Witch It Review (PC & PlayStation 5)

If you’ve ever dreamt of being a wooden spoon in a vibