Witchfire

About

Witchfire is a single player role playing shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by The Astronauts and was released on September 23, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

Special OfferStriga will be available early in the game as a token of appreciation for all players who have purchased the game during Early Access. After the 1.0 launch, non-Early Access players will have the opportunity to unlock it as a late-game weapon. About the GameWitchfire is a single-player RPG shooter from the creative minds behind Painkiller and Bulletstorm. Embark on perilous expedi…

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92%Audience ScoreBased on 10,586 reviews

gameplay1.3k positive mentions

grinding375 negative mentions

The game features an outstanding dark, immersive, and richly detailed gothic atmosphere with haunting sound design and superb visuals that deeply engage players.
Witchfire delivers highly satisfying and addictive fast-paced gunplay combined with Soulslike mechanics and roguelike progression, offering diverse weapon effects and strategic combat.
The title is well optimized for a variety of systems, including mid-range PCs and Steam Deck, providing smooth performance and polished gameplay with minimal crashes.

The gameplay loop can become repetitive and grind-heavy, with slow progression and punishing difficulty spikes that some players find tedious and frustrating.
Storytelling is minimal and cryptic, lacking cohesive plot and character development which may leave players wanting more narrative depth in early access.
Despite good optimization overall, some players experience occasional stutters, freezes, and performance drops especially in later game areas, impacting smooth gameplay.

