Witchfire
- September 23, 2024
- The Astronauts
- 19h median play time
Get on Steam"Witchfire" is a single-player RPG shooter with delightful mechanics, amazing visuals, and ingenious music. Explore vast biomes, confront the Witch's army, and enhance your powers/arsenal. With a good plot, stunning atmosphere, and high replayability, it offers a unique experience, even though it can be very grinding. Early Access players receive the Striga weapon as a bonus.
PC
Windows
Cloud
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
Reviews
- Incredible gunplay and movement mechanics that feel polished and satisfying.
- Engaging gameplay loop with a mix of FPS, roguelite, and souls-like elements.
- Beautiful graphics and atmospheric design that enhance the overall experience.
- Limited content currently available, with only three maps and some repetitive gameplay.
- Difficulty spikes can feel frustrating, especially with certain bosses and enemy mechanics.
- Some mechanics and systems are poorly explained, leading to confusion for new players.
- gameplay1,155 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *Witchfire* has been widely praised for its engaging mechanics, combining elements from first-person shooters, roguelikes, and souls-like games. Players appreciate the satisfying gunplay, fluid movement, and the risk-reward dynamics of the extraction mechanics, which create a compelling gameplay loop that encourages exploration and experimentation. However, some reviewers noted that certain mechanics are poorly explained, leading to confusion, and that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, especially given the current limited content in early access. Overall, the game is seen as a promising blend of genres with a solid foundation for future updates.
“Gameplay is very solid and fun, a perfect balance of some of the most satisfying gunplay I've felt with resource gathering and preservation.”
“The gameplay loop is so addictive I might have hundreds of hours when you see this review.”
“The mixture of FPS, roguelike, and souls mechanics might sound crazy, but they made it work amazingly.”
“The gameplay loop is extremely repetitive and short of content.”
“Gameplay can be described as following: spawn mobs > kill mobs > collect manifestation > spawn mobs > kill mobs > collect manifestation (you get the idea).”
“The gameplay is so captivating that I never felt bored playing.”
- graphics473 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Witchfire" have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and immersive dark fantasy aesthetic, reminiscent of titles like Bloodborne and Elden Ring. Players appreciate the game's polished art style, smooth performance, and attention to detail, with many noting that it runs exceptionally well even on mid-range hardware. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics, atmospheric environments, and engaging gameplay creates a captivating experience that stands out in the indie game landscape.
“The graphics are absolutely gorgeous and very visually impressive, yet I have only had a few issues here and there with stuttering or frame rate drops, which I found impressive on my mid-range PC.”
“The stunning visuals, haunting atmosphere, and fast-paced combat blend seamlessly to create an immersive experience.”
“The graphics are amazing and runs extremely well compared to similarly beautiful games.”
“They changed the visuals and loot mechanics of the game based on the community missing the doom and gloom souls-style aesthetic they replaced with a more cartoonish, colorful look at one point.”
“The art style, animations, enemy designs, and weapons are all very bland and boring.”
“The graphics do not warrant such terrible performance.”
- story228 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story in Witchfire is currently minimal and primarily conveyed through environmental storytelling and sparse lore elements, reminiscent of Dark Souls. While players find the setting intriguing and atmospheric, many express a desire for a more substantial narrative and character interactions as the game is still in early access. Overall, there is potential for a compelling story, but it remains largely undeveloped at this stage, leaving players eager for future updates.
“Crafted by the astronauts, the same studio behind 'The Vanishing of Ethan Carter,' this game plunges players into the role of a Preyer—a relentless witch hunter on a quest to seize mystical artifacts from dangerous, witch-inhabited lands.”
“The ambiance and story are enthralling.”
“Witchfire is a very interesting and unique world with a story and lore I would love to dive more into as the game develops.”
“There is effectively no story at the time of writing.”
“The only thing grinding my gear is the lack of content regarding story; it lacks characters... it feels a bit empty in that regard.”
“The story that exists in-game right now is sparse; present enough to string you along, but nothing to truly sink your teeth into.”
