Night Watch is a free role-playing video game wherein you must fight against the schemes of a supernatural organization. Developed by Nival Interactive, this 3D fantasy game is based on the 1998 Russian novel and the 2004 film of the same name.

Not to be confused with the similarly-named horror game by Puppet Combo, this Night Watch features a real-time turn-based combat system, as well as familiar characters and lore from the world of its original material. Take note, however, that this game isn’t easy to install due to its “abandonware” status.

The official video game

Night Watch—known in Russian as «Ночной Дозор»—is the first installment of the “World of Watches” novel series written by Sergei Lukyanenko. First published in 1998, it tells the story of an ongoing war between two supernatural groups hidden to mankind, known as the “Others.” It was eventually given a movie adaptation and a video game adaptation had also been released that’s based on both the book and the film.

In the game, you play as Stas, a newly-discovered Light Other who had almost been converted to the other side when he was still unaware of this supernatural society and its factions. You get recruited into the Night Watch to battle the schemes of the evil Day Watch—and you do so by choosing from three different classes and winning combat encounters using the real-time turn-based mechanic to your advantage.

Gameplay-wise, it’s easy to master thanks to the in-game tutorial. While the cutscenes and dialogue can be awkward, it stays true to the original material’s lore and cast. However, due to the game’s status as abandonware, installing it is tricky. You must install the patch and copy a file from the CRK archive to the game’s location before even attempting to run it—otherwise, it might actually harm your PC.

Abandoned but still works

All in all, Night Watch is an interesting old game to try out if you’ve seen the movie or read the book. While it’s no longer being supported or updated, you can still download it for free. However, you have to take care in installing it properly because it’s not fully patched and ready if you just download its file. Otherwise, it’s got solid turn-based combat for a modern fantasy RPG.