Would you battle fearsome monsters for a selfmade strawberry pie? If that’s the case, you’re in good firm. WitchSpring R is a whimsical, story-driven RPG that follows the story of Pieberry, a proficient younger witch who’s grown up within the woods by herself.
Because the title would possibly counsel, Pieberry is a giant fan of pies. And strawberries. The story begins off calmly sufficient, with Pieberry trying to go away her magical forest dwelling to trace down a strawberry pie just like the one she ate as a baby, all whereas attempting to know why she was seemingly deserted by her mother and father. It spirals from there, with an enormous world and vibrant roster of characters, starting from pudding monsters and lightning lions to witch hunters and celestial beings. It’s a narrative-driven expertise, however the gameplay switches from turn-based fight to enjoyable puzzles rapidly.
WitchSpring R is split into seven completely different chapters, with a number of issue choices on supply and the flexibility to create a New Sport Plus save file after finishing the preliminary run. Our playthrough took roughly 22 hours general, though we skipped a number of additional puzzles, unlockables, and pets, focusing purely on the principle story.
The story is undoubtedly top-of-the-line issues about WitchSpring R. It dances between lightness and darkness completely, providing characters with loads of depth and a stable tempo that’ll hold you hooked till the tip. It’s just a little tacky at occasions however it’s a heartwarming story with characters which have loads of depth and goal behind them.
Apart from the narrative, one of many fast strengths to spotlight is the satisfying sense of development. As you’d anticipate, Pieberry will get noticeably stronger as you make your means by means of the sport, with loads of alternatives to coach, strengthen abilities, and enhance her weapons.
Actually, the sport punishes you considerably for not coaching and boosting Pieberry’s skills. It’s attainable to hurry by means of fights under-levelled, however it’s not beneficial, particularly if you happen to’re newer to turn-based gameplay. The fight is immensely enjoyable and feels impactful, however it will also be difficult. Not increase Pieberry will result in some bitterly troublesome fight encounters, whereas having the proper construct, pets, and weapons could make it a stroll within the park. At a sure level, you acquire the flexibility to summon missiles on high of her opponents, due to a vital ally.
Pets and summons are notably vital throughout fight. Pieberry has the flexibility to mind-control creatures within the overworld, primarily catching them like Pokémon. Having the proper critters by your aspect could make boss fights way more enjoyable, they usually can supply different perks like appearing as a mount outdoors of fight or restoring assets in a pinch.
Talking of bosses, enemy design felt extremely refreshing right here. Whereas there was normal fantasy fodder dotted all through the sport, there have been some genuinely putting character designs that felt like recent takes for the style. Each enemy dropped gadgets that tied into its design and placement, making every battle really feel well-planned and considerate.
You’ll be doing a good quantity of useful resource farming throughout your time with WitchSpring R, as there’s a huge crafting system which lets you improve weapons, make consumables, and construct battle equipment. Crafting feels clean and environment friendly, with an interface that’s just a little overwhelming at first however straightforward when you become familiar with it.
Small quality-of-life options are in place to assist make farming extra nice, too. It’s attainable to stroll round fights you don’t need to have interaction with, and also you’ll be capable of auto-battle any critters in low-level areas that you simply’ve defeated earlier than.
Alongside crafting and farming, there’s a coaching system which helps Pieberry enhance her stats by means of minigames. There are a number of different minigames and puzzles all through the world alongside the coaching video games, and for essentially the most half, they’re enjoyable – the exception being Blacksmithing, which felt ridiculously clunky and misplaced on the Swap.
In case you’re a fan of secret-hunting and exploration, you’ll be rewarded for doing so right here. There are a number of missable gadgets, weapons, and pets all through the world, which means that spending a number of additional minutes in a location could be extremely profitable.
Whereas this recreation supplied a fascinating world with loads of chew, there have been some points which are price going over. The efficiency was respectable sufficient for essentially the most half, trying nice in each handheld and docked mode, however there have been minor graphical quirks and glitches. One notably prevalent one was Pieberry coming out of existence after teleporting. Her weapon would stay in body, however she’d be gone from sight – even in cutscenes. This may repair itself after going to a different zone, however it made navigating just a little tough. This occurred a complete of 5 occasions throughout our 22-hour playthrough.
On high of this, we noticed some texture points and lighting quirks, together with a bit of typos and grammar errors. These points weren’t obtrusive by any means, however typos in an emotional monologue or fierce confrontation could be disappointing and immersion-breaking.
Ignoring these graphical points and the vanishing predominant character, this recreation may be very satisfying. The story is wealthy and immersive, the characters felt soulful, and the world itself is a delight to discover, with a stable mixture of gameplay kinds, starting from tough battles and boss fights to intricate puzzles and light-hearted investigations.
Conclusion
In case you’re prepared to look previous a handful of typos and a few pretty vital visible points, WitchSpring R is a good instance of turn-based fight with a robust story to again it up. It’s whimsical and enchanting, and also you gained’t be capable of predict the way it all ends. On high of this, the NG+ possibility provides it an additional splash of replayability for gamers who like a problem. That being mentioned, the visible quirks do take a toll on the rating right here. Whereas they weren’t game-breaking, having the principle character come out of existence throughout essential cutscenes was irritating, and it did have an effect on our general expertise.
