WitchHand

About

"Witchhand" is a single-player fantasy strategy game with stellar mechanics and impressive visuals. As the leader of a coven, players use cards to build and manage their witch empire, focusing on areas like trade, alchemy, or war to secure a place on the Council of Fates. With real-time card placement, players must expand and defend their coven against unseen forces and rival covens, utilizing the powers of the witch to survive and thrive in this 4X strategy game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 768 reviews

gameplay70 positive mentions

optimization6 negative mentions

Charming art style and engaging gameplay that keeps players hooked for hours.
Offers a satisfying gameplay loop with resource management and automation mechanics.
Each witch character provides unique gameplay experiences, enhancing replayability.

Performance issues arise in late game with lag and cluttered boards, making management tedious.
Some mechanics and spells lack clarity, leading to confusion during gameplay.
The game can feel repetitive and grindy, especially towards the end with resource collection.

gameplay
194 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
61%
3%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it addictive and engaging due to its clever mechanics and unique character abilities, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth, particularly in the late game. Many appreciate the charming art style and music, but some feel that the core gameplay loop can become tedious and shallow after a few hours. Overall, the game offers a cozy experience with a solid foundation, but it may not satisfy everyone looking for a more dynamic or story-driven gameplay experience.
- “Addictive, beautiful, and full of clever mechanics that keeps every stage of the game exciting and engaging.”
- “The gameplay is smooth early on, with you hustling to combine resources and fend off enemy spawns triggered by your exploration.”
- “I absolutely adore this game, the gameplay loop is super fun and addictive and the art style is so lovely (the music and sound design are as well).”
- “The bottom line though is that the gameplay is just not fun enough for me (mostly just waiting around for stuff to happen, or doing repetitive tasks to make them happen slightly faster) and there is no engaging story to keep you going either.”
- “Sadly, after a few hours you'll realize it's pretty shallow once you've experienced the gameplay loop, and the different witches aren't as radical as the 'classes' in Cultist Simulator.”
- “With no snapping, long, long strings of resources butting into each other as part of regular gameplay, and a lot of tedious repetition (as an example; to grow silversage you consume one to get two back, meaning that it's a bottleneck early until you RNG into it and harvesting the process can't be automated with magnets), this game learned the wrong lessons from Stacklands.”
story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
64%
10%
The game's story is generally described as minimal and straightforward, often conveyed through letters and simple quests, which some players find lacking in depth and engagement. While a few reviews highlight the charm of the characters and the intrigue of the narrative, many agree that the gameplay mechanics overshadow the story, making it feel secondary. Overall, the story is seen as a light complement to the gameplay experience, with some players appreciating its whimsical elements while others desire more complexity and variety.
- “One of the best games in the genre of card management, amazing balancing, captivating story, and an adorable art style, 10/10.”
- “A cute and addicting game that's easy to get into with an interesting enough story that you'll want to see through to the end.”
- “The story and characters are cute, building up your coven full of familiars is satisfying, and there always seems to be more to do.”
- “The bottom line though is that the gameplay is just not fun enough for me (mostly just waiting around for stuff to happen, or doing repetitive tasks to make them happen slightly faster) and there is no engaging story to keep you going either.”
- “While I love the art, and the music itself is chill and pleasant, I just can't get around the gameplay and lackluster story.”
- “It also has a very thin plot and too many annoying bottlenecks.”
music
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
23%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm and ability to enhance the overall experience, creating a cozy and enjoyable atmosphere. While many reviewers appreciate the soundtrack's quality and its fit with the game's aesthetic, some note that certain tracks can feel mismatched with the gameplay's intensity. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, contributing to the game's addictive nature and visual appeal.
- “The art is really nice, and in conjunction with the soundtrack gives the game a very comfy vibe.”
- “The music sets a nice mood for the gameplay and is enjoyable to listen to, especially the final boss fight music.”
- “I absolutely adore this game, the gameplay loop is super fun and addictive and the art style is so lovely (the music and sound design are as well).”
- “If I had to guess, the music was produced in parallel to development, with mostly the themes in mind and not so much the actual gameplay.”
- “The audio, though, is a mixed bag; while the background music is captivating, the constant swoosh of cards midgame might get on your nerves.”
- “Even then, it's very well-made music and I would actually listen to it on my own.”
graphics
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
42%
5%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and gorgeous art style, featuring unique and eye-catching designs that enhance the overall aesthetic experience. Players appreciate the smooth animations and the delightful combination of visuals and sound, which contribute to an engaging and addictive gameplay loop. Overall, the game's visuals are considered a significant selling point, elevating it above similar titles in the genre.
- “The graphics are a delight for a card game, with each card flaunting unique, eye-catching designs, and the battle animations are silky smooth.”
- “The art style is simply gorgeous.”
- “Very nice graphics, relaxing music, and a totally addictive gameplay loop.”
- “There are some problems, but the aesthetics carry it.”
