These days, the mobile gaming industry is heavily leaning towards multiplayer games. Whether it's city building games, strategy games, mobas, or even casual card games, each one has one thing in common: multiplayer. Even so, while most games meet this standard of competitive multiplayer play in one form or another, there are also titles focused on a memorable one-player experience. One of those games is Witcheye, a retro-style platformer with pretty unique and unorthodox gameplay mechanics.
Development and reception
Witcheye was published by Devolver Digital, a company well known for publishing indie games. This company was founded in 2009 and since then it has released some very well known games including several titles from Serious Sam, Hotline Miami, Shadow Warrior and many more. Witcheye, their most recent title, was released for Android and iOS on August 15, 2019. For now (August 20), On Google Play, Witcheye has over 1000 installations and an average rating of 4.6 stars with 80+ ratings. On the App Store, Witcheye currently has a score of 4.7 with over 30 comments. It's also worth mentioning that Witcheye is a paid game and currently costs $ 2,99 at both stores. If you consider the fact that this game has to offer over 50+ levels, with a ton of replay value, it's definitely worth its money.
story
Witcheye's story is pretty straightforward and straightforward. The wise wizard Senexis has sent a brave knight to retrieve the treasures of the witch Mabel who lives above the deepest ocean in a cave in a dark forest. In return, the wizard promises to bestow great power on the knight, who boldly accepts this quest and heads for the witch's lair. After locating her, the knight steals the treasures and ingredients of the witch and, furious at this fact, she sets out on a mission to follow him and recover his property. Using her cunning magic, the witch transforms into a flying eyeball and the adventure begins.
gameplay
Witcheye is classified as a platform game but is nothing like the usual platform games. The gameplay of Witcheye is very simple and easy to understand. You can control the floating eye by swiping anywhere on the screen. By doing this, the eye will fly in the direction of the scan. In flight, interaction with any obstacle will bounce the eye. You can prevent the eye from moving just by tapping anywhere on the screen, which will keep it still until you slide the screen to move it again.
As you play, you will come across different enemies, each with different abilities and weaknesses. Usually, you take out enemies simply by colliding with them. However, you still need to be aware of their abilities to do so. For example, some candle-like enemies will be able to set themselves on fire and colliding with them will deal damage to you. You will therefore have to wait until their fire goes out before putting them out.
Also, it should be noted that some levels contain boss type enemies. These are much harder than normal enemies and they have a much wider range of moves and special abilities, and some of them can be quite difficult. Fortunately, just about all bosses are pretty well designed, and in most cases it's clear that you have an opening to attack and need to dodge their abilities. In general, there is a learning curve for each of the chefs, but it won't take you long to figure them out.
Apart from that, each level contains a number of treasures that you can collect. There is an indicator at the bottom right of the screen, which makes it easy for you to track how many treasures you collect in each level. Some of these enemies will fall from certain enemies that you defeat, while others will be well hidden. You will therefore have to watch them.
Graphic
Witcheye's graphics are very retro. Everything is pixelated and the overall feel of the game is identical to that of old school 8-bit titles. It's still a good thing and it gives Witcheye a special feeling. Despite being pixelated, the graphics are remarkably well done and nicely detailed while maintaining that retro vibe. Also, the effects and animations complement this retro feel perfectly, which is an added bonus. If you love to play old school retro games, you will definitely love Witcheye's art style.
Atmosphere
This is one of the most important things about Witcheye. Once you enter the game world, you will instantly get hooked and feel the urge to progress through the levels. Also, the feeling of accomplishment when you complete the level with all the collected treasures is really good, and the developers really nailed it. Even if you run out of treasures, you will be able to replay the levels, and since most of them are quite short, it won't feel too frustrating or boring.
The Witcheye soundtrack is very well done. You'll instantly notice that while the music has that retro vibe, the soundtrack quality is way higher than 8-bit, which is understandable, and that's a good thing, to be honest. Sound effects and music fit in beautifully with all of the pixel art, and you'll probably find it quite enjoyable.
Verdict
Overall, Witcheye is an amazing platform game that stands out very well from typical platform games. If you like platform games, or if you are a fan of retro games, or just want to try something new and different, you should try it. It will give you many hours of fun and entertainment, and considering the price tag of $ 2,99, this is a real bargain. Well done to the developers for making this one, well done!
Graphics 7
Gameplay 8
