I love the great outdoors. Working in games media means it’s easy to be cooped up all day, so I make a point of getting out and going for a walk somewhere, anywhere, once a day. Sometimes I explore a park, sometimes I walk through a city, sometimes I just stroll as far as the shop next door to grab a cup of coffee. Regardless, I get out and enjoy the beautiful scenery Ireland has to offer.
So, you’d think that among the countless survival games that get you closer to nature than you’d probably ever want, one might finally click with me. But none ever have—until *Witchspire*.
### Not Just Surviving—Thriving
*Witchspire* might finally be the survival game that hooks me. Instead of focusing on surviving, it emphasizes thriving. By downplaying the survival aspect typical of the open-world survival genre, the game feels more like open-world living. That’s quite refreshing when you’re inhabiting a magical world where you collect the spirits of monsters to fight alongside you as familiars.
There are definitely survival elements—you’ll be cutting down trees to build your homestead—but *Witchspire* massively streamlines these tasks with the help of its magical backdrop. Instead of punching a tree ten times until it falls, you have magic that lets you toss ethereal axes at multiple trees, speeding up the process. What’s more, if you accidentally cause a little deforestation while gathering wood, you can instantly regrow trees with a simple spell.
### Streamlined Building and Exploration
The game’s enchanting setting allows the developers to play with genre conventions and make building your home much easier. A common frustration in survival games is seeing the elaborate bases high-level players create but struggling to build anything close to that yourself. Construction in first or third person often feels finicky and cumbersome.
*Witchspire* solves this by allowing you to take a more aerial view and astrally project your soul while you build. This gives you a comprehensive, top-down perspective, making it easier to place and design your structures.
Envar Games, the developers, explained that their approach was to create a “streamlined survival game,” where the world feels less hostile at the start. For example, when you load into the open world, there are no energy, hunger, or thirst meters to manage.
### Making the Good Stuff More Accessible
While *Witchspire* eases you into the game without punishing survival mechanics early on, this design choice helps players get to the “good stuff” faster. Games like *The Long Dark* have thrived with dedicated communities partly because they make players struggle through harsh survival mechanics before reaching more rewarding gameplay.
For some players, quicker access means moving beyond building ramshackle huts to sculpting grand homesteads. For others, it means diving into complex combat without spending hours crafting basic weapons like rocks tied to sticks.
Envar says that as you explore further, “the world will start to push back.” This became evident during a demo session where we teleported to a higher-level area, and the player’s familiar barely damaged the surrounding fauna.
### Fun with Familiar Friends
One feature that made *Witchspire* stand out for me, as someone initially skeptical about the survival genre, is the familiars system. Instead of venturing out alone—or only with other players—you quickly tame animal companions.
When you defeat wildlife in the game, the animals don’t die permanently; rather, their spirits leave their bodies and begin a journey of reincarnation elsewhere. Sometimes, these lingering spirits can be captured, tamed, or recruited (whichever term you prefer) to fight alongside you as magical monsters.
These familiars have skills and rarities much like Pokémon. In fact, the system shares many similarities with Pokémon’s recent Legends games. Not only do you collect and level up your familiars, but battles play out in real time, where your familiar fights for you while you give occasional commands.
Unlike Pokémon, you can also cast offensive spells yourself, adding an additional layer to combat.
### The Core Loop: Survival Meets RPG Monster Taming
This blend of survival and monster-taming forms the core loop of *Witchspire*. While many survival aspects are simplified, they’re supplemented by an RPG-style monster-catching structure that keeps players engaged.
Beyond taming familiars, you’ll also level up your character, unlocking skills through a skill tree. These skills might improve your gathering efficiency—for example, magically cutting multiple trees at once—or unlock new abilities.
Ultimately, the goal is to reach the central island on the map and climb the Witchspire itself. And to get there, you’ll need a flying broom—the quintessential form of witch transportation.
### Learning and Evolving
*Witchspire* is still some way off from its 1.0 release, with early access scheduled for 2026. While the development team feels confident in the game’s current identity, this early access period will be used to refine the balance between traditional survival gameplay and the monster-taming elements.
Envar doesn’t anticipate adding hunger meters anytime soon, but they’re open to adjusting how much the world “pushes back” based on player feedback and telemetry data.
### Final Thoughts
As it stands, *Witchspire* is one of the rare survival games I’ll be watching closely—largely thanks to its willingness to blend genres and challenge survival game conventions. That said, whether early access players looking for an “open world survival crafting game” (as described on the Steam page) will agree remains to be seen.
This preview is based on a PC demo viewed over Discord. The final product is subject to change.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146492/witchspires-relaxed-vibe-and-survival-game-influences-seem-like-a-unique-spin-on-the-genre