- atmosphere226 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its rich, immersive, and haunting qualities, drawing comparisons to titles like Bloodborne and Dark Souls. Players appreciate the meticulous attention to detail in the dark fantasy world, enhanced by stunning visuals, eerie sound design, and a compelling soundtrack that together create a gripping and engaging experience. The combination of gothic aesthetics, atmospheric environments, and intense gameplay contributes to a unique and addictive atmosphere that keeps players enthralled.
“The game’s dark fantasy world is depicted with meticulous detail, from its eerie landscapes to the atmospheric lighting that enhances the haunting mood.”
“The stunning visuals, haunting atmosphere, and fast-paced combat blend seamlessly to create an immersive experience.”
“The atmosphere created by level and sound design is quite impressive as well.”
“The initial hour or two of progression feel a teeny bit slow, but the atmosphere, gunplay, and rollercoaster of a learning curve had me completely enthralled.”
“The creepy atmosphere and the slowly unfolding player progression system is super compelling as well.”
“In the end, though, it's the oppressive atmosphere that keeps me hooked.”
- optimization186 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received widespread praise, with many players noting its impressive performance even on lower-end systems. Despite being in early access, it runs smoothly with minimal bugs and stuttering, often outperforming many AAA titles. However, some users have reported occasional performance hiccups, particularly during intense gameplay or when loading new areas.
“Atmospheric as heck, highly optimized (despite being early access), and quite addicting!”
“It really puts many of the AAA releases to shame, with very good optimization, very few bugs, and even a good amount of content to check out.”
“The game has a very high level of polish and optimization already and I have been recommending it to my friends constantly.”
“The thing that kills this game for me is the borderless fullscreen performance is actually terrible.”
“Unfortunately, unplayable for more challenging levels because of stuttering issues on my gaming laptop (4070) regardless of graphics quality.”
“The game itself looks great, but the performance is terrible.”
- grinding137 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback from players. While some enjoy the grind as a rewarding part of the gameplay loop, others find it tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the limited variety in maps and enemy types. Overall, the game is described as quite grindy, with many players noting that it can become monotonous, especially when progression feels slow or lacks meaningful content.
“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.”
“My criticisms would be that the early level and early game can feel a little bare, there is a bit of repetition at times in the game but it's not grindy in the way many RPGs are; the action is too fast-paced and nuanced to really get stale.”
“I've not played for too long, but so far the leveling is slow, but not grindy.”
“The grinding can be monotonous.”
“Progression, in my opinion, feels very grindy and still needs work, because the grind becomes tedious since you have to run exactly the same map over and over again.”
“The fights and enemies aren't very varied thus far, and it's become a bit tedious running through the same areas trying to collect resources to advance to the next level.”
- music78 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric and haunting qualities that enhance the overall experience. However, several players express disappointment over the lack of memorable combat music, feeling that it detracts from the intensity of encounters. While some find the soundtrack fitting and immersive, others believe it could benefit from more variety and energy, particularly during combat sequences.
“With a haunting soundtrack and captivating story, Witchfire offers a fresh take on the shooter genre.”
“The game's haunting atmosphere is further enhanced by its atmospheric soundtrack and eerie sound design.”
“The music is heavy and atmospheric, works incredibly well with the aesthetic.”
“The most severe detriment to this game is a complete lack of music.”
“1) It really needs some sort of combat and exploration music; currently, it's nonexistent. I can't even tell from the sound alone if I'm in combat or not.”
“The music in this game is just kind of uninteresting.”
- stability58 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 55 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report smooth performance and minimal bugs, others experience significant glitches and crashes that detract from the gameplay. Most users find it runs well on various systems, including the Steam Deck, but some have encountered frustrating issues that can disrupt the experience. Despite these inconsistencies, many appreciate the game's aesthetic and optimization, suggesting it has a solid foundation for further improvement.
“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.”
“No bugs and it runs great on a several year old computer (RTX 2060).”
“This game is a fun rogue-lite/extraction RPG shooter, that provides a fairly well polished and bug free experience.”
