Witcheye

Genre: Arcade

Players: 1

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Review:

Witcheye is an Arcade-style game released on mobile devices in 2019, then ported to PC and Nintendo Switch in 2020. The premise of this game is that an adventurer has stolen all of a witch’s treasures, and she transforms herself into a floating eyeball to get them back (I guess she hasn’t gotten her broom license yet). Players navigate through the game’s levels by flicking around the eyeball using either the analog stick or touchscreen, bashing into enemies while avoiding hazards and projectiles, aiming to clear each of the game’s levels while collecting treasure.

This gameplay is really awkward, and the difficulty of just getting your little eyeball to go where you want is where a large part of this game’s challenge comes from. The eye will keep moving indefinitely unless you press a button to stop it, and will bounce off walls like it’s made of extra-bouncy rubber.

The game seems to understand how difficult it has made things, and plays into that, often requiring you to slip into narrow areas where a small misjudgment will send you careening back away, or managing the timing of an attack on an enemy when even getting into position is a chore. While some may enjoy this challenge, I think that many players will find it far more frustrating than fun.

It’s a shame, really, because the presentation here is outstanding. The game’s 2D pixel art is colorful and wonderfully detailed, with some good animation. And the chiptune soundtrack is extremely catchy too.

Overall, I do think Witcheye’s unique nature and its excellent presentation will win over some players who have the patience for its frustrating gameplay, but that gameplay will put off others. Like whatever ingredients a witch puts in her cauldron, I suppose this is definitely an acquired taste.

tl;dr – Witcheye is an Arcade-style game that has players controlling an eye as it flies and bounces through levels filled with enemies and hazards. The presentation here is excellent, but the controls are really awkward and off-putting. Whether you enjoy this game will really depend on how much patience you have for this frustrating gameplay.

Grade: C

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