Witchfire is such a vibe and such a unique game. The developers quoting Destiny and Elden Ring as sources of inspiration for this game completely show. The gun play is beautiful and landing your shots just feels so good. However, there are a few drawbacks that I have encountered in this game, some that didn't ruin my experience but may ruin others.
Witchfire is also a rogueLITE, not a rogueLIKE, meaning it has elements of a rouglike but is not strictly or does not strictly fall into the catagory of what would be classed a roguelike (not randomised maps but randomised enemy layouts, the progression is rougelike-esq)
Not a huge fan of how the progression works. Having to way 20 minutes for a ring is a very poor way of handling how players expand their arsenal, especially when starting out. Additionally, having most pieces of equipment (like heavy spells, demonic weapons and ring) being locked behind gnosis II can raise the difficulty higher than what most casual players would be comfortable with.
I do like the fact that leveling up changes the layout of enemies and events in the worlds and I can maybe see how that would class the game as rouglite, but I would (and this is just personal preference and being nitpicky, not a real negative) would just like some more rng, like randomise the maps maybe on every 10 levels or something like that.
The progression is my only real huge negative on the game. I am a semi casual player and I enjoyed the difficulty scaling as it kept me on my toes, but at times you feel pressured into finding your footing as everything is racing past you and getting increasingly more difficult to take on.
The one thing that I absoloutely hate however, is why is there a stamina bar in the main hub area? I'm just trying to run and jump around and have fun but my guy over here is panting at the top of the stairs :(
Please don't take these negatives as "oh don't play this game it's bad" because it's not, It's in fact, really good and highly worth checking out. I would however caution you to make sure that you are ok with and enjoy a game that does not wait for you to catch up to it.
Some things I love about this game:
It's hilarious how punishing this game is, and it makes it very satisfying with how rewarding it is too. Hitting shots and not getting hit builds focus on your stamina bar, making dodges reveal enemy weakspots and making you a force to be reckoned with. Taking one hit however, loses your focus and takes off a chunk of stamina, so you may not be able to run, dodge or jump out to safety.
The guns are gorgeous, the uniqueness and abilities on them make me want to try all of them, and everything is great and works if you can play well with it. If you like it, it's a viable weapon and you can build around it. The build crafting potential is crazy, with relics, rings, amulets, light and heavy spells, 3 different weapons with unique skills, rosary beads, and I'm sure I'm just barely scratching the surface of what this game has to offer.
