Unwind in the world of Wytchwood!
Looking for a new game to help you unwind and destress at the end of a long day? Let me convince you why you should play Wytchwood next.
I consider myself a “novice ” gamer. I bought my Switch in March of 2020 in the initial panic of the pandemic — and I’m so glad I did. It’s been so fun exploring new games and stumbling across ones that I really love. Then I found Wytchwood, recommended to me by my colleague, here at SteelSeries. She told me just enough to pique my curiosity and get me to buy it. I was captivated by this game so quickly because I found the music, the sounds, the gameplay both relaxing and enchanting. All those elements helped me unwind and destress at the end of the day.
The Vibes
One of the first things that drew me into Wytchwood was the music in the title screen. The soft soundscape throughout this game immerse you deeper into the world I’m exploring. The first area is the forest. As I wander around, picking up sticks, mushrooms, and other potion ingredients, I hear the leaves crunch beneath my feet, birds and squirrels running around, soon to be caught in a snare trap, and other sounds of the forest. On top of all that, the distinct art style of Wytchwood makes me feel like I’m a part of a story book.
The Wytch’s Cauldron
Wytchwood is a crafting game at heart — I had never really played a game like this before, so it took me a while to figure out this style of gameplay. You pick up your old recipe book, the Grimoire, right away, but all your recipes have been eaten by the Goat you are indebted to. Your Witch’s Eye helps unlock recipes (Pro tip: Use the Witch’s Eye” as much as you can early on. It will help you unlock recipes you need to progress the game as well as defeat the few enemies you come up against).
If you like collecting items, Wytchwood will be right up your alley. Every task within the stories you are unraveling requires crafting — sometimes even multiple layers! This prolongs the gameplay and gives plenty of opportunities to explore. Initially, having to collect all these things felt tedious, but as I kept playing, it grew into my favorite part of the game. It makes you slow down and chip away at each story because some ingredients require additional adventuring to new areas.
Like a Storybook
Once I figured out the basic game mechanics and pulled away from picking up every item I could find, I started to get into the stories. I meet The Goat in the beginning of the game, who reminds me of the “contract” I signed with him. I need to collect the souls of 12 individuals throughout the game. Once you enter the right area and engage with the right character, the screen turns into storytelling mode.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this — I enjoy cut scenes and seeing the events actually play out in front of me. Wytchwood handles cut scenes differently. The dialogue is written almost like a book — which makes sense because this is a game full of dark fairy tales – which immersed me even more into the game.
For example, when you leave your hut for the first time, the dialogue starts: “You step outside into a humid marsh and immediately stub your toe on a twisted root.” This aspect really started to make this feel like an interactive book at times – which I enjoyed immensely. Wytchwood drew me in with its evocative storytelling and unique, relaxing charm.
The charming world of Wytchwood captivated me like few other games. I’ve heard people ask, “if you could play a game again for the first time, what would it be?” I think I finally have my answer to that — Wytchwood. To have a game hold all of my attention and be so immersed that I can’t even remember what was stressing me out in the first place? Sign me up! Here’s to hoping there is a Wytchwood 2 in the works!
