Witching Hour

About

Witching Hour is a single player casual action adventure game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by VincentLade and was released on May 17, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Witching Hour is a horror story that takes you out of your family home and across the quiet town of Hollow Hills. Your fate depends on making difficult choices, your relationship with your family, and confrontations with the matriarch of the town’s affliction with witchcraft, Lucilia.

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

story13 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

The atmosphere and sound design are strong, creating an eerie and immersive experience.
The story is intriguing with multiple endings, and the puzzles are engaging without being overly difficult.
The game features well-researched esotericism and a compelling antagonist, enhancing the horror elements.

The game suffers from numerous bugs, including lighting issues, crashes, and a buggy fate system that can disrupt gameplay.
Character development and dialogue are often lackluster, leading to a lack of emotional connection with the protagonist and supporting cast.
Performance issues, such as frame rate drops and clunky controls, detract from the overall experience.

story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
50%
9%
The story of "Witching Hour" is generally praised for its intriguing and atmospheric narrative, particularly highlighting the compelling backstory of the antagonist, Lucilia. However, some players noted inconsistencies and plot holes that detracted from the overall experience, while the repetitive puzzles were seen as a disconnect from the story. Despite these criticisms, many found the writing engaging and the emotional moments well-executed, making the story a standout feature of the game.
- “The writing really shines, and I was so fascinated with Lucilia’s backstory and the coven she forms with the sole purpose of resurrecting her son.”
- “The story had funny moments, heartbreaking moments, and well-timed moments of horror.”
- “The story and atmosphere is the star of the show here.”
- “I was hoping it'd be more like Madison, but the puzzles in Witching Hour are repetitive at best and usually have little to do with the story, which was disappointing.”
- “Similarly, the story, inclusive of characters, setting, and purpose, is pretty lackluster with the exception of one key element – the antagonist and resident witch Lucilia.”
- “But the story and puzzle to puzzle doesn't really uphold your time with the game.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The game's atmosphere is frequently praised for its strong, immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting its eerie settings and engaging story. However, some players note inconsistencies, such as a lack of horror elements and immersion-breaking moments, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the atmosphere remains a standout feature, complemented by enjoyable puzzles.
- “The atmosphere was wonderful.”
- “The game was very atmospheric and the puzzles were fun.”
- “The story and atmosphere is the star of the show here.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay is primarily a point-and-click visual novel, featuring beautiful graphics and an engaging story, though it introduces a somewhat awkward new mechanic in the final hour that feels disconnected from the narrative. While the puzzles and overall gameplay experience are considered average, the push and pull mechanics for interacting with objects, like doors and cupboards, are particularly criticized for being frustrating. Overall, players find the story to be the standout element, even if the gameplay does not significantly improve upon previous titles from the developer.
- “This game is more or less a point and click visual novel, which is totally fine on its own, but without revealing spoilers, a new game mechanic is introduced in the last hour of the game.”
- “As far as gameplay, it's a beautifully rendered game and fun until you run into a challenge.”
- “The gameplay and puzzles were just okay, but I liked the story, which I felt was the strength of this game.”
- “This game is more or less a point-and-click visual novel, which is totally fine on its own, but without revealing spoilers, a new game mechanic is introduced in the last hour of the game that has nothing to do with the story.”
- “Probably the worst part is the push-and-pull mechanic for doors and cupboards.”
- “Opening doors is a weird mouse mechanic that I could never get right.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the new art style and overall visual quality, while others have noted significant performance issues, including long load times and frame-rate drops, especially on larger maps. Despite these drawbacks, players appreciate the game's ability to run on lower-end hardware when graphics settings are adjusted. Overall, the graphics are seen as a step up from previous titles by the developer.
- “This time around, he takes a different approach, a longer journey, lots of puzzles, and a completely new art style.”
- “All in all, the graphics are great, sounds are on point, the story is compelling and interesting.”
- “I like the art style which mixes a sort of cell-shaded look on some of the assets and models.”
- “Ridiculous load times and herculean amounts of graphical rendering aside, the maps were way too big for the actual scope of the game.”
- “Spoiler-free cons: the performance issues... I had to dial my graphics down pretty far, and even then in certain maps the frame-rate of the game was pretty abysmal.”
- “I was also able to play this pretty easily on my little Lenovo when I dialed the graphics down, so running the game is pretty easy as well.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music and sound effects in the game have received praise for their quality and atmospheric inspiration, particularly drawing from the Silent Hill franchise. However, some players found the initial music to be overwhelming and expressed a desire for a music slider to adjust the volume.
- “The devs did some excellent work here with both the sound effects and the soundtrack, the latter, if I’m not mistaken, taking inspiration from the Silent Hill franchise, which is never a bad thing.”
- “The music and events are lovely and well placed, and the sound is done well.”
- “The music in the beginning is really overbearing.”
- “I'd always like to see a music slider in every game, but it's not here.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a blend of humor, heartbreak, and effective horror elements, creating a compelling narrative that keeps players engaged and on edge. The protagonist's choice to delve into a grimoire for bedtime reading adds a personal touch, enhancing the overall emotional experience.
- “And instead of not touching it with a ten-foot pole or simply picking it up and leaving it to gather dust on a shelf, our heroine chooses this grimoire to be her nightly bedtime reading.”
- “The story had funny moments, heartbreaking moments, and well-timed moments of horror.”
- “Finally, the witching hour has a solid amount of jump scares and creepy encounters that made me feel so unsafe.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game offers a mix of horror and puzzles that some players find enjoyable enough to warrant multiple playthroughs, while others feel it lacks significant replay value, particularly for those seeking a deeper horror experience.
- “If you like horror, puzzles, and a chance for some good replayability, then I would definitely recommend that you jump in and give this one a go.”
- “The atmosphere of the game itself is very nice, but I would caution anyone coming for the horror; it doesn't have a great deal of replay value.”
- “This does not constitute as 'replayability' for me.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is effectively balanced with emotional depth, featuring well-timed comedic moments alongside heartbreaking and horror elements, creating a dynamic narrative experience.
- “The story had funny moments, heartbreaking moments, and well-timed moments of horror.”
- “The humor in this game is brilliantly woven into the narrative, making every twist and turn enjoyable.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the clever dialogue and hilarious character interactions.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by a buggy fate system and occasional physics glitches, which can lead to characters becoming stuck in objects and necessitating restarts of certain sections.
- “The fate system is buggy.”
- “There are a few physics glitches that got my character stuck in objects, causing me to restart sections.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the farming and labor elements are engaging, certain sections, particularly the slow-paced dream sequences, can feel tedious and detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “The setup is as simple as it is insufficient – you, your father, and your sister all move out to your family’s house in the woods to live an honest life of farming and other bucolic, back-breaking labor.”
- “On the downside, there are a few sections where you're unable to run, like the dream sequences and accompanying Emma, which I found a bit tedious because Rose walks very slowly.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for significant performance issues, with players experiencing drastic frame rate drops, sometimes plummeting from 60fps to as low as 15fps, even on lower graphics settings.
- “The performance issues are significant; I had to dial my graphics down pretty far, and even then, in certain maps, the frame rate was pretty abysmal.”
- “Lastly, the performance in some areas is poor, with my FPS dropping from 60 FPS to 15 FPS.”