Image credit: CitalesGames / Perp Games
Do you like difficult games? Are you sure? If you’re a fan of getting punched in the face by pixels, you’re going to have a blast with the demo for Witch the Showdown.
Combining elements of rhythm games, deck-builders, and Soulslikes, this game is fast-paced, fiendish, and a hell of a lot of fun. I dug into the demo for Witch the Showdown and fell in love with it – despite losing viciously in my first hour or so with the game.
Genre-hopping goodness
With an anime art style and magical tournament setting, Witch the Showdown is a unique addition to the world of indie games.
It combines elements of parry-based Soulslike combat, strategic deck-building, and fast-paced rhythm gameplay, all bundled up to make a lightning-fast play style. It’s a unique mix of genres, and I found it compelling.
In Witch the Showdown, you battle against foes in a tournament – either other witches or mythical beings – using a deck of magical cards to deal damage. You’ll need to dodge and parry every attack that said foe throws your way, all to build up mana to spend on your own attacks.
There’s an elemental system to Witch the Showdown, with the majority of spells having an elemental affinity like lightning or fire.
Successfully attacking with several spells of the same elemental affinity in short succession will trigger a chain reaction of sorts, each producing its own benefit; ice bursts lead to automatic parrying, for example, which is a lifesaver for the game’s speedy style of play.
Each enemy that you’ll face off against in Witch the Showdown has their own playstyle, with some foes preferring slow but deadly melee attacks, and others preferring to stay at range for quicker combos. Every enemy has their own attack pattern to memorize, adding plenty of replay value.
On top of this, there are two key game modes on offer, too. It’s possible to build your own deck to use in the Tournament Mode, adding some extra strategy into the mix, or use pre-mades in the Duel Mode. I found the Duel Mode more fun in the demo, but I can see Tournament Mode being more fulfilling in the full release.
Play with headphones or don’t play at all
Something worth highlighting is the sheer speed of matches in Witch the Showdown. Enemies attack quickly in this game, and as one of the game’s end-of-match advice boxes notes, you won’t have time to read your cards in a match, so it’s important to read them beforehand.
This will likely be divisive for some players. I eventually found the demo rewarding, as I love parry-based games like Nine Sols, but I’d be lying if I said it was easy.
There’s a steep learning curve here, and missing one parry likely means you’ll miss the next four and promptly get folded into the concrete. It’s a lot of fun when you nail the timing, and it’s likely that rhythm game fans will have more luck with this than I did, but it is a tricky game to get the hang of.
This is a game where playing with the volume up is absolutely essential, which may pose accessibility issues.
The audio cues for an incoming attack were a lot more obvious than the visual cues, meaning you’re going to need to play with headphones or turn the volume up on your PC if you want to make any progress. It’d be great to see the option to add stronger visual cues as a toggle.
Aesthetically, Witch the Showdown looked decent, with a stylized, anime-inspired aesthetic. The characters became more interesting to me once I realized there was an in-game manga option to learn about their backstories, which is something I’d love to see in other games.
Performance-wise, the demo ran well and didn’t throw up any major issues. It ran smoothly on my PC and, after some practice, the controls felt intuitive in combat.
I can see Witch the Showdown going down well with rhythm game fans or fellow fans of Nine Sols, LOVE ETERNAL, or Silksong; they’re not identical in playstyle, of course, but they require a similar level of precision to get the most out of the game.
While the playstyle and fast speed of the game may be off-putting to some, for others, this will be a delightful experience. I had a blast during the demo and will keep an eye out for the full release.
FAQs
Witch the Showdown is a rhythm deck-builder with Soulslike parry-based combat.
Witch the Showdown was developed by CitalesGames and published by Perp Games.
Yes, Witch the Showdown is a difficult game, and you’ll need some practice to master the controls.
Based on the game’s Steam page, a full release of Witch the Showdown has not been confirmed yet.
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