Witchfire is a ruthless gun-slinging souls-like!
Witchfire (Reviewed)
Developer: The Astronauts
Publisher: The Astronauts
Released: September 20th, 2023
Price: $40 USD
WitchFire is an Early Access gunslinger souls-like that plays heavily into it's story tying it into the beginning of the game. You are a weakened Preyer, tasked with killing the Witch. You are technically immortal and cannot be killed, but you can be momentarily halted forcing you to retreat temporarily to resupply.
You'll find yourself fighting your way through hordes of demons, debating whether to flee for now and return later, slightly stronger, or go through in an attempt to take on the ever growing threats that scale with your power, making it ever challenging.
Story
A Preyer is a hunter who employs witch magic to hunt witches but becomes cursed in the process. He has the ability to be immortal, but he is bound for hell, similar to how witches in the real world are thought to surrender their souls to Satan for power.
He can siphon the witch's strength from her minions to extend his life, as the power of witch magic is supposedly greater than that of mortals. It's not said officially, but it's possible that mortals (or, at least, the bandits) are unaware of the supernatural.
Anything that dies within her aura resurrects as one of her minions, even if she did not kill it and decapitation is the only way to stop it. The official short story is quite fascinating and I would definitely urge you to take a read. The Short Story
Issue
It's a very minor issue
I usually check the controls to see what the buttons are set to by default, because a lot of games do things differently, and I want to make sure I understand how they prefer to do things. Some games utilize CTRL, while others use C or V.
I usually use CTRL and I don't have a mouse with a side button, most of which I suppose have a keypad, so if I didn't change this setting, I wouldn't be able to use dash if I wanted to because I wouldn't have access to it.
Presentation
The graphics are fantastic
A small group of 12 people is working on this game. What is available is excellent for such a tiny group, with only a few graphics glitches like trees swaying and terrain blur.
The game is currently in Early Access, and looks magnificent with its decrepit state of medieval knights, archers, and grenadiers rampaging around following the Witches orders as her undead servants to guard her lair and hunt you down.
It's a rather auditory game, with sound cues alerting you to a presence, secret areas, traps, and other hazards. Working together to keep you alert in any given scenario as it becomes tough to see and hear when you are fatigued and surrounded.
It's crucial to know that while this game appears simple, you'll soon find that the moment you start levelling up your character, you basically give the game the go ahead to start generating elites and much more harsh events and hunts upon you. As a result, you should cautiously take the time to prepare. After all, there is no rush.
Diversity seems in-depth
When it comes to weapons, spells, equipment, and aspects for each run. It appears to be quite detailed. The sheer quantity of spells and weapons at your disposal once unlocked, can combine to enhance your ability for success, whether it's ranged gameplay or up close and personal. As previously indicated, there is no urgency, you can adjust it to whatever you feel most comfortable doing. Take your time and make an informed decision on taking on challenges, fleeing or pursuing guardians.
Gameplay
Challenging
Mechanics are highly diverse. Soldiers will rush you and leap at your current location, while Grenadiers will shoot into the air to lob grenades in your general area, forcing you to move out of concealment. Following Musketeers who will lead their shots and snipe you if you jump making it so difficult to move around at all.
You will undoubtedly perish unless you understand the fundamentals of the game and what you need to do to survive the ever-changing elements of RNG and roguelike features instead of rushing in low on stamina, ammunition and gear.
You'll be frequently alerting the witch to your presence, which will anger her, causing her to summon a cataclysm event, somewhere on the current map. It might even be next to a extremely dangerous area, forcing you to hunker down or attempt to run down the gate to restore your sanity back to full before time runs out.
Upgrading & Leveling
The only way to progress in this game is through sheer talent, or with the help of powerful demonic weapons, rings, amulets, and other items. All of these will help you over time as you reveal weapons to unlock their inner potential or invest all of your WitchFire to empower yourself even more, gaining spell cooldown, luck, health, and stamina all at the expense of levelling up, which will cause greater and more powerful foes to appear making each and every attempt that much more harder.
Personally, I don't like the idea of the game's strength growing based on what I currently have unlocked or my current level. I enjoy out leveling and outpowering my opponents in order to feel unstoppable. But this game accomplishes the exact opposite. Throughout the encounter, you will feel useless and powerless often times feeling like you will only succeed by getting the best in slot power or spells.
The game sends you off with only a pistol and no upgrades. You are compelled to play in the manner depicted in the story. Weakened and needing to gather more Witchfire to reclaim all of your weapons and gear until you're ready to face the witch and all of her challenges which will continuously stop you in your tracks.
Conclusion
There isn't much here currently
As with the majority of Early Access games. This game is far from done, with only two levels to choose from and a large array of weaponry and unique abilities if you make it past the first stage offers a lot of challenge to any who wish to take this game on.
It has a lot of potential to be something more if the appropriate steps are taken and they stay on the current path. While I was personally frustrated with the game as a whole due to how difficult it became the second I levelled up, it started to open up after a few failed attempts and the unlocking of powerful weapons and spells that make future fights a bit more manageable, if not still challenging due to the stamina restrictions and hoards!
This concludes my views of this game; while my opinions may be met with criticism, that is what distinguishes gamers; you don't have to like the same things as others, nor do you have to agree with them.
If you want to catch me on one of my streams or locate me on social media, you may do so at the following locations, I'm always playing something new.
- Pawkt
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