gameplay
3,068 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
55%
4%
Witchfire offers a highly satisfying and addictive gameplay loop that skillfully blends fast-paced, destiny-like gunplay with dark souls-inspired mechanics and roguelike progression. Each weapon features unique upgrade mechanics that evolve gameplay style, complemented by fluid movement, tactical dodging, and challenging enemy encounters that reward skill and strategic play. Despite some initial difficulty steepness and occasionally unclear mechanics, the core combat and progression systems are polished, engaging, and provide a rewarding challenge that keeps players invested.
- “The gameplay loop is so satisfying. Every upgrade you make, even if it's indirect, influences gameplay in a noticeable way.”
- “Each weapon has unique effects, creating diverse and interesting gameplay styles. The game mechanics are exquisite adding to the skill involved to play allowing for dodges and various timed mechanics to deal more damage that require some planning or forethought.”
- “The core gameplay is a novel PvE extraction + roguelite loop where you portal into an area, explore, and fight large groups of enemies to clear out the map. Witchfire delivers exquisite gunplay and gameplay and it is a damn shame this game isn't on more people's radars.”
- “Early game is decently fun, but once you get further in, it just becomes annoying and tedious - go in, get swarmed by enemies, activate another enemy spawn that's placed 10 meters away from the first one, if you manage to survive then the calamity activates, usually while there's an ambush that causes infinite spawns of enemies with some additional mechanic you have to deal with, and since there's like 50 enemies around you, you just die.”
- “The calamity mechanic is god awful when there are dozens of enemies that can spawn even behind you, traps that instantly shoot you when entering a new area or dash into an incredibly hard to see 'mine', why?”
- “The game feels solid to play but there are dozens of mechanics that the game fails to explain.”
graphics
1,200 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
35%
1%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their stunning, dark fantasy aesthetic, atmospheric lighting, detailed environments, and cohesive art style that enrich the immersive gothic world. Optimized well for various systems, including lower-end rigs and the Steam Deck, the visuals deliver AAA-quality polish with smooth performance, crisp animations, and striking weapon and enemy designs. While some note minor performance hiccups and occasional graphical glitches typical of early access, overall the graphics significantly enhance the gameplay experience and are considered a standout aspect of this title.
- “The graphics are stunning, the dark fantasy atmosphere is pitch-perfect, the performance is flawless, and the sound design is incredibly punchy.”
- “This is a fantastic game and a great twist on the souls genre witch craft and guns what a way to go but it really really works the graphics are out of this world the mist and fog and weather effects all feel like a AAA game the guys the astronauts have really taken their time and got this so right after buying it I have been able to put it down and can't recommend this enough it's an A+ from me totally brilliant.”
- “The graphics and the atmosphere of the setting - chef's kiss.”
- “It doesn't matter how much you lower graphical settings; the stutter will ruin your enjoyment.”
- “The performance on this game has been an absolute disaster; who's idea was it to change graphic settings in real time without needing to hit apply?”
- “This game seems poorly optimized however; it causes my computer to send the fans into high gear during play, and even 4 enemies are enough to cause frame-rate plummets, which is odd for a game with such average graphics.”
atmosphere
709 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
35%
The game excels in creating a dark, immersive, and richly detailed atmosphere that blends gothic, dark fantasy, and occult themes with haunting sound design and superb visual environments. Players consistently praise its ability to evoke tension, mystery, and a brooding, eerie mood that enhances exploration and combat. Overall, the atmosphere is widely regarded as a standout strength that deeply engages and pulls players into its unique, grim world.
- “The graphics are stunning, the dark fantasy atmosphere is pitch-perfect, the performance is flawless, and the sound design is incredibly punchy.”
- “The atmosphere is fantastic — creepy ambient sounds and unsettling yet subtle music seep into every corner of the experience.”
- “It perfectly creates a moody and gritty dark atmosphere.”
- “There are flashes of atmosphere and style buried under the mess, but the core loop—repetitive enemies, stingy ammo, brutal penalties, dull progression, and forced grinding—kills any desire to keep playing.”
- “The atmosphere feels more like surface-level aesthetic than something that’s deeply built into the world or gameplay.”
- “The hub could have been a far better aid to the atmosphere, character development, and general experience if it had some sort of NPCs in it.”
story
639 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
74%
7%
The story in Witchfire is notably sparse and primarily delivered through environmental storytelling, item descriptions, and subtle lore clues, resembling the cryptic approach seen in Soulslike games. While some players appreciate this minimalist narrative style and the intriguing dark fantasy setting, many note a lack of a cohesive, engaging plot or character development at this early access stage. The developers plan to expand and deepen the story in the full release, which is expected to add more traditional storytelling elements and enhance player immersion.
- “The story is engaging - I'm so glad I bought it!”
- “The world building and environmental storytelling are top notch.”
- “The story is phenomenal but is only spoon fed to you in tiny little bits.”
- “There is no story I can glean from this game, just an infinite loop of go into a mission, come back, get better and go to harder missions.”
- “The story of this game is very shallow, and it's clear the developers didn't intend on implementing storyline aspects in the game.”
- “Barely any story or substance outside of core gameplay loop which is frustrating due to poor visibility.”
optimization
465 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
41%
11%
