A cozy, creepy crafting game you should play in the dark

33618247

SHOULD I PLAY WYTCHWOOD ON MOBILE?

Definitely check it out if you haven’t already played it on other platforms. Wytchwood is a cozy crafting game with some seriously spooky vibes. I tested the game on iPhone and Android, and both versions ran perfectly. Moving around and navigating menus is a breeze, and the colorful, creepy visuals look absolutely stunning. It’s the perfect game to play on a dark, stormy night.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve spent around four hours playing Wytchwood, which has given me the chance to craft a wide assortment of items and explore many different regions, including a fairy-filled forest, a gloomy swamp, and a military camp. The total runtime for the game is around twelve hours, so I’ve still got lots of adventures ahead of me.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT WYTCHWOOD ON MOBILE?

• Gorgeous storybook visuals. Wytchwood looks like a vivid gothic fairytale. There are strange, beguiling details scattered through the map, like tree branches that resemble humans and the skeleton of a giant beast. The monster and character designs are nothing short of spectacular. Whether I was fighting a living tree, calming down a cranky dog, or chatting with a weepy woman by a creek, this game was a visual feast.

• An incredibly atmospheric soundtrack. Wytchwood isn’t just easy on the eyes; it’s also filled with amazing music. These tunes helped set the stage for each area I visited, making every section of the map feel distinct. Mournful banjo music played as I trudged through the murky swamp. A foreboding melody started to play as I climbed down a deep, dark well. The moody soundtrack made the world feel vibrant and alive, and it also made exploring a ton of fun.

• Fantastic story. Wytchwood tells the tale of an old crone gathering souls for a goat that may or not be the devil. It’s a solid setup, but what really makes it shine are the smaller stories within the larger narrative. Every character I encountered, from the military general that was a literal bear, to the happy-go-lucky vegetable farmer, had their own story to tell. None of the quests felt padded or unnecessary, and I was always excited when I found a new character to talk to.

• Puzzle-like crafting quests. There are a ton of crafting recipes in Wytchwood, but this isn’t just a game about making stuff. At its core, it feels like a puzzle. If I needed a particular item for a recipe, like a dryad heart or frog slime, I had to figure out the best way to find what I needed. It’s a fun approach to crafting, but thankfully, Wytchwood never makes it too hard to work out a solution. When I was stumped, I could use a special ability called Witch Eye to unlock new crafting recipes and get some hints that would point me in the right direction.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT WYTCHWOOD ON MOBILE?

• Too much backtracking. At first, I loved running around in Wytchwood and searching for crafting items, but my enthusiasm started to dampen when I found myself constantly running back and forth between the same few areas. Crafting got more complex as I progressed through the game, and I got to the point where I had to make several different items to complete a recipe. The ingredients for these were scattered all over the map, so I constantly found myself backtracking to get the things I needed.

Technically, Wytchwood does have a fast travel system, but it’s pretty limited, and it doesn’t do a lot to solve this problem. As an example, a large number of recipes require water. To gather water, I needed to craft an empty jar, which requires clay and campfire embers. Once I had my jar, I had to visit the well to fill it up. It wasn’t a big deal the first few times, but it got pretty annoying when I had to go through the same steps over and over again. There’s no inventory limit, so I was able to limit backtracking by loading up on ingredients at every location, but it’s still frustrating.

PLATFORMS TESTED

Android via Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G phone, iOS via iPhone SE 3