PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

PREVIEW

WITCHFIRE

This spooky shooter is about to pop off

Developer 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 MMO

Destiny 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 ASTRONAUTS

Above 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.”