A Somewhat Long Winded Feedback Post.
Introduction -
Buckle up cause this may be a long one. I have been following this game since it was first teased and I am one of the day one adopters. I’ve played through all of the available content four times now over the years (always starting with Penitent cause I’ve always felt this was the "Correct" narrative move.) I’ve read all the dev diaries as they come out and following along with the process of this game has been a total treat. This is also the first extensive feedback post I’ve ever felt compelled to write up directly to a developer. This is because, even at this stage, Witchfire is one of my favorite games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. So, the reason for my post is that now that we are so close to the final release I have some suggestions that I believe can take this game from an amazing game to something that can propel Witchfire into one of the all time greats.
This preface is important because without it this post may seem overly nitpicky and that is in no way my intention.
Quality of Life Changes:
Item Selection: I think it would go a long way if in the item selection area the items showed their background upgrade colors so you know which ones haven’t been fully leveled yet. Just a little quality of life thing.
Testing Area Item Selection: Add a way to swap weapons/spells in the testing area so you don’t have to run back and forth. The streamers would definitely at least thank you.
Herbalist Brew: I know the herbs have a slightly brighter green color on the map over the shrooms but maybe change that to a different color altogether. Also, some people are red/green color blind which I bet is a nightmare for them.
Build Sets: I am no way the first person to say this but being able to create build tabs would be really nice and save all the running around.
Mechanics:
Torment IV: This starting the map on max corruption is way too hard in comparison to other torments. The only way I found to complete it was to do it on Witch Mountain via the Labyrinth.
Monkey’s Paw: Basically I don’t really understand the reason this item exists. Or rather I don’t know when I would want to use it. Maybe I’m missing something?
Henbane and the Wellspring incense: This is probably my most hot take but I think these should be removed from the game as options and integrated into the overall system at a lessened rate. Enemies are their most dangerous when they dogpile you and you die out of nowhere. You accidently back into a weird tree or wall and BAM. This makes Henbane and more importantly the Wellspring incenses damn near unswappable, especially at the higher Gnosis level and Torments.
This has a ripple effect through many of the systems in the game. It makes much of the herb gathering unimportant other than Angelica which is at a premium. More importantly, it takes away the build variety. Also, before someone jumps down my throat yes I have tried a bunch of others and other than Shield builds (which you want the Bulwark which also takes Angelica funny enough) the others just don’t hold up and I end up feeling way less powerful.
My proposal is to get rid of these and add a lesser version into the general mechanics of the game. Manifestations could add some amount to your max health as a default could go a long way by itself to making these two seeming less necessary. If you are worried how this would affect the early game runs this could only go into effect in say Gnosis 3 on.
A similar thing could be done in potion healing speed for henbane if they changed the breakers in the stat lines as well.
Madness:
Madness is a main theme in Witchfire. Right now it feels like a somewhat weak mechanic and I think it could be overhauled to really add a bunch to the experience. It could also be used as a way to further make the witch a character and not some amorphous baddy at the top of a spooky mountain. Fighting the witch should be more than just a physical fight but a fight for our very minds.
The Madness Meter: The madness meter right now is one of the weakest mechanics of the game but I think it could be one of the greatest if you lean all the way in. Also make that meter a little smaller. It's pretty huge right now. Currently it is just a meter that you don’t want to fill all the way or it will start to damage you. Instead I propose it should instead affect your experience the more full it gets. Think Eternal Darkness style effects.
Tying these effects to certain areas or enemies would further the immersion.
For example the longer you stare at an Attercop’s madness ball you might sporadically see small spiders crawling on your character to a point where he might try to shake them off or at the very end they might be on your screen.
These could be general as well like adding fake enemy markers on your mini map, more audio effects like the Witch whispering in your ear that you are gonna fail ect. Frankly I could go on and on with these and I am really interested to see what people could come up with.
Most importantly for me this is a great way for the Witch to become more of a character. In the beginning she could taunt you then she could whisper how you're not good enough and then eventually when you get close to the end of Witch Mountain she could even plead or try and bargain.
Calamities: The best introduction for a calamity is the spider one by far! The tons of little spiders crawling towards you adds so much to ratchet up tension and is just creepy. So add more profound effects like this to all the Calamity intros. Let us hear the sailors laugh and taunt us! Make frost grow on everything when we are gonna be hit by those frost zombie bastards.
Tie Madness to The Familiars: If the madness mechanic changes from a damage mechanic to a more psychological one. I would then add unique ones to each of the Familiars to further cement the narrative and make the fights themselves more individualistic.
Conclusion:
I planned on writing another section on narrative but frankly this one is already pretty long and that might be a bridge too far time wise to keep people engaged. That said, depending on how this post goes. I’m pretty new to this sort of thing. I may be inclined to make a separate one just for that subject. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.
