Witchspire Early Access is Not the Cozy Witch Survival You'd Expect

Throughout my expansive catalog of interests and jinks, I've dabbled casually in the cozy genre of gaming. Not anything hardcore, of course, but if it's flamboyant or aesthetically pleasing enough on the surface, curiosity gets the best of me.

And that it did with Witchspire, an open-world survival adventure game where you control your very own witch as you grow your own sanctuary, raise various spiritual creatures, and just explore a lawless yet vibrant world alone or with a group of three other players.

As much as it looks pleasing to play, and while I credit Envar Games for the effort they're putting in the early access reveal, there's quite a bit here that drags down the experience, even if you'll have a friend or two by your side. But hey, enough stirring the cauldron like a witch.

Beginning Your Spellbinding Journey

The Chosen One (that's you) is awakened and reborn anew in a mystical realm called The Dream Between Worlds. And under the guidance of the elusive authority that is Witchspire, we must seek beyond this world and unravel the whereabouts of the past and any remnants of our predecessors. Hope you enjoyed my little storytelling book-like narration there, because that's pretty much all that this game throws at you to give you a contextual footing in the world.

Although you still have tidbits of lore scattered at points of interest across the world, much of Witchspire's true finesse and selling point lies in its gameplay systems. But hey, if you're still looking to add a bit of immersion, there's that opening character customization, though some parts of it are vaguer than I anticipated.

What I mean by that is how you're given six of these origins, or rather, magical school starting points for your character, and none of them actually do anything other than have a delusional personal flair. The only differences are a couple of them having either a wand or a spellblade as their starting weapon, and the outfits being different colors, obviously.

Each school/guild has such an aura-heavy name like The Tomekeepers and The Nightscribes, so surely you'd expect something akin to almost like the Houses' system from Harry Potter, but in actuality, it barely matters. I'll cut the game some slack, given the scale and all, but I firmly believe this is something the developers can add upon in future versions or releases.

Once you're done finalizing your cutesy little witch, there's a brief tutorial section in The Dream Between Worlds where you get introduced to your pet Familiar, the overall controls, and then it's off to the world for that sweet opening shot of the world like you're booting up Breath of the Wild for the first time.

Casting a Strong First Spell

Witchspire's main specialty is the survival adventure elements, plus the creature collector with the Familiars. But all of these are relatively simple, making the experience as cozy and comforting as possible. In The Dream Between Worlds, you'll get to pick your first Familiar companion among the available ones. These can help you in battle and can act as automation for certain crafting features at your base.

All the familiars and other obtainable creatures that you encounter out in the world have two different abilities that you can command, as well as their own distinctive affinities. Don't think too hard about which one to pick in the tutorial section as if you're choosing your first starter Pokémon—after all, you'll get plenty more to hunt and possibly capture later on. Plus, you'll be able to carry around three different ones to choose which one you want active at all times whilst exploring.

Besides these cuddly little beasties that won't pose a threat unless provoked, the world is still teeming with hostile threats from ancient mechanical-like structures to Frogoblins. Combat is pretty self-explanatory, where you can either wield your spellblade for melee-oriented attacks or damage from afar using your spellcaster wand. You'll have to juggle between them anyway, since some major enemy battles can tend to keep you at range via their splash AOE attacks.

In a mechanical sense, the game fits pretty comfortably despite the small scale. Both KBM and controller players can feasibly play between their desired setups. You've got your main inventory toolbar on the right, while your main backpack stash items can be rotated in and out whenever you please. Furthermore, both your individual Familiars and your character can be upgraded. The latter is via the Luminaries Tree, which gets slowly unveiled as you bolster your Hearth's level.

And for the base-building connoisseurs, there's a bit of a progression grind until the game gives you leeway to build your base around your hearth cauldron, but trust me, it's pretty well done. The core enjoyment factor of that will undoubtedly come via playing with your friends, but with how you can customize it with these minor yet adorable additions, it was still surprisingly enjoyable in solo, even after the awfully enduring climb to get there. More on this in a bit.

Another highlight that I'd like to mention is the server customization mechanic. You can play it your way here by being able to tune and adjust various parameters of the save game, from enemy damage, familiar damage, XP scaling, and even loot abundance. It's a fully welcoming aspect that accommodates any player, should they wish for the game to be less grindy or to be less of a drag to play. You're going to thank this thing for existing.

The Magic Wears Off Too Quickly

Despite the simple fundamentals the game will offer you in early access, it needs to be said that it all felt mildly frustrating. And just to clarify, this is all coming from someone who's admittedly apologetic or just laid-back with whatever video game he's willing to try out.

Witchspire's main quest progression and vague sense of discovery are some of the biggest drawbacks. Firstly, this game immediately needs a codex for all the resources, or at least an actual map. I'm totally on board for the compass map design and being able to lay out the world as I go, but having absolutely zero clue about where certain resources can be found or obtained is just pure idiocy to me.

Getting your bearings in the first few hours won't be an issue, since you can easily learn to craft the tree-chopping spell as well as the pickaxe used to mine the ore deposits. But some of the underlying sub-elements here, where you have to get an X flower or item to craft the main product, are just so miserable, especially when you're just trying to dabble through the main quest.

I mean, you don't even have access to the item descriptions unless they're in your inventory at that given moment. And this felt like a unifying sense throughout the game for me. I'm trying not to knock this game too hard for what it's simply trying to be, but the overall progression and the developers' guidelines could be significantly improved here. I say this with the utmost sincerity.

The easy-breezy gameplay elements and the whole fairytale witch presentation are all there as they should be, but even if you're soaring through the skies like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, there are so many cracks here that make the game end up feeling like an early prototype that's still a bit of a way out from even launching in early access. If you can still gloss over that and have a couple of friends join you, I'm sure most of these inconsistencies will feel invalidated instantly, but otherwise, don't expect too much depth here, at least for now.

Witchspire has plenty of charm but not enough substance to fully capitalize on it just yet. The cozy witch fantasy and the delightful Familiars accompanying you give it a foundation that's easy to appreciate, especially when shared with friends. However, frustrating progression, poor onboarding, and a lack of meaningful guidance constantly get in the way of that enjoyment. I just know Envar Games clearly has a vision worth rooting for, but right now, Witchspire feels less like a magical adventure to me and more like an early prototype. If you're willing to embrace the rough edges and growing pains of it in Early Access, there's some fun to be found here, but anyone hoping for a polished, spellbinding experience? Yeah, you may want to wait until they add a few more ingredients to the cauldron.