Witchfire is So Damn Good

Screenshot: Witchfire

This probably won’t be the last I write about Witchfire this year. It’s just so damn good. If you told me a game was able to blend Dark Souls with first-person gunplay, I’d be horribly skeptical. But Witchfire not only pulls it off, I think saying it’s "Dark Souls with guns" undercuts just what developer The Astronauts has accomplished here.

Witchfire is a first-person shooter with roguelite elements and a bit of extraction shooter thrown in for good measure. In it, you play as a fearsome "Preyer" sent by the Vatican to take out a supremely powerful witch. This witch has control of a large area, warping native inhabitants to her dark whims. Practically speaking, that means lots of dangerous enemies that want to kill you. Luckily, the Vatican is prepared to send lots of interesting and powerful guns–some conventional, others less so.

Screenshot: Witchfire

Each time you leave your home base in Witchfire, it feels like a run in an extraction shooter. Go into an area, fight enemies, loot chests, and accumulate items. If you die, you risk losing it all. To keep your loot, you have to extract through one of the portals scattered across the map. As you defeat groups of enemies, you can choose new powers to level up your abilities for that specific run. With the right combination of Arcana and weapons, there is the potential for some devastating synergy.

The combat in Witchfire is sublime. The gunplay has that crisp, snap-to-target responsiveness of Destiny, but with weapons that sound and feel much weightier. Weapons and items can be upgraded, bestowing upon them some interesting and unique effects. As a weapon gets more powerful, it can add elemental damage and unique abilities to mix things up and inflict maximum damage to the witch’s army of minions. The movement also feels great, with a dodge mechanic that feels like second nature to this Warhammer 40,000: Darktide veteran.

Screenshot: Witchfire

Witchfire’s gameloop requires you to replay the same levels multiple times as you uncover more secrets and extract more loot. This can be seen as grindy for some, but the gunplay is done so well I found myself replaying it gleefully. But as you play and unlock new knowledge and abilities, the witch becomes more powerful in response, with new hazards and enemy types being thrown in to change the stakes.

While it has great gunplay, it also has fantastic production value. It’s extremely sleek and atmospheric. The world of Witchfire is genuinely terrifying; even as an immortal Preyer, I felt like an interloper in this dangerous world. The sound design is also top-notch, from the boom of guns to the creak of a rope or the growl of a distant threat–everything just sounds visceral.

Screenshot: Witchfire

This extends to the enemy design, too. From rotting musketeers in tattered uniforms to grenadiers with rusted, heavy weaponry. They don't just shamble toward you like generic zombies–they have distinct silhouettes and tactical behaviors that force you to prioritize targets. 

Witchfire is still in Early Access, but it should be going into full 1.0 release sometime this year.

For an Early Access game, it’s fantastic. According to their Steam store page’s information box, the game was about 75% complete in September of 2025–and there has been at least one other major content release since then, in December of last year. They plan on launching 1.0 in the middle of this year–and it looks like they’re on track to do that.

That means if you’re waiting for Witchfire to hit 1.0 before you finally get into it, your wait shouldn’t be much longer. Unless you’re waiting for a console version, which is planned but currently has no announced release date.