Witchaven
- June 17, 2021
- Capstone Software
Get on Steam"Witchaven is a horror shooter game that offers both single-player and multi-player modes. Explore a dark, volcanic island filled with witches, demons, and monsters. Utilize medieval weapons, magic, and special abilities to combat enemies and uncover secrets in 3D environments with stomach-turning sound effects and music."
PC
Windows
Ms Dos
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of melee combat and spellcasting, providing a fun and challenging experience.
- It has a distinct art style and atmosphere that appeals to fans of retro games and old-school dungeon crawlers.
- Playing on BuildGDX enhances the experience significantly, improving controls and graphics compared to the original DOS version.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs, inconsistent hitboxes, and poor level design, making it frustrating at times.
- The enhanced version is locked to low resolutions and runs in DOSBox, which limits its performance on modern systems.
- Many design choices, such as one-way doors and instakill traps, can lead to a clunky and unenjoyable gameplay experience.
- graphics10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics are characterized by a unique and cool art style, praised for its distinctiveness, particularly Ken Kelly's artwork. While the visuals may appear crude by modern standards, they are not considered ugly, and the overall aesthetic contributes positively to the gameplay experience, despite some clunkiness.
“Thumbs up for Ken Kelly's artwork.”
“Its clunky, but novel, and the art style is cool.”
“Playing it as an adult, it's nothing exceptional, though its art style has a look of its own.”
“It's the first Build game that came out in 1995, and the graphics are rather crude but not ugly.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a cool art style and allows players to engage in combat with witches, cast spells, and collect various weapons and treasures. However, it suffers from clunky mechanics and poor design choices, such as single-use elevators and hidden deathtraps, making it less enjoyable compared to similar games from the same era. Overall, while decent, the gameplay lacks depth and polish.
“For gameplay, you can punch ugly witches in the face, cast spells, collect a lot of cool looking weapons and magical treasures!”
“Gameplay-wise it's not as deep as Hexen or Heretic, but the maps aren't such mazes too.”
“Cool art style and the gameplay seems decent enough.”
“Incredibly clunky with some straight up brain dead terrible design choices (including single-use elevators that can't be brought back down after activated, floors that hide instakill deathtraps that aren't distinguishable until you step on them, and even a bizarre unexplained jumpscare mechanic that just happens literally at random??).”
“The gameplay is okay, but the other games of that era were better.”
“Gameplay-wise, it's not as deep as Hexen or Heretic, but the maps aren't such mazes too.”
- story6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a warrior from a brotherhood tasked with battling an evil witch in the north and sealing portals to the nether realms. While the narrative is straightforward, the accompanying manual enriches the experience with additional lore and a short story, enhancing the overall depth of the game's world.
“A simple story, but the manual has a short story and lots of lore about how everything works, and that is great!”
“The story is you are a warrior from a brotherhood that sends their brothers to fight an evil witch in the north and to close the portals to the nether realms she came from.”
“A simple story, but the manual has a short story and lots of lore about how everything works and that is great!”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally appreciated for its nostalgic, schlocky 90's D&D vibe, creating an enjoyable experience for players. However, the enjoyment is marred by significant bugs that hinder gameplay, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience.
“It's playable and there's a nice atmosphere.”
“It is with a heavy heart I must downvote this; it's got schlocky 90's D&D clout and I love that and the atmosphere...but it's very buggy and nigh-unplayable, unfortunately.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing it as monotonous and of poor quality, detracting from the overall experience. Despite the fun gameplay, the soundtrack is criticized as being a significant flaw, with some even labeling it as "pure aids." Overall, the music seems to be a major point of contention among players.
“The last 5 levels range on a scale from 'eh' to 'digital abortion'; the soundtrack is pure garbage and the ending is just embarrassing.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant bugs that can impact gameplay, leading some players to describe it as "nigh-unplayable" at times, particularly during critical moments like boss fights. Despite its nostalgic charm, the stability issues have resulted in mixed feelings among users.
“It is with a heavy heart I must downvote this; it's got schlocky 90's D&D clout and I love that and the atmosphere...but it's very buggy and nigh-unplayable, unfortunately.”
“Also, the game is buggy sometimes but not quite unplayable: the worst was when I beat the boss witch at level 25.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in Witchaven and its sequel is derived from the irony of their low-quality production, which has become a hallmark of Capstone Software. Players find amusement in the games' shortcomings, making them memorable for their unintentional comedic value.
“Developed by Capstone Software, Witchaven and its sequel are the best projects released by a company known for the hilariously low quality of their products.”
