Little Red Riding Hood is a werewolf, Aladdin has traded his magic carpet for a much more dangerous adventure, and Beowulf is busy battling nightmares alongside a collection of fairy-tale characters who have seen much better days. If you’ve been meaning to join this rather unusual group of heroes, now’s your chance. The entire adventure is free to play on Steam this weekend, and you’ve got until Monday to see how many nightmares you can send packing.
That’s right, Ravenswatch, the acclaimed action roguelike from Passtech Games and Nacon, is holding a free weekend from October 16-19, giving players full access to its dark fantasy world without having to spend a penny.
If you’ve got a few friends who keep insisting they’ll try it someday, this is an excellent opportunity to drag them into Reverie. The game supports up to four players in online co-op, and with its recent Kintarō update introducing another legendary hero, there’s plenty to investigate even if you’ve already spent time fighting the Nightmares.
Fairy Tales Have Never Been Quite This Violent
Forget the bedtime stories. The heroes of Ravenswatch have way bigger problems than wicked stepmothers and poisoned apples. The land of Reverie is being consumed by Nightmares, and a collection of familiar characters from fairy tales, folklore, and legends has been recruited to fight back.
There’s Scarlet, a dangerous interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood who transforms into a werewolf when night falls. Aladdin brings his enchanted lamp and wishes into battle, while Beowulf fights alongside his loyal dragon companion. Other heroes include the Pied Piper, Snow Queen, Sun Wukong, and Dracula’s infamous enemy, Carmilla.
Each character has their own abilities and fighting style, giving you plenty of reasons to experiment with the roster rather than relying on the same hero every run. Scarlet’s transformation changes how she approaches combat depending on the time of day, while Aladdin’s wishes introduce their own tactical decisions.
Three Days to Save Reverie, No Pressure!
Every expedition in Ravenswatch takes place across a series of increasingly dangerous encounters, with players racing against the clock to prepare for the chapter’s final boss. You’ll explore the surrounding region, defeat enemies, complete activities, and gather upgrades that strengthen your chosen hero. The catch is that you can’t do everything.
Time advances as you explore, forcing you to decide which encounters are worth tackling and which rewards might be better left alone. Do you spend precious time fighting a difficult enemy for another upgrade, or head toward an objective that could make the final battle easier?
Those decisions become really entertaining in co-op, where four players might have very different ideas about what the team should be doing. One person wants to hunt down another powerful upgrade, while somebody else is convinced they’re ready for the boss. Meanwhile, the third player has wandered off and discovered a big monster that nobody else wanted to fight.
It’s the sort of adventure where a perfectly sensible plan can fall apart within minutes.
There’s a New Hero in Town, and He’s Brought a Bear
The free weekend also arrives just days after the release of Ravenswatch’s latest DLC, which introduced Kintarō, the legendary Japanese folk hero. Known for his extraordinary strength, Kintarō enters the fight alongside his bear companion, adding another unusual partnership to the game’s already colorful collection of heroes.
The October 12 update also brought a major talent rework for the existing roster, changing how characters develop during their runs. That means returning players have a good reason to revisit their favorite heroes and experiment with different combinations, even if they’ve already spent dozens of hours exploring Reverie.
Newcomers, meanwhile, are arriving at an interesting time, with a larger selection of characters and a range of improvements introduced since the game’s original launch. Kintarō is a separate paid DLC hero, so you’ll need to purchase his add-on if you want to take him into battle. The free weekend itself gives you access to the base game.
Still, there’s already plenty of trouble to get into without bringing a bear along.
Four Heroes, One Nightmare, and Plenty of Bad Decisions
You can tackle Ravenswatch alone, but it’s extra fun watching four fairy-tale heroes attempt to cooperate when the screen is full of monsters. Online co-op supports up to four players, letting you combine different abilities and experiment with team compositions. You could pair a close-range bruiser with a hero specializing in ranged attacks, or build a team around abilities that complement one another.
As you progress, you’ll collect magical items and unlock talents that can dramatically change how your character performs. The randomized nature of each expedition means you’ll need to adapt to whatever opportunities appear, rather than relying on exactly the same build every time. There are also multiple difficulty settings, so newcomers can get comfortable with the combat before attempting the nastier challenges waiting deeper in Reverie.
With the entire base game available during the free weekend, you’ve got a chance to explore its systems, test different heroes, and find out whether your friends are actually as good at roguelikes as they keep claiming.
Free Until Monday, Half Price Until Thursday
The Ravenswatch free weekend is already underway on Steam and runs until Monday, October 19, at 7 PM CEST, which is 6 PM in the UK. Players can download the game and jump straight into the action without purchasing it, although access ends when the promotion finishes.
If you decide you want to keep fighting the Nightmares afterward, there’s another offer worth knowing about. Ravenswatch is currently 50% off on Steam until October 22, giving anyone who enjoys the free weekend a chance to pick up the full game at half its usual price.
The promotion is also taking place on Xbox through Free Play Days for eligible Game Pass members, although the Xbox access window and discount differ from Steam’s offer.
For anyone who’s been curious about Ravenswatch but hasn’t quite got around to buying it, there couldn’t be a better excuse to finally give it a go. You’ve got a whole weekend, a collection of fairy-tale heroes with serious anger issues, and an entire kingdom full of Nightmares waiting to be defeated.