Game: Eko and the Bewitched Lands
Genre: Adventure, Action
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Windows (Steam))
Developer|Publisher: Twin Studios | REDDEER.GAMES
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: US $12.99 | UK £11.69 | EU € 12,99
Release Date: April 7th, 2026
Review code provided with many thanks to Reddeer.Games.
Eko and the Bewitched Lands – A Simple Adventure With Familiar Ideas
Sometimes a game catches your attention simply because it looks inviting. That was the case for me with Eko and the Bewitched Lands. The fantasy setting, colourful presentation, and promise of a roguelike action adventure made it feel like something that could be an enjoyable little discovery.
After spending time with it, my feelings landed somewhere in the middle. It’s a game that does a few things well, but it also struggles to stand out in a genre that already has a lot of competition. There’s a solid idea here, and at times it can be enjoyable, but it also feels like it could have used a bit more development and balancing to really shine. That said, there were still moments where I found myself having a good time with it.
A Quick Setup And Off You Go
The story wastes no time getting started. Eko, a young adventurer, finds himself in the middle of a crisis when a mysterious villain known as the Dark Queen kidnaps a princess. During the encounter, Eko gains magical powers from a crystal, which quickly sets him on a rescue mission through the Bewitched Lands.
That’s really all the story you need to get things moving. The game doesn’t dwell too much on narrative details and instead pushes players straight into the action. From there, you’re exploring areas, battling enemies, collecting upgrades, and gradually pushing further through the adventure.
A Roguelike Structure
The gameplay follows a fairly familiar roguelike structure. Each run sends Eko into a series of combat encounters and rooms filled with enemies. Defeat everything in your path, collect upgrades, and try to survive long enough to reach the boss waiting at the end.
If you fall during a run, you return to the main hub area where you can prepare for the next attempt. Depending on what you managed to collect during your previous run, you may upgrade weapons, buff your abilities and pass some meat to a vendor to unlock him in a future run. You gradually get stronger over time, making repeated attempts just a little easier.
Choosing Your Tools
Before starting a run, you can choose your preferred equipment. Eko can use different weapon styles, including melee attacks with a sword or ranged options like bows. Having that choice adds a bit of variety to the experience and lets players experiment with different approaches.
As you progress through a run you’ll occasionally unlock new buffs that offer upgrade choices. These usually add magical abilities like fire or lightning attacks that can enhance your combat options. It’s a familiar system, but it works well enough and gives the player some flexibility in how they tackle each attempt.
A Bit Of A Balancing Problem
Where the game struggles most is in its balancing. During my first run, I was defeated extremely quickly. Enemies felt quite aggressive early on, and it took a while before I had enough upgrades to properly fight back. Once I started unlocking improvements, however, the balance swung in the opposite direction. Suddenly, I was able to defeat enemies very easily, cutting through rooms with very little resistance.
This shift makes the progression feel a little uneven. A few adjustments to difficulty and enemy behaviour would likely make the experience feel smoother overall.
Combat And Exploration
Combat itself is straightforward. You attack, dodge incoming strikes, and try to position yourself carefully while enemies close in from different directions. The controls are responsive enough, though there isn’t a huge amount of depth to the system.
There are also a few environmental interactions, such as destroying parts of the environment with bombs to reveal secrets or hidden items.
Boss battles appear at the end of each major area, and these encounters rely on learning attack patterns before striking at the right moment. They’re functional, but nothing hugely special either.
A Nice Fantasy Setting
One area where the game does well is its visual presentation. The world of the Bewitched Lands has a bright fantasy look, starting in mysterious forests before moving into areas like fiery volcanic regions filled with lava and new enemy types.
The creature designs often feel inspired by folklore, which gives the environments a slightly magical atmosphere. Some enemy designs are a little unusual; one creature even reminded me of a gecko-like monster, but overall, the visual style works nicely.
The soundtrack also fits the setting well, though I did notice that the music can sometimes overpower the sound effects. A little adjustment in audio balance would help here.
A Few Technical Rough Edges
During my time with the game, I also noticed a few technical hiccups. None of them completely broke the experience, but they were noticeable. At one point, the game skipped forward to the next level unexpectedly, and occasionally, some sounds seemed to cut out during gameplay. These sorts of issues could likely be addressed with updates, but they do stand out during longer play sessions.
Conclusion: A Walk in the Woods
Eko and the Bewitched Lands is a straightforward roguelike action game with a pleasant fantasy setting and simple pick-up-and-play gameplay.
It doesn’t bring many new ideas to the genre, and its balancing and technical issues hold it back from reaching its full potential. With a bit more depth in its upgrade systems and some tweaks to difficulty, it could have become something much stronger.
Even so, there’s still a certain appeal here. The setting is enjoyable, the gameplay loop is easy to understand, and sometimes that familiarity can be exactly what players are looking for.
It may not stand at the top of the roguelike genre, but if you’re after a simple action adventure to dip into now and then, Eko and the Bewitched Lands can still offer a few entertaining evenings, especially if you catch it during a sale.
Final Verdict: I Like it 
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