The Legend of Dark Witch

About

The Legend of Dark Witch is a side-scrolling action game with RPG elements. Players control Zizi, a witch who battles enemies using various magical spells and abilities. The game features multiple stages, each with their own unique boss battles and environments. Collecting items and defeating enemies earns experience points, which can be used to upgrade Zizi's abilities and stats.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 125 reviews

gameplay14 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game combines Mega Man-style gameplay with Gradius-style upgrades, creating a unique and engaging experience.
The pixel art and music are charming, capturing the essence of early 2000s indie games.
The game offers a high level of replayability with multiple difficulty levels, unlockable characters, and hidden collectibles.

The game can be frustratingly difficult, especially with the loss of upgrades upon death, which can feel unfair.
The level design is often criticized for being simplistic and lacking variety, leading to repetitive gameplay.
Technical issues such as poor camera control and lack of fullscreen options detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
68%
6%
The gameplay of "The Legend of Dark Witch" combines classic Mega Man-style action-platforming with Gradius-inspired upgrade mechanics, creating a unique and engaging experience. While the game features charming visuals and a solid soundtrack, some players find the weapon-switching and parry mechanics frustrating, leading to a mixed reception regarding difficulty and level design. Overall, the gameplay is praised for its fun mechanics and challenge, though it has notable flaws that can detract from the experience.
- “The gameplay is like a mix between a Mega Man style action platforming with Gradius-like upgrades to make you more powerful.”
- “Gameplay consists of the weakness-finding run and gun platforming of Mega Man paired with the power-up system of Gradius.”
- “It's a great game with amazing mechanics, and the learning curve is perfectly on par!”
- “The intent is obviously for you to use the parry mechanic on these attacks, pressing forward at the moment the projectile hits you to nullify the damage, but the timing is so finicky and unreliable that it's almost not even worth bothering, were it not for the fact that getting hit makes you drop half your tres.”
- “I can appreciate the Mega Man style with a different spin approach, but this temporary enhancement mechanic really breaks the game.”
- “Its not much fun as it does not take long to dissect the enemies' patterns and the gameplay element forces you to either use upgrades with very limited ammo or go for upgrades which are way more useful.”
music
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
35%
8%
The music in the game has received largely positive feedback, with many reviewers praising its catchiness and quality, often comparing it to soundtracks from classic titles like Mega Man and Castlevania. While some noted occasional repetitiveness and minor audio issues, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack enhances the gameplay experience and is a standout feature of the game. A few voices mentioned forgettable tracks, but the majority found the music to be enjoyable and fitting for the game's atmosphere.
- “The music is amazing, probably one of my favorite game soundtracks to date.”
- “The soundtrack is one of the catchiest I've heard in recent years, and it always fits the current situation.”
- “The music is catchy and the tracks are long enough that few will loop more than once before you finish a segment.”
- “The soundtrack is decent, albeit slightly repetitive; there are a few standout tracks, however, and it certainly serves its purpose.”
- “I will ignore the forgettable music and amateurish voice acting.”
- “The music is decent, nothing bad, but in all honesty, I can't remember a single song I've heard.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
57%
12%
The graphics of the game are characterized by appealing retro pixel art and a cute anime style, which many players find visually engaging. While the sprite work and character designs are praised for their quality, some critiques mention that the level design lacks cohesion with the backgrounds. Overall, the visuals are well-executed for a 2D platformer, though the reliance on pixel art may feel outdated to some.
- “The graphics are very appealing and every sprite looks great.”
- “The anime style graphics and animations of the characters are also well done and nice looking.”
- “The graphics are really nice and well done; they fit for a 2D platformer like this game, and some of the monsters you fight are sometimes so cute you will 100% regret killing them.”
- “They chose to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Visuals and sound design are well done, but the level design lacks cohesion between the foreground and background elements, making it feel like levels are floating unconnected to their surroundings.”
- “Graphics: pixel art is overused in modern games, but good pixel art isn't.”
story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
73%
16%
The story in this game is generally considered weak and poorly structured, with many reviewers describing it as generic and lacking depth. While there are some narrative elements introduced through dialogue before boss fights, they are often deemed forgettable and easily skipped. Overall, players seem to agree that the story is not a significant draw, as the gameplay takes precedence over narrative engagement.
- “The game has a nice little story of a god intervening in human affairs to set things right.”
- “I don't know if it's just me, but I've felt like all the characters, despite being bosses, never actually gave hints on where Riva took the Seyga, and it's only until it reaches Verri when the story actually feels like it's connected.”
- “For a first game, the story isn't all that great, and while I was playing through the game, I didn't really feel like the story was properly structured.”
- “There is a story of some sorts, brought in small dialogue scenes before each boss confrontation, but it's not very deep and can easily be skipped if you just want to play the game, or have already read it once.”
- “The story is generic and kinda dumb.”
replayability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
55%
17%
The game offers significant replayability, enhanced by unlockable characters, multiple difficulty modes, and in-game achievements that encourage players to explore different strategies and complete various challenges. While the main campaign is relatively short, the presence of hidden collectibles, power-ups, and diverse goals ensures that players will find plenty of reasons to return for additional playthroughs. Overall, it is praised for its engaging mechanics and the depth of content that supports repeated gameplay.
- “There is a lot of replay value here for such a low-priced game.”
- “The base game can be completed within an hour or two, even for completely new players, but its true value lies in replayability.”
- “9/10 because the game is a little short, despite the replayability.”
- “The game's a little low on polish and fancy extras, but replayability is high due to challenges you can do that unlock extra features or power-ups for later playthroughs.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the loss of damage upgrades upon death and the need to farm common enemies for resources. The requirement to grind for collectibles and upgrades can feel like a chore, detracting from the overall enjoyment and immersion of the game.
- “And farming common enemies isn't anyone's idea of fun.”
- “It almost felt like a chore grinding the stages and slowly improving how much tres you get.”
- “And if you die, you lose all these upgrades and have to unlock them again by grinding enemies all over again or when hitting a boss.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its quirky and unexpected elements, such as the amusing observation about hands smelling funny after play. Players appreciate the balance of humor and seriousness, with upgrades humorously contrasting speed and power, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The text is funny when it can be and serious when it needs to be.”
- “That leaves us with two upgrades on the bar that are worth it, humorously enough on opposite ends of it--speed and power.”
- “Also, my hands smell funny after playing this for some reason.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, with users reporting poor performance and compatibility problems, particularly on certain GPUs. This is a common concern among Japanese indie games, indicating a need for better PC optimization.
- “This game isn't recognized by my GPU as running, leading to horrible performance issues.”
- “As is the case with so many Japanese indie games, this one has bad PC optimization.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
User feedback on stability is mixed; while some report no crashes or issues, others experience frequent stalls and glitches, indicating a lack of overall reliability in the game.
- “It stalls and glitches frequently, and just feels completely broken.”
- “Other than that, I had no crashes, glitches, or issues.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers highlight the game's strong character development, noting that the character designs are particularly impressive and contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “Great character designs”
- “Good character design”

72%Critics’ scoreBased on 8 critic reviews

Buy The Legend of Dark Witch

Videos

84%36reviews