Ravenswatch’s Hourglass of Dreams Update Adds Risky Overtime, Fairytale Quests, and Co‑op

Hourglass of Dreams Makes Ravenswatch’s Timer Even Meaner (In a Good Way)

Ravenswatch already hooked me because it dares to do the ARPG thing without the loot treadmill. It’s more Hades than Diablo in spirit-buildcraft via skills and talents, not endless gear slots-wrapped in a grim fairytale romp. Passtech (yeah, the Curse of the Dead Gods studio) built the game around a ruthless 18-minute clock that turns every map into a mini speedrun. The new Hourglass of Dreams update cranks that identity harder with a risky overtime mechanic, story-flavored side quests, and a shot of Dream Shards accessibility that nudges runs into wilder, more upgraded territory.

Key Takeaways

• Optional three-minute “overtime” lets you squeeze more power-while the Master Nightmare levels up to potentially double strength.
• Three themed side quests (Jack and the Beanstalk, Sinbad and the Roc, Mordred and the Crown) add fresh minibosses and routing choices.
• Leprechaun’s Cauldron event and Hourglass-trigger rewards increase Dream Shards flow, accelerating builds.
• Romeo and Juliet, the co-op duo, get balance love—good news for squads, with some question marks for solo viability.

Breaking Down the Update

The headline is “overtime,” a three-minute window you can opt into after the usual 18-minute countdown. You can even teleport straight to the boss during that stretch. The twist: the Master Nightmare keeps ramping up during overtime and can reach 2x power. It’s a deliciously evil trade—grab one more shrine, bully one more elite, or fish for a specific talent, but the final fight gets nastier with every greedy second. For players who live for clutch endscreens, this is catnip.

This isn’t just difficulty inflation; it’s a design nudge that deepens Ravenswatch’s core tension. The best runs already flirted with disaster, stalling right up to the horn before diving into the boss. Overtime turns that instinct into a formal risk-reward layer. My only concern: meta pressure. In a few weeks, will “optimal” routes assume overtime every map, making it feel less optional for high-tier play? Or will the power spike at the boss punish greed hard enough to keep it spicy rather than mandatory? That balance will decide whether this is genius or just another bar to clear.

New Quests and Events Shake Up the Route

Passtech also dropped three themed side quests—Jack and the Beanstalk, Sinbad and the Roc, and Mordred and the Crown. Expect fresh objectives and minibosses that alter how you path through a map. This is exactly what the game needed: more reasons to deviate from “standard” routes without flooding the pool with random filler. These fairy tales fit the game’s tone, and they bring just enough friction to make you think twice about where you spend precious seconds.

Then there’s the Leprechaun’s Cauldron, a tidy little event that pays out Dream Shards if you clear the nightmares defending it. Combined with the Hourglass itself giving Shards when you trigger the Master Nightmare early (before 18 minutes), the economy opens up. More Shards means more talents and magical objects sooner, which snowballs into stronger builds and faster clears. That’s fun, but it’s also a shift: early aggression gets rewarded, and the game’s already fast tempo gets faster. If you love pushing tempo, you’re eating good—if you preferred slow, surgical routes, you’ll feel the meta leaning away from you.

Co-op Focus: Romeo & Juliet Revisited

Romeo and Juliet—the linked duo designed to shine together—are getting targeted balance adjustments. That’s sensible: co-op balance is hard even in loot-driven ARPGs; in a talent-based roguelike, linked kits can either dominate or whiff depending on tiny tuning. I’m curious whether these tweaks smooth out the duo’s floor in pickup groups. In random lobbies, you don’t always get clean synergy windows, and overtime’s boss ramp might punish desynced couples even more. The hope is improved clarity and uptime on their combo payoffs without making them oppressive in premade teams.

Why This Matters Now

Ravenswatch is one of those games that feels better the more you learn its map rhythms, and Hourglass of Dreams is basically a study guide in temptation. It gives you more tools (Shards access), more reasons to roam (new quests), and then dares you to use them by dangling three minutes of extra time with a steroidal boss waiting at the end. It’s Passtech doubling down on the game’s identity rather than sanding off edges, which I respect.

The value play’s strong too: the update is free, it’s live on Steam now, and the game is 50% off at $12.49 / £10.49 until Wednesday, September 24. If you bounced off loot-chasing ARPGs but love tight combat and build expression, this is a great on-ramp. And if you’re a co-op fiend, the route variety plus duo tuning should refresh the nightly run cycle.

What I’m Watching Next

Three things will determine whether Hourglass of Dreams is a classic update or just a fun detour: 1) whether overtime becomes meta-mandatory for top clears, 2) if Dream Shards gains push balance toward early rush strategies too hard, and 3) how Romeo and Juliet feel in mixed-skill co-op. If Passtech keeps iterating—as they did with Curse of the Dead Gods—we’ll likely land in a sweet spot. For now, it’s the punchy, high-stakes shakeup Ravenswatch deserved.

TL;DR

Hourglass of Dreams adds a risky three-minute overtime, flavorful side quests, and juicier Dream Shards rewards that accelerate builds. It leans into Ravenswatch’s speedrun soul and gives co-op teams more to chew on—just be ready for a boss that hits like a truck if you get greedy.