Garden of Witches

About

Garden of Witches is a single player casual role playing game. It was developed by Team Tapas and was released on May 23, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

In Garden of Witches, help the troubled Swamp Witch Maydel stabilize her hostile domain by battling through waves of enemies and mid-bosses on a single map. Defeat foes within time limits to earn rewards, unlock new abilities, and receive the unique Singing Scissors weapon to enhance your combat strategies. The game challenges players with intense, strategic action in a mystical garden setting.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 189 reviews

story31 positive mentions

character development3 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and adorable characters, creating an engaging and whimsical atmosphere.
Gameplay is satisfying with a variety of spells and build synergies, allowing for creative strategies and replayability.
The combat is fast-paced and responsive, with challenging boss fights that keep players engaged and motivated to improve.

The game suffers from a lack of content and variety, with repetitive biomes and limited enemy types leading to a feeling of monotony after several runs.
There is a significant amount of unskippable dialogue that can disrupt the flow of gameplay, particularly during the story segments.
Some gameplay mechanics, such as the balance between melee and spell builds, feel uneven, with certain skills being underwhelming compared to others.

story
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
52%
4%
The game's story is characterized as cute and engaging, featuring quirky characters and a well-integrated narrative that unfolds through gameplay rather than lengthy dialogues or cutscenes. While some players find the story enjoyable and heartwarming, others note its brevity and simplicity, expressing a desire for more content and character interactions. Overall, the charming art style and character development enhance the experience, making it a delightful addition to the roguelike genre, despite being in early access.
- “Where the game shines is the adorable art style and the quirky characters as well as the story that's well implemented into the gameplay loop.”
- “One of the most striking things about Garden of Witches is how well it integrates its storytelling and world-building into the action.”
- “The characters are endearing, the story is heartwarming, the soundtrack is incredible, and the gameplay ramps up very nicely despite the fact that I'm usually terrible at these types of games.”
- “The absolute worst part of this game is that there is a huge amount of unskippable, sluggish dialogue, and it's not exactly an adult story.”
- “The story writing is very, very basic and, to be honest, really childish.”
- “Shame story content is so small with how charming these characters are; I wanted more interactions with everyone.”
gameplay
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
The gameplay of "Garden of Witches" is characterized by a charming blend of action roguelite mechanics, featuring a satisfying loop of collecting spells and abilities that encourage strategic synergies. While some players find the gameplay initially easy, it ramps up in challenge, particularly during boss encounters, providing depth and engagement for both casual and competitive players. The overall experience is enhanced by its adorable art style and well-integrated story, making it a delightful and addictive adventure.
- “It's an adorable game with fun characters and a very satisfying gameplay loop.”
- “Garden of Witches is an action roguelite with a decent number of active spells and passive skills that play off each other, allowing for interesting synergies during your runs once you understand the mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is very enjoyable with almost no repetitiveness.”
- “Gameplay is relatively slow compared to the more twitch-like Hades.”
- “The art style is adorable and I can get with the cute story, but the gameplay is actually just a giant nothing burger.”
- “Also, I think the mechanics aren't totally well portrayed/communicated.”
graphics
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
31%
6%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their adorable art style, featuring charming character designs and a colorful, hand-drawn aesthetic that evokes a fairy tale atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the seamless integration of visuals with gameplay, creating a captivating experience that balances cuteness with depth and challenge. Overall, the art direction is considered top-notch, contributing significantly to the game's appeal and enjoyment.
- “Where the game shines is the adorable art style and the quirky characters as well as the story that's well implemented into the gameplay loop.”
- “Its art style, with its hand-drawn flair and pastel color palette, evokes the feeling of an illustrated fairy tale come to life.”
- “The game has a beautiful, cohesive art style.”
- “Other than that - graphics are cute, gameplay is solid, controls are responsive, story and writing are enjoyable, music is okay, really nothing else to complain about.”
- “Very creative roguelike centered around a bunch of lazy and strange witches, aesthetically similar to Cult of the Lamb, with very cute sprites.”
- “Even the avoidance of traditional 'elements' of RPGs with the themes of each witch ties together well with the overall aesthetic to create a cute yet dangerous vibe.”
music
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
24%
12%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to enhance the atmosphere and complement the gameplay. The soundtrack features a blend of soft melodies and energetic combat tracks that effectively build tension, making it a standout element of the overall experience. Overall, the music is described as stellar, fitting seamlessly with the game's art style and themes, and significantly contributing to the enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “The soundtrack complements this perfectly, blending soft melodic undertones with energetic combat tracks that build tension without overwhelming the atmosphere.”
- “Genuinely, the soundtrack is a massive highlight and fits the mood perfectly.”
- “The music is lovely and gives a nice tense/epic feeling while fighting bosses.”
- “Team tapas level music and artwork.”
- “Area designs are detailed and wonderful to look at, character sprites are really cute and have a variety of different expressions, and the music does a fair job of fitting the theme of each level.”
- “Deserves a lot more attention and the artstyle and music really sell its uniqueness.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
