Copyright escapistmagazine
With the release of Arc Raiders, the question of whether or not I’ll enjoy an extraction shooter creeps in again. Do I want to go into a multiplayer shooter, something I’m not particularly good at even at the best of times, and potentially lose every item I’ve taken in? Well, thankfully, I discovered Witchfire. It’s a completely solo experience, with not even a co-op mode to sniff at. There are no other players, just you and the world that the team at The Astronauts has built. It’s still got the tension of an extraction shooter, with portals dotted around the map for you to make your escape. However, it’s just not as brutal as the major hitters, like Tarkov or Arc Raiders. Set in a grim fantasy world, you’re one of the best witch hunters around, or Preyers. Under the orders of the pope, you’re now on your final mission before being relieved of duty. Witchfire is currently in Early Access, so it’s not quite done just yet. The roadmap shows there are three major updates yet to hit in 2026, with 1.0 set for some point next year. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth jumping into now, quite the opposite. Getting to grips with the main loop of the game is imperative, as it trickles new features and things to do in the game over a lengthy period of time. Not an Arc Raiders fan? Witchfire’s an excellent alternative Death functions similarly to that of Dark Souls. You die, lose all the Witchfire points you’ve collected, and any treasures you’ve stumbled upon. If you make it back to where you died, it’ll let you regain all those items again. It also means you’re not losing weapons that you’ve spent time earning or crystalized Witchfire, which you can bank for a boost in points to level up. Yes, it’s not as strict as some games in the genre, even compared to what we’ve heard about Bungie’s changes to Marathon. It still thrives when it comes down to the extraction element, though. Being mobbed by a swarm of ghouls, knights, and other creepy figures while waiting for the portal to open, the twenty-second timer feeling like a full minute, can get pretty stressful. Especially when the run was to recover remains, so I could level up one stat to get an edge over a monster giving me trouble. Looping, upgrading, dying This is the majority of the main loop of the game. It returns you to the Hermitorium, where it allows you to level up, change gear, and upgrade it. There are, of course, a lot of other functions that begin to open up as the game progresses, like a merchant, and more areas of the Hermitorium open up. Unlocking weapons is done over time, as the Workshop – a giant haunted mirror – will do research as you wander the lands. Extracting or dying will progress these, so it’s an incentive to keep going out. What makes Witchfire so good isn’t just its loop of death or extraction, upgrade, rinse and repeat; it’s the atmosphere and how it plays in the moment-to-moment. When I started the game, it felt heavy. I was ill-educated about the game, learning its little intricacies and eccentricities. Once it begins to unravel itself, ever so slowly, quest by quest, it has me by the nuggets in a way I didn’t expect. Or, maybe, I should have fully expected. Looking for a solid Destiny 2 replacement? Witchfire might be it See, I’m a huge fan of how games like Destiny 2 feel. The airy and floaty controls are combined with tight combat that makes me feel all-powerful, but still puts up a challenge. Here, Witchfire has that same floaty style, with double jumps and dodges, never wanting you to plant your feet to tackle the oncoming threats. If you’ve played Destiny 2 or Borderlands 4 and wished they were a little more intense, you’ll be right at home here. It’s nice to know that extraction shooters don’t have to be grounded in some kind of reality. Let me double jump. Witchfire can be unrelenting, though. I’m barely past the second island, and when it turns up the danger, I find myself on the edge of my seat. Health elixirs slowly tick health up, while a stamina meter keeps me in check from just dominating the battlefield with my superior agility. Heavy is the head that wears the grim fantasy crown All of this is coated in a thick, gothic style that reeks of misery. Islands and locations you visit are often overrun with forestry, unspoiled by industry. There’s just nothing more sinister than a dilapidated castle or partially empty fishing village. Every location isn’t a joy to visit, though. My tenth time through isn’t perverted by boredom, but an ever-creeping sense of dread of what’s in store. I know there’s a captain that’s been stalking me as soon as I reach a particular area, and I just can’t beat them. Will that force me to turn the game off and sit patiently for Arc Raiders to potentially confirm that no, I just don’t like player-versus-player extraction games? Hell no. I’m going in for an eleventh run. I’m going to win for The Pope. Horrors of the islands, the looming threat of the witch, and my Jewish heritage be damned. (Not really, grandma!) For those of us who care, unlike Arc Raiders, there’s also no AI being used, as far as I can see!