Optimization in the game is generally praised for delivering impressive performance with high frame rates and smooth gameplay even on mid-range hardware, showcasing excellent graphical fidelity without sacrificing stability. However, some users report occasional stuttering, frame drops, and crashes, particularly in later maps or following updates, indicating inconsistent performance that the developers are actively working to improve. Overall, it stands out as a well-optimized title for an early access game, with most issues being minor and expected during ongoing development.
- “The optimization is beyond impressive offering an absolutely beautiful game while having a consistent 200 fps, which is incredibly rare these days.”
- “From a technical standpoint, especially for an early access title, the game feels very well optimized.”
- “The performance is polished to the point that I've only had one crash in 86 hours of gameplay with very little stutter.”
- “This game has terrible optimization and I'm getting real tired of this constantly going excuse; I don't recommend because I literally cannot run it without the game constantly crashing over random enemies or shadows.”
- “Not to mention, after stumbling upon the chart to the next level after Scarlet Sands, the cityscape level is so poorly optimized that I struggled to get 10 FPS.”
- “Constant stuttering out of nowhere, especially when enemies attack, makes it a frustrating chore to play despite really good core gameplay.”
grinding
390 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
3%
96%
Grinding in this game is a highly divisive aspect, with many noting it as excessively repetitive and tedious due to repeated runs on a limited number of maps with slow progression and minimal impact from leveling. While some players enjoy the challenge and find the grind rewarding thanks to engaging combat, weapon variety, and strategic depth, others find it frustrating, with slow, incremental upgrades and punishing difficulty spikes making progression feel like a slog. Overall, grinding is a core part of the experience that may appeal to fans of soulslike and roguelite genres but risks alienating those who dislike heavy repetition or slow meta-progression.
- “The gunplay feels right, enemies get challenging, progression feels earned but not grindy, the environments are immersive.”
- “You can farm the areas/enemies you are familiar with to your heart's content before unlocking stronger content, but personally I never felt that was really necessary, so I never felt punished for not grinding.”
- “Not too grindy, lots of cool weapons to use and upgrade, Destiny-esque shooting mechanics, lots of useful spells and abilities, good enemy variety in terms of looks and mechanics, surprisingly decent boss fights that aren't too bullet spongey, and much more.”
- “Early game is decently fun, but once you get further in, it just becomes annoying and tedious - go in, get swarmed by enemies, activate another enemy spawn that's placed 10 meters away from the first one, if you manage to survive then the calamity activates, usually while there's an ambush that causes infinite spawns of enemies with additional mechanics you have to deal with, and since there's like 50 enemies around you, you just die.”
- “With most equipment progression gated, you are woefully under equipped to actually progress through the game, leaving you to grind out the same couple of levels for basic resources to level up, which become exponentially more expensive each level, meaning even more grinding.”
- “Out-of-run progression comes from spending your two currencies on character levels that feel completely worthless (boosting max HP or stamina by roughly 1% at a time) and gold on starting random gun/spell/passive item unlocks that then require you to go into a run and basically just kill time until the unlock completes, all for an item that will feel not worth equipping until you spend 10 runs grinding out its own upgrade conditions (which are also gated behind items you have to spend gold and time on to accrue). It's a whole lot of grinding and waiting for results that very much don't feel worth the time investment.”
music
224 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
53%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric, haunting, and darkly immersive qualities that complement the gothic, eerie setting and sound design very well. However, many reviewers note a lack of dynamic or energetic combat music, finding the soundtrack sparse, minimal, or sometimes disorienting, leading some to prefer turning it off or adding custom music. Overall, while the soundtrack effectively enhances mood and ambience, its limited intensity and variety during battles leave room for improvement.
- “Witchfire’s sound design effectively supports its tone with brooding ambient music, impactful weapon audio, and haunting battlefield effects.”
- “The soundtrack pulses like the heartbeat of a dying god, rising in fury during boss fights and brooding quietly as you explore.”
- “The music, sound, and atmosphere are immaculate.”
- “More like demo - no plot, no motivation, almost no lore, no characters, no music, no cutscenes, no animations.”
- “95% of the game is just dead silence, and apart from the boss tracks (which are not noteworthy), all combat music is muffled strings and muted percussions.”
- “A thing that I'd like to see given more attention is the music, as it's kinda lackluster, and while I get it might be going for the Dark Souls experience where there isn't much in the way of combat music except for bosses, I feel like this game could do with some hype music for fights, perhaps something like Dusk's OST?”
replayability
170 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
56%
3%
Witchfire offers strong replayability through its roguelite progression, varied weapons, spells, and changing enemy placements, making each run feel fresh despite limited current map count. While some criticize the lack of content variety and underdeveloped late-game systems, ongoing updates and progression mechanics promise to enhance replay value further. Overall, the game delivers a challenging, addictive experience with substantial depth and a solid foundation for long-term replayability.
- “Despite being in early access, Witchfire is a brilliant and highly replayable game that gets so much right.”
- “The roguelite elements add challenge and replayability to every run.”
- “I'll keep the review short because I'd rather you experience it for yourself but it absolutely is worth the price tag and with the Witch Island update it has a ton of replayable content that'll get the average player a solid 50 or so hours out of it.”
