PREVIEW
WITCHFIRE
This spooky shooter is about to pop offDeveloper The Astronauts admits
it’s drawing from the same pool of
inspiration as FromSoftware’s Souls
series. However, while it may be asking
many of the same questions (such as ‘How do
you like your punishment?’), it’s coming up with
different answers for this dark fantasy shooter.What will feel familiar to soulsborne fans are an
indirect approach to storytelling, and action that
presents a challenge yet remains fair. Studio head
Adrian Chmielarz clarified in a recent development
blog post, “There will be soulsborne-like sections
in the game that rely on your mastery of the
encounters but a lot of the game will be dynamic
and require the mastery of the mechanics.”A SHOT IN THE DARK
And you’ve got an impressive armoury if you’re in
the mood to improvise – after all, the witch of the
title is repurposing all sorts of unfortunate souls to
defend her realm. Rather than studying the blade,
you’re taking up arms. Aesthetically the tools of your
trade owe more to gaslamp fantasy than World War
2, but the actual gunplay draws on more modern
sources of inspiration, with space wizard MMODestiny having influenced a lot of
early development.
The Astronauts has teased that
you’ll have more in your arsenal
besides the usual evasive dash, melee
attacks, and your hand cannon. The
magic system, in particular, piques
our interest. We’re told this is still
in active development but that we’ll
need to think carefully before popping
off a spell. Chmielarz explains: “You
need to predict enemy movements and
visualise the 3D path of destruction in
your mind.” We’re told you won’t have
it all at your fingertips the whole time
and “you’ll have to make some tough
choices when going for a hunt.”
But you can’t light the beacons yet.
The Astronauts is a small company
and it’s still early days for its dark
fantasy vision. However, faced with
a world that feels like it was drawn
by Arthur Rackham and creatures
that seem straight out of a Guillermo
del Toro film, we’re already keen to
explore the witch’s realm ourselves.FORMAT PS4 / ETA TBC / PUB TBC / DEV THE ASTRONAUTSAbove While spooky and
macabre in places, Witchfire
won’t be a fright-fest –
though it will get your
adrenaline pumping.The Astronauts chose a dark
fantasy feel as modern and
sci-fi settings are common
in the shooter genre.
“YOU NEED TO [...]
VISUALISE THE 3D
PATH OF DESTRUCTION
IN YOUR MIND.”