Dark fantasy roguelike Ravenswatch is my Elden Ring Nightreign, and its magical new character is exactly what I wanted

If you’re a fan of top-down ARPGs with Diablo-style combat, or you enjoy the way Elden Ring Nightreign pushes you to power-level in a race against time before the big bad shows up, you owe it to yourself to try Ravenswatch. The dark fantasy roguelike is a slick blend of the two styles, and it’s continued to evolve in the year and change since it hit 1.0. One of its strongest aspects is its roster of iconic fairytale favorites, and developer Passtech Games just added a serious powerhouse with the first DLC character, Merlin, who arrives today alongside a major overhaul to the game’s magical objects and a bunch of balance changes.

I’ve talked before about how triumphantly Ravenswatch translates its instantly familiar cast into the top-down ARPG format. From Scarlet, its bitten take on Red Riding Hood who transforms between human and werewolf forms as the day-night cycle turns, to co-op specialists Romeo and Juliet, who dance, bounce, and smooch off one another as they set the battlefield ablaze, each of them are fantastically realized. Merlin is the first time that Passtech Games is asking for money for an extra character, but he’s looking to be well worth it.

There’s plenty of Arthurian favorites dotted across the world of Ravenswatch already, so the King’s favorite wizard is a natural inclusion. Unfortunately, he’s been stripped of his signature clairvoyance, but his unique arsenal of skills more than makes up for it. Rather than having the usual three standard power, special, and defense abilities, Merlin uses two-button combinations to map out a total of nine different spells (grouped in three trios that are classified as nature, arcane, and sacred).

Hit the power button once to select the nature tree, for example, and Merlin is able to summon giant brambles, falling stars, or protective stones. Press special for arcane skills and he can access channeled lightning, explosive fireballs, and tracking frost orbs that chill foes. Use the defense option and he can apply a regenerative blessing, stun enemies with a flash of light that shields nearby allies, or teleport short distances.

I’m always a fan of this level of flexibility; I spent hours upon hours practicing Invoker in Dota 2 bot matches, and I’ve been a Ninja main in FF14 pretty much since it was introduced over a decade ago. Using button combinations just feels right, capturing the tiniest glimpse of ‘casting’ something more substantially than a single press ever can. Plus I really appreciate having more options to think about in battle, especially once I’ve wrapped my head around a game’s basic strategy.

Merlin’s passive trait builds runes of potency as he uses his basic attacks, and he can employ his active trait skill to fill his stock of them up to the maximum of three, albeit on a cooldown. These are consumed by his next spell to enhance its power or effects, adding yet another layer of strategy to his play style. Finally, his ultimate options are either a giant standing stone that draws enemy attention, or a fourth set of especially potent ‘forbidden spells’ that you’ll have to discover for yourself.

Along with Merlin’s arrival, Passtech has a free update for everyone. This includes five new magical objects and reworks for several existing ones. The enemy aggro system has been improved alongside the leashing mechanic, and there are also a number of additional balance changes and inclusions based on community requests. For example, chests that are yellow or red will now be guaranteed to drop at least one rare or epic item (respectively) when they’re opened.

Merlin joins Ravenswatch on Monday January 19, priced at $7.99 / £6.49, alongside the free magical objects update. You can grab him here. Don’t just take my word for it; with 86% of Steam reviews giving it the thumbs up, this could be the ideal game for you (and a friend, if you like) to see off the early 2026 downtime in style.