- “Tl;dr there is an illusion of replayability and variation, but once you see past the illusion the game has nothing worthwhile to offer in its current state.”
- “Not optimized with frequent stutter, Dark Souls rip-off with poorly designed guns and enemies, unoriginal UE4 game, replayability is boring and you're locked in your build unless you want to farm the first level again and again to level up gear, $40 for this lmao.”
- “Replayability is limited by the low number of items and maps and uninteresting arcanas.”
stability
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
55%
The game generally runs well with good optimization and impressive visuals across various platforms, including Steam Deck and lower-end PCs. However, as an early access title, it experiences occasional freezes, stutters, and bugs—particularly in later stages or crowded scenes—that sometimes impact gameplay and progression. Despite these issues, updates continue to improve stability, and many players find the overall experience smooth and enjoyable.
- “The gameplay is very smooth, bug free, and fps consistent always; this could easily be a 1.0 release as it feels complete and not at all like a playtest.”
- “The content is - as far as I can tell - pretty much bug free, has really good optimization and seems to have several layers of polish applied to it, which is pretty rare for a title in this stage of release.”
- “For an early access game, I barely run into performance issues or bugs; the game runs great and feels well optimized.”
- “Update: I've been playing more and in the late late game, when the screen is crowded with spells and a lot of enemies blowing up, I get a lot of freezes, stutters, and severe FPS drops.”
- “Technical note: I'm experiencing random freezes of 1-5 seconds.”
- “While my army attacks, I have constant one second freezes, a couple seconds of 3-10 FPS stutters, then one freeze again.”
monetization
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
38%
55%
The game features no microtransactions, battle passes, or other exploitative monetization practices, offering a pure, offline FPS experience that rewards skillful gameplay and build variety. Players appreciate the absence of typical monetization clutter, with upgrades and mechanics focused on creative weapon use rather than grind or paywalls. Some minor gameplay frustrations with aiming down sights (ADS) and ammo management exist, but overall the monetization approach is praised for its fairness and player-friendly design.
- “No microtransactions, battlepasses or exploitative practices.”
- “Witchfire could have easily been filled with microtransactions, yet it has none.”
- “The game valiantly charges through the mires of hostile, addictive game design trying to mess with your gray matter, with no microtransactions or in-game purchases to speak of.”
- “The Steam and Epic releases of the game are exactly the same and in the year since it released into early access none of the bugs or other issues have been fixed or patched; the developers have just re-released the same version of the game from a year ago on Steam in a cash grab after sales on Epic dwindled down due to negative reviews because they abandoned their game.”
- “Witchfire feels like a cash grab with no love and no soul.”
- “The biggest complaint I've had is difficulty aiming down sights with the hypnosis rifle; aiming down sights has almost a cooldown and it can get pretty annoying.”
humor
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in these games is often described as witty, spontaneous, and sometimes stemming from amusing bugs or unexpected gameplay elements, adding a lighthearted charm even amidst challenges. Players appreciate ironic moments, such as incongruous weapon choices or developer comments, which enhance the entertainment value. However, humor can be subjective, with some finding it funny while others see it as highlighting flaws or frustrations.
- “Snappy, responsive and just hilariously addictive.”
- “The response from one of the developers that it doesn’t suit their visual style made me laugh so hard.”
- “Just don’t forget to bring your fireproof gear and a sense of humor.”
character development
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
38%
14%
Character development in the game is praised for its unique, grimdark-inspired designs, customizable builds, and integration with challenging gameplay, offering a thrilling and addictive RPG-like experience. However, some users feel it lacks depth and variety across classes, with limited character growth often relying on RNG mechanics and a somewhat bland hub atmosphere. Overall, the character design, aesthetic, and narrative are strong points that significantly enhance the game's immersive appeal.
- “It is punishingly hard in many ways but very addictive and up to a point, you can put in the extra time and effort to overcome challenging boss style enemies by coming back later with a better, more appropriate build or higher power, via levels or other character development.”
- “If you like fast paced action, unique character development akin to most RPGs, tons of different weapons and spells, and an ever increasing difficulty, this game is for you.”
- “By build customization specifically I refer to more items and/or more slots/mechanics for character development.”
- “By build customization specifically, I refer to more items and/or more slots/mechanics for character development.”
- “The hub could have been a far better aid to the atmosphere, character development, and general experience if it had some sort of NPCs in it.”
- “Bad: character development substitutes actual development/growth with gimmicks that rely on interfacing with an RNG mechanic that is essential to clearing the late game.”
emotional
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional experience varies widely, ranging from deeply demanding and inspiring with reflective moments to cozy and casual play. Players often highlight a strong ambiance that evokes feelings of beauty, despair, and heartbreak, with some feeling empowered and engaged by the combat and game world. However, others find the emotional impact less compelling or incomplete, especially in early access stages.
- “The ambiance made me feel like I was playing a FromSoft game (it's a compliment). You can sometimes feel despair, sadness, but still find a lot of beauty behind some scenes; the aesthetic is great.”
- “Really a promising game, I've played for some 20-25 hours and still only feel I'm touching the surface of the game.”
- “Ominous and makes me want to cry.”