French video game publisher Nacon has revealed an announcement trailer for the early access of upcoming cel shaded roguelike Ravenswatch. The title is being developed by Passtech, who is most known for the roguelike Curse of the Dead Gods, which has been compared to Hades by fans and critics.
Nacon has an eclectic publishing history, and is likely most known for the 2021 dispute with Ukrainian studio Frogwares, over the alleged pirating and distribution of The Sinking City, which made the title unavailable for some players for quite some time. Nacon typically focuses on AA games such as Steelrising, which was developed by Spiders. Previously Spiders’ games were published almost exclusively by Focus Entertainment; the studio that had published Passtech’s previous Curse of the Dead Gods.
Nacon’s early access trailer for Ravenswatch shows gameplay and an art style that Curse of the Dead Gods fans may be quite familiar with. Where Curse of the Dead Gods had players explore dungeons with a Lovecraftian theme of curses and horror, Ravenswatch looks to apply a folklore and fairytale twist. The trailer shows the playable characters of Red Riding Hood, the Pied Piper, Beowulf, the Snow Queen, and others who all seem to offer different play styles. The trailer announces that early access will begin on April 6.
For fans that cannot wait that long, the trailer also teases further gameplay at the upcoming Nacom Connect event to be held on March 9. Nacom Connect is also set to show more on the progress of Gollum and RoboCop. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has a long history of delays; first announced by Daedalic Entertainment in March 2019 for release in 2021, when Nacon bought Daedlic, the game was delayed to 2022. On July 25, 2022, the developers announced a further delay of "a few months." Months later, after missing the planned 2022 release dates, Nacon announced that Gollum is now expected for a release next spring or summer. Needless to say, fans are eager for any announcement pertaining to the release of Gollum.
Daedlic Entertainment’s previous games have mostly been point and click adventures, or similarly narrative-focused experiences such as State of Mind and Silence, meaning that Gollum is quite a departure in style for the studio, which is likely causing much of the delays. As for Passtech, the studio has already proven to be very adept in the roguelike genre with Curse of the Dead Gods, meaning that Ravenswatch should likely continue with smooth sailing. The biggest challenge for Passtech may simply be standing out in the mass of other great roguelikes, including Hades 2 which is expected for a similar release window.
Ravenswatch will enter early access on April 6 on Steam.