Overall, the game offers significant replayability due to its easy-to-learn combat system, diverse skill builds, and various challenges that encourage experimentation. Players appreciate the potential for unique playthroughs through different character builds and difficulty modifiers, although some feel that the main storyline may limit the exploration of all available builds. The desire for additional content, such as more lore and outfit systems, suggests that players see further opportunities to enhance replay value.
- “There's a lot of replayability, and the challenges are the most fun thing in my opinion. It was very enjoyable to try and figure out the correct combos to complete the tarot card challenges.”
- “There's so much potential here for depth and replayability.”
- “While runs are meant to be short and replayable, the sheer number of potential builds ensures that no two playthroughs feel exactly alike.”
- “As a roguelike, it has a decent amount of replayability and effects that allow things to not be similar to previous runs, unless you force it, which is a lot more doable in the late game to make max difficulty more feasible.”
- “Enemy/boss variants, more difficulty modifiers, and late game content for replayability.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The character development in "Garden of Witches" is praised for its creativity and attention to detail, featuring charming designs and animations that enhance the cozy-horror atmosphere. The main character's varied expressions and the unique adaptations in character designs for different scenes showcase the developers' commitment to creating a rich and engaging experience. Overall, the character development is considered a standout aspect, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The cartoonish character design and animation, as well as the cozy-horror blend of the game elements, makes for a compelling combination that overflows with creativity.”
- “The character development and design is well done and the art style is great.”
- “Character design is a+ and the gameplay loop is actually challenging later on.”
- “Beyond that, it's clear that the development team used all the time and effort they were able to save through such efficient asset reuse to polish everything to a sheen and add plenty of bespoke and personal touches - like giving our beleaguered main character a different dialog illustration for the dozens of flavors of exasperation she experiences, or changing character designs and boss fights for single scenes or chapters just for the fun of it.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cuteness and cleverness, with many reviewers highlighting the hilarious dialogue and engaging story. The combination of humor and art style enhances the overall experience, making it a standout feature that adds to the enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “The humor and dialogue are hilarious; I did not expect that.”
- “Peak Hades experience, nice difficulty curve with no flaws, a few unique elements of its own, and a nice story and humor supported by the art style.”
- “Funny and cute roguelike; looking forward to the upcoming acts.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "Garden of Witches" is highlighted by its well-crafted, endearing characters and a heartwarming story, which resonate deeply with players. The incredible soundtrack further enhances the emotional tone, making interactions with the characters a joyful experience, even for those who may struggle with the gameplay.
- “The characters are amazingly crafted, so full of life (or death), and it made me feel very happy every time I got to talk to them.”
- “What sets Garden of Witches apart is its emotional tone.”
- “Characters are endearing, the story is heartwarming, the soundtrack is incredible, and the gameplay ramps up very nicely despite the fact that I'm usually terrible at these types of games.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a charming art style and a captivating soundtrack that balances melodic undertones with energetic combat music, enhancing the overall experience. Players appreciate the nostalgic and whimsical elements reminiscent of "Alice in Wonderland," while also noting the engaging yet challenging battles that contribute to the game's enchanting ambiance.
- “Very cute art style and a great atmosphere that make me remember the innocence attached to Alice in Wonderland movies and their music/scenarios.”
- “The soundtrack complements this perfectly, blending soft melodic undertones with energetic combat tracks that build tension without overwhelming the atmosphere.”
- “Cute characters, fascinating atmosphere, difficult battles.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; while some appreciate the encouragement of build variety and find the combat enjoyable, others feel that the repetitive nature of leveling up can become tedious, especially when trying to complete challenges or achievements. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a double-edged sword, with some players finding it satisfying and others viewing it as a chore.
- “It's a shame because the extra world style challenges were a really nice addition to the final randomized version of the game, but by the time you hit that, you're bored of grinding through the same levels with lower power builds.”
- “Good that it encourages build variety, but bad in that it can be tedious getting the last few nodes (I ended up starting and immediately ending runs just to get the x death achievements).”
- “Adorable, satisfying combat, good difficulty, flexible builds, enjoyable loop which does not feel grindy.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players have noted improvements in optimization, particularly with smoother performance during boss fights after recent updates. However, there are still calls for further optimization, especially regarding gameplay mechanics and skill cooldowns. The game's unique chapter-style roguelike format and charming art style are appreciated, but some users feel it could benefit from additional refinements.
- “Unique take on a roguelike where it plays out in chapter-style levels, cute art style, not bad OST, and also a bunch of skills to play with; however, it could use some optimization still though.”
- “My most optimized build - summon cat & crow strike - 5 seconds cooldown both into 1.8 seconds.”
- “Having now replayed after several updates, I can happily say the final boss's performance is much smoother.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization model is viewed positively, as it is seen not as a mere cash grab or tech demo, but rather as a well-thought-out approach that supports the game's vision and future development.