“But then it just doesn't, and you lose half your health in one attack because this game is a very, very buggy pile of annoyances so very often.”
“It needs a lot of work... buggy, crashes, no saving, super maddening crashing and having to start all over.”
“Very good base game but I can't recommend in its current state with the amount of glitches that will completely ruin your run.”
- replayability54 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Overall, the game boasts high replayability due to its procedurally generated levels, diverse character builds, and engaging gunplay, which keep each run feeling fresh and challenging. While some players express concerns about limited content and potential repetitiveness, many highlight the depth of progression and variety in gameplay mechanics that enhance replay value. As the game continues to evolve, there is optimism that future updates will further enrich the replayability experience.
“The procedurally generated levels mean no two runs are the same, providing a constantly evolving challenge and endless replay value.”
“This game has huge potential and enormous replay value; if the devs keep delivering on their promise, we will have a gem of a game.”
“The gunplay feels really good and the replayability is massive.”
“My only concern is that it might not be all that replayable, considering it's labeled a roguelite.”
“The levels have slight replayability since you uncover more parts of the map as you unlock stuff, but once you go through everything once, there's not much reason to go back to it.”
“I am bored with it already; that's not good. I like games with replay value, and I'm not sure that doing the same thing four or five different times with the same guns and different characters is worth it.”
- monetization19 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 5 % neutral mentions
- 84 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the absence of microtransactions, season passes, and unnecessary grind, highlighting it as a refreshing return to classic single-player shooter experiences. However, others criticize the game as a potential cash grab, pointing to a lack of updates and unresolved bugs since its early access release, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. Overall, while the game avoids common monetization pitfalls, concerns about its long-term support and quality persist.
“You can play it offline, and there are no microtransactions or premium currency to worry about.”
“No season pass, no microtransactions, not even co-op play (which they may very well add in the future, because that would be a perfect fit), just good old single-player fun to the fullest.”
“Most 'early access' games are simply cash grabs or poor implementations of the system from what it was originally meant to be.”
“Witchfire feels like a cash grab with no love and no soul.”
“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/patched; the astronauts 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 to next to nothing due to negative reviews because they abandoned their game.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd contrasts, such as using modern weapons in a medieval setting and the comedic interactions with AI enemies. Players find the game's mechanics, like looting and spellcasting, to be amusing, especially when they lead to unexpected outcomes. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay, making it enjoyable despite its challenges and occasional bugs.
“The AI will unsuccessfully hide from you, which is hilarious until you realize they are waiting to attack you as a horde.”
“Aesthetically, everything has a great dark-fantasy vibe to it, though admittedly it's funny to be using modern-feeling automatic weapons in a setting that otherwise feels like Europe in the late medieval or early renaissance period.”
“Just don’t forget to bring your fireproof gear and a sense of humor.”
- character development7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is criticized for relying on gimmicks and RNG mechanics rather than providing meaningful growth, particularly in late-game scenarios. While the character designs and artwork are praised for their quality, players express a desire for deeper interactions and more substantial character development to enhance the overall experience.
“The artwork, character design, and atmosphere are all phenomenal.”
“Character designs go hard.”
“Character development substitutes actual growth with gimmicks that rely on interfacing with an RNG mechanic that is essential to clearing the late game.”
“I don't think just merely more maps and guns would do the game justice - there needs to be more depth towards interaction and character development.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report that the game's immersive sound effects and environmental design evoke strong feelings of empowerment and nostalgia, making them feel like a formidable hunter. However, there are also humorous elements, such as a character's complaint about emotional damage, which adds a lighthearted contrast to the intense atmosphere. Overall, the emotional engagement is a blend of empowerment and humor.
“The ambience is amazing; it really made me feel like I am the hunter from the 1400s Vatican church.”
“Then Karen from the next village writes a long missive to the big cheese in the Vatican, something about sustained emotional damage.”
“The shots and the sound effects, the monsters' reaction, and overall environmental design really drew me in and made me feel like a badass.”