- “If it was balanced, it would be Stacklands with better graphics.”
- “Not hard to 100%, but the graphics, music, and gameplay make it worth returning to after completion.”
optimization
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
76%
14%
The game's optimization is a significant concern, with players reporting a stable 60 fps in early phases that deteriorates to as low as 20 fps in late-game scenarios, particularly when many cards are on screen. Performance issues, including stuttering and lag, become more pronounced as players progress, detracting from the overall experience and making it difficult to recommend the game until these issues are addressed. While there are opportunities for resource optimization, the mid to late-game experience often shifts from engaging gameplay to frustrating performance problems.
- “As with Stacklands, Witchhand immediately hooks you in with the familiar gameplay of resource management, discovery, and optimization.”
- “There are some interesting loops and synergies, and a lot of opportunity for optimization of resource creation and use that I really only touched the surface of.”
- “Once the game gets better optimization, I could fully recommend it, but I can't in good faith recommend Witchhand before it gets better optimized.”
- “Starts locked at 60 fps, gets worse as you progress and got to around 40 fps in the end game for me with huge performance hits any time a lot of cards spawn at once, which happens often in the late game.”
- “Playing this type of game at 40 fps just feels so sluggish and bad; I can't give this a positive review unless performance improves.”
- “The game will slow down during the end game when there are hundreds of cards on screen, most likely an optimization issue.”
replayability
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable with different characters offering unique playstyles, others feel it lacks depth for multiple runs. The addition of new characters may enhance replay value, but many reviewers note that the game doesn't significantly change upon replaying. Despite these limitations, the initial experience is often described as fun and satisfying.
- “All three current witches offer a twist on the core gameplay loop for replayability, and the dev currently has plans to add a fourth, which I can't wait to see.”
- “The three characters you can play are different enough that the game is very replayable.”
- “Very satisfying progression through automation and exploration, and though the game itself is pretty short, it feels decently replayable and what you get is good fun either way.”
- “The one piece of feedback I have is that it has limited replayability.”
- “Overall, it is a pretty decent game and even though running through it again doesn't really add much replay value, it is pretty solid on a first time around.”
- “It's not the game's strong suit and doesn't do much for replayability, which, speaking of, feels a bit limited.”
grinding
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and detracting from the overall experience, particularly in the late and postgame stages. While some automation features help alleviate the monotony, many reviewers express frustration with the overwhelming management of resources and repetitive tasks. Although there are opportunities to avoid excessive grinding, the game's design often leads to a slow and unengaging gameplay loop.
- “Overall, I think the game has a lot of flaws that impact the player experience, and lead to the latter half of the game feeling really slow and tedious.”
- “Unfortunately, the management of overwhelming amounts of cards comes into play and becomes a tedious task that nobody wants to deal with.”
- “Endgame is really tedious though with no option to kill the 20+ mobs automatically and scaling your 'base' is not as organic as I hoped it would be.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its lighthearted and whimsical elements, such as witches with animal familiars donning funny hats. Comparisons to other games highlight its comedic aspects, suggesting it combines humor with engaging gameplay in a way that feels fresh and entertaining. Overall, the game is described as funny and enjoyable, contributing positively to the player experience.
- “I love that different witches have different animal familiars, and if you specialize them, they maintain their familiar species but are wearing a funny hat now.”
- “Nice and funny game - something akin to Cultist Simulator (but shorter, easier, and much less grindy) and Stacklands (but more complex and funnier) combined.”
- “And, well, Cultist Simulator lost its luster for me with all the funny business surrounding its maker.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from stability issues, including frequent freezes when acquiring new cards and lag in the late-game. Players have reported bugs and difficulties with certain mechanics, suggesting a need for quality-of-life improvements to enhance overall performance.
- “You are supposed to acquire more and more cards while expanding the play area, but every time you do, there is a chance the game just freezes.”
- “Sometimes buggy, gets laggy in the late game, some mechanics are difficult to grasp (i.e., magnets), and it could use a few quality of life features (i.e., having the time boost be toggle-able with the space bar or having something that could lessen the clutter of cards you see in the late game).”
- “This game is a bit buggy!”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional experience of the game to be predominantly positive, characterized by a wholesome and comforting atmosphere that alleviates stress. The combination of automating tasks and nurturing familiars contributes to a sense of joy and satisfaction, making it difficult for players to feel overwhelmed.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its charm and immersive quality, drawing comparisons to influential titles like Cultist Simulator and Stacklands. Players appreciate the unique ambiance that enhances the overall experience within this new genre.
- “An atmospheric and charming take on the new genre led by Cultist Simulator and Stacklands.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers express a desire for more character designs in the game, indicating that while the existing art is enjoyable, the limited variety leaves them wanting more depth in character development.