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A cozy, creepy crafting game you should play in the dark

4K View2024-02-14

Wytchwood

7.5

CraftingRPGCasualAdventureFantasySingleplayerMagicExploration

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SHOULD I PLAY WYTCHWOOD ON MOBILE?

Definitely check it out if you haven’t already played it on other platforms. Wytchwood is a cozy crafting game with some seriously spooky vibes. I tested the game on iPhone and Android, and both versions ran perfectly. Moving around and navigating menus is a breeze, and the colorful, creepy visuals look absolutely stunning. It’s the perfect game to play on a dark, stormy night.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve spent around four hours playing Wytchwood, which has given me the chance to craft a wide assortment of items and explore many different regions, including a fairy-filled forest, a gloomy swamp, and a military camp. The total runtime for the game is around twelve hours, so I’ve still got lots of adventures ahead of me.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT WYTCHWOOD ON MOBILE?

• Gorgeous storybook visuals. Wytchwood looks like a vivid gothic fairytale. There are strange, beguiling details scattered through the map, like tree branches that resemble humans and the skeleton of a giant beast. The monster and character designs are nothing short of spectacular. Whether I was fighting a living tree, calming down a cranky dog, or chatting with a weepy woman by a creek, this game was a visual feast.

• An incredibly atmospheric soundtrack. Wytchwood isn’t just easy on the eyes; it’s also filled with amazing music. These tunes helped set the stage for each area I visited, making every section of the map feel distinct. Mournful banjo music played as I trudged through the murky swamp. A foreboding melody started to play as I climbed down a deep, dark well. The moody soundtrack made the world feel vibrant and alive, and it also made exploring a ton of fun.

• Fantastic story. Wytchwood tells the tale of an old crone gathering souls for a goat that may or not be the devil. It’s a solid setup, but what really makes it shine are the smaller stories within the larger narrative. Every character I encountered, from the military general that was a literal bear, to the happy-go-lucky vegetable farmer, had their own story to tell. None of the quests felt padded or unnecessary, and I was always excited when I found a new character to talk to.

• Puzzle-like crafting quests. There are a ton of crafting recipes in Wytchwood, but this isn’t just a game about making stuff. At its core, it feels like a puzzle. If I needed a particular item for a recipe, like a dryad heart or frog slime, I had to figure out the best way to find what I needed. It’s a fun approach to crafting, but thankfully, Wytchwood never makes it too hard to work out a solution. When I was stumped, I could use a special ability called Witch Eye to unlock new crafting recipes and get some hints that would point me in the right direction.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT WYTCHWOOD ON MOBILE?

• Too much backtracking. At first, I loved running around in Wytchwood and searching for crafting items, but my enthusiasm started to dampen when I found myself constantly running back and forth between the same few areas. Crafting got more complex as I progressed through the game, and I got to the point where I had to make several different items to complete a recipe. The ingredients for these were scattered all over the map, so I constantly found myself backtracking to get the things I needed.

Technically, Wytchwood does have a fast travel system, but it’s pretty limited, and it doesn’t do a lot to solve this problem. As an example, a large number of recipes require water. To gather water, I needed to craft an empty jar, which requires clay and campfire embers. Once I had my jar, I had to visit the well to fill it up. It wasn’t a big deal the first few times, but it got pretty annoying when I had to go through the same steps over and over again. There’s no inventory limit, so I was able to limit backtracking by loading up on ingredients at every location, but it’s still frustrating.