Code provided thanks to Secret Sauce.
Witchspire – Get Your Witch on
I’ve played a fair few crafting and survival games over the years. You know the sort: gather wood, build a workbench, gather more wood, build a better workbench, repeat until you’ve accidentally become the mayor of a small village.
So when I first jumped into Witchspire, I expected something fairly familiar. In some ways, it is. The foundations of the genre are all here. You’ll gather resources, craft equipment, build a home, level up your character, and gradually unlock new abilities.
What surprised me, though, was how much personality Witchspire brings to that formula. Its magical setting, charming creature companions, and wonderfully inviting world help it stand out. After spending time with this early access build, I came away genuinely excited to see where it goes next.
A Witch’s Journey Begins
Like many fantasy adventures, your journey begins with creating your own witch. Character customisation is fairly modest at this stage, which is understandable given the game’s early access status. You can choose your appearance, eye colour, skin tone, gender, and select a magical house to align yourself with. Each comes with its own flavour and perks, giving your character a little identity right from the start. I went to the forest because I am one with the trees, you know.
The game then eases you into the experience through a structured tutorial. There’s a clear checklist of objectives, helpful markers showing where to go, and plenty of useful prompts explaining mechanics as they appear. Whether you’re familiar with crafting games or completely new to the genre, it’s easy to find your feet.
I primarily played using mouse and keyboard and found the controls straightforward enough. Controller support is still being improved, but it’s already clear the developers are working towards making both control methods feel comfortable.
The Stars of the Show: Familiars
One of my favourite features appeared early. Familiars. Not long after starting your adventure, you’ll be given the chance to choose a magical companion. There are four options available, each with their own unique look and abilities. Since there was no Otter, I chose what looked like a delightful cross between an owl and a cat that launches fireballs.
These little companions aren’t just decorative pets. They actively assist in combat, can be commanded during battles, and grow alongside your character. Each familiar has its own progression system, allowing you to customise their development over time. Perhaps the most impressive part is that you’ll eventually be able to collect multiple familiars and swap between them on the fly.
I became attached to my little fireball-flinging friend almost immediately. Any game that makes me worry about the wellbeing of a magical creature within minutes is doing something right.
Crafting With a Magical Twist
The crafting itself feels familiar but introduces a clever little twist. Rather than awkwardly trying to position your character while placing furniture or structures, Witchspire lets you enter an astral projection mode. Your spirit essentially floats freely around the building area, allowing you to place items far more comfortably.
It’s such a simple idea, but it makes building feel considerably smoother. From there you’ll create workstations, magical devices, storage solutions, teleport points, and eventually your own home. Creative players will likely build elaborate magical sanctuaries. Meanwhile, my witch ended up with a rather cosy shack and a small area for my familiar to relax in. We all have our talents.
A World Worth Exploring
While crafting is important, exploration quickly became my favourite part of the experience. The world of Witchspire feels enormous.
You’ll discover forests, coastlines, magical ruins, and a wide variety of environments filled with creatures to encounter and resources to gather. What I particularly liked was how the wildlife and enemies felt connected to the areas they inhabit.
A fiery woodland contained creatures that looked appropriately fiery and magical. Coastal regions featured shell-like monsters. These little details help make the world feel more cohesive. The game does guide you towards objectives when necessary, but it never feels restrictive. Some of my favourite moments came from simply wandering off in a random direction to see what I might discover.
Magic, Combat and Progression
Combat is accessible and enjoyable from the start. You start with a wand for range combat. But before long you can craft neat magical swords for close-quarters attacks. Additional wands and weapons can also be found in chests hidden around the world. Each weapon has a primary attack and special abilities. One ability I particularly enjoyed was the blink-style dodge, allowing you to quickly reposition and avoid incoming attacks.
As you progress, you’ll unlock additional powers and movement options through various progression systems. The skill trees appear substantial, and there’s plenty of room for character customisation. Eventually you can even ride your own broomstick. No witch adventure is quite complete without a ride on a broomstick.
Online co-op is available, but I focused on single player during my time with the game.
A Few Early Access Rough Edges
As promising as Witchspire is, it still feels very much like an early access game. The biggest issue I encountered was the pacing of combat during tougher encounters. Some enemies, particularly bosses, can feel too meaty, turning battles into lengthy exchanges rather than exciting magical duels.
The world is also huge, which is impressive, but there are moments where certain areas feel slightly sparse. The foundations are excellent, yet some regions could benefit from a few more surprises, activities, or points of interest to make exploration even more rewarding. These feel like issues that can be addressed over time. The framework is already strong.
Final Thoughts
Witchspire left a very positive first impression.
It takes familiar survival-crafting mechanics and wraps them in a wonderfully magical package filled with charm, exploration, and some genuinely adorable creature companions. The astral projection building system is clever, the familiars are fantastic, and the world already feels like somewhere I’d happily spend more time.
There’s still work to be done. Combat balancing could use some refinement, and parts of the world feel like they’re waiting for additional content. That’s the nature of early access, though, and the foundations here are incredibly encouraging. If you enjoy open-world crafting games, magical adventures, creature collecting, or simply like the idea of building a cosy witch sanctuary with a team of loyal familiars by your side, Witchspire is definitely worth keeping on your radar.
For an early access build, it’s already casting quite a spell.
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