Inside the mysteries of upcoming grimdark roguelite Witchfire
June 8, 2023“I genuinely don’t think anyone outside the studio understands what Witchfire really is. That’s expected, we’re not really showing a lot, are we? But that will change soon and I think people might be surprised with what they’ll see.”
Adrian Chmielarz, creative director at and co-founder of The Astronauts, hopes that the new trailer for Witchfire that hit tonight during the Summer Game Fest will be part of that journey of discovery.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still a dark fantasy first-person shooter with guns and magic. But I think the way we went about it is relatively unique. Hopefully, we chose wisely, and players will like it. We’ll see soon enough, September 20 is not that far away.”
Where the last few trailers for Witchfire were very combat focused, the Summer Game Fest trailer shown tonight starts off a bit slower in a bid to underscore some of the more explorative moments of the game.
“I think (the last few trailers) gave the wrong impression that Witchfire is a non-stop action fest,” Chmielarz said. “It is not. Sure, some fights will be incredibly intense, but there are also periods of quiet exploration, planning, thinking. It is much closer to Souls in that regard rather than, say, Doom.”
In the trailer’s opening seconds, we see more of the landscape and settings for the game then enemies or battle. But that changes halfway in, with the trailer showing off a mix of enemies and frenetic combat as “the witch hunt begins.” The trailer wraps up with news that the game launches in Early Access on Sept. 20.
It’s been a nearly seven-year journey for the team of ten developers at The Astronauts. Witchfire started life as a sci-fi survival title before evolving into the title it is today: a dark fantasy roguelite first-person shooter. In it, players take on the role of a Preyer, an immortal witch hunter crafted by the Church using pagan magic to hunt and kill an infamous witch with the help of a gun and spell.
That journey from sci-fi survival to grimdark shooter brought with it changes just as significant as its shift in setting, tone, and genre.
To read the rest of this story, which first ran on June 8, 2023, visit the Epic Games Store.
