the game is mixed. Players praise the execution and gameplay, but the limited content spoils all the fun.
- The early version of the game offers only the first chapter of the story.
- According to the players, this stage can be completed in about 30 minutes.
- The game offers procedurally generated locations and six playable characters, so you can squeeze a bit more fun from the early version of Ravenswatch, but it still provides far too little content, even for an Early Access title.
- Other elements of the game, including gameplay and execution, are mostly praised. Thus, one can venture to say that Passtech Games shot itself in the foot by releasing such a short game in Early Access.
- Below is a sample review from Steam, which captures the sentiment of the gamers quite well:
"Unfortunately, as much as I like this title, I cannot recommend it at the moment. Certainly a big asset is not only the procedural generation, but also the openness of the locations, we can explore the cursed lands many times, always discovering something different, some places hide a challenge with a reward, others treasure chests, while there are also side quests and special places with harder challenges.
(...) As for the action and combat, it's dynamic, slightly reminiscent of hack'n'slash, but still emphasizing proper tactics of using dodges and also abilities, brainlessly pressing M1 won't help much here.
And what is the main downside for which I give a negative rating...? I understand that it's early access, but.... To release a game with only 1 Chapter that we can complete in half an hour!!!? That's ridiculous, even for the developers of Curse of the Dead Gods."
We will have to wait a lot for the next chapters
To make matters worse, we will have to wait quite a lot for the new content - the second chapter will be released only in the summer, and the third in the unspecified future. We can only hope that they will be much more extensive than the first stage.
Previous projects by Passtech Games have been warmly received. Curse of the Dead Gods, Space Run and Masters of Anima boast 86%, 82% and 81% positive reviews on Steam, respectively. The pace of Ravenswatch's development will determine whether the team's latest work will eventually join them, or whether it will prove to be a rare disappointment in the team's output.
Ravenswatch - basic info
While discussing the game's mixed reception, it is worth mentioning key facts about the project.
- Ravenswatch debuted in early access exclusively on PC.
- Versions for Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles are planned, but they will be released at a later date.
- The game can be purchased on Steam 10% off to celebrate the release, and the price will be raised on April 13.
- The devs anticipate that early access period will last about 12 months.
Ravenswatch - minimum requirements for PC
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K / AMD FX-8350
- Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB / AMD Radeon HD 7870 2 GB.
- DirectX version: 12
- RAM: 8 GB
- Disk space: 3 GB
- Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
Ravenswatch - recommended requirements for PC
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
- Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 2 GB / AMD Radeon R9 Fury 2 GB.
- DirectX version: 12
- RAM: 8 GB
- Disk space: 3 GB
- Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
