BLACK WITCHCRAFT
- September 26, 2022
- QuattroGear
Get on SteamIn "Black Witchcraft," play as Ligeia, a resurrected witch, who must stop the dangerous witch Lenore's resurrection in the mystical and gothic-style House of Usher. Accompanied by Durahan, a magic briefcase, Ligeia faces the challenges of the mansion's divided sections and Roderick's schemes. Explore the stages with a dark and mysterious atmosphere in this fantasy game.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Steam Deck
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features a unique and interesting story inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, with well-developed characters and professional voice acting that enhances the narrative experience.
- The audiovisual presentation is stellar, with stylized graphics, detailed character designs, and a well-composed soundtrack that fits the game's gothic theme.
- The combat system offers a good level of customization, allowing players to tailor their experience and playstyle, making it accessible for various skill levels.
- The gameplay suffers from confusing navigation and clunky controls, with a map system that can be tedious and frustrating to use, leading to frequent backtracking and loading screens.
- The game is plagued by bugs and technical issues, including input problems and instances where characters can get stuck, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The story can feel overly padded with dialogue, often interrupting gameplay and making it difficult to engage with the action, resulting in a lack of replay value.
- story20 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story of "Black Witchcraft" draws heavily from Edgar Allan Poe's works, particularly "The Fall of the House of Usher," while incorporating its own supernatural and science-fiction elements. It features a richly detailed narrative with well-developed character relationships and high-quality voice acting, though the abundance of dialogue and background information can disrupt gameplay and lead to a feeling of narrative overload. Overall, while the story is engaging and visually appealing, it may overwhelm players with its frequency and depth.
“Black Witchcraft is a game that takes heavy inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's works, especially 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' to forge its story, while also adding other supernatural and science-fiction elements of its own to the mix.”
“The game makes good use of its inspiration sources and creates a decent amount of background information for its world. The dialogues between characters and their relationships are nicely done, and the professionally voice-acted cutscenes just elevate the quality of storytelling to another level.”
“The story was very detailed and interesting too; I loved the little references to Edgar Allan Poe.”
“However, the story does have a couple of issues.”
“The game constantly forces you into conversations between the characters, desperately trying to tell a fleshed out story with a lot of background details in an extremely limited time.”
“So much so that I would not be lying if I say at least 60 to 70 percent of the game's length is just story dialogues.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their charming art style and well-drawn artworks that enhance the storytelling experience. While the visuals are generally considered stylish and appealing, some players find the animation and pacing of scenes to be jarring, and the lack of graphics options in the 2D format may limit customization. Overall, the gothic aesthetic and artistic presentation are highlights, despite some technical shortcomings.
“The artworks that get shown before or after each major story plot point are incredibly well-drawn.”
“I loved the art style; the music was cool.”
“+ nice stylish looking graphics, but the paper-doll animation might not be for everyone.”
“Some scenes are also really bizarre, with some lines or even full artworks showing for just one or two seconds, then already moving on without even waiting for an input or anything...”
“No real graphics options since the game is 2D.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising its action-combo mechanics and gothic aesthetic, while others criticize it for being hindered by excessive story elements and a confusing map system. Although the game shows potential for improvement, particularly as a hack & slash or metroidvania, it ultimately struggles to deliver a smooth and engaging experience.
“The gameplay consists of two parts: navigation and combat.”
“Good albeit relatively janky action combo-based gameplay, great gothic-esque aesthetic, interesting enough plot.”
“I am aware that we cannot expect a lot from a small development studio and the current gameplay style does have qualities of its own.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay is where the game stumbles.”
“The game does a lot of stuff right, especially when it comes to its story and audiovisual presentation, but sadly stumbles when it comes to its gameplay.”
“I am aware that we cannot expect a lot from a small development studio, and the current gameplay style does have qualities of its own, but I think it is obvious that Black Witchcraft has more chances to shine as a straightforward hack & slash with platforming sections, or a metroidvania for the best results.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is well-composed and aligns with its tone, enhancing the overall atmosphere. However, it suffers from repetitiveness due to excessive reuse and resets with each area transition, which can disrupt gameplay. While many players appreciate the charm of the music, its implementation is marred by technical issues and a lack of polish.
“The music tracks are very well-composed and in line with the game's tone.”
“I loved the art style; the music was cool.”
“The music fits the mood and style of the game.”
“The music tracks have the same situation, each being very well-composed and in line with the game's tone, although they get a bit repetitive due to excessive reuse.”
“Not only that, the level music keeps restarting every time you switch areas instead of playing normally, further making navigation tedious.”
“So much stuff just feels very incomplete, starting with the confusing menus, the lack of options, even more confusing map navigation, some looping sound effects, the music resetting itself every room, and the oh-so nonexistent input buffer combined with some extremely slow recovering attacks that adds up to a very clunky combat experience.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers virtually no replay value, as players can achieve all endings without the need for a new game plus, leading to a lack of incentive to replay after completing the story.
“No replay value.”
“Virtually no replay value once you get all endings; you can achieve them without a new game plus if you want.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect tedious, as the repetitive level music restarts with each area switch, contributing to a frustrating navigation experience.
“Not only that, the level music keeps restarting every time you switch areas instead of playing normally, further making navigation tedious.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by its charming and endearing characters, creating a whimsical and dreamy environment that enhances the overall experience.
“Adorable characters, dreamy atmosphere.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is generally well-received, as players find the action thrilling and enjoy the character performances, even if they may not be the most skilled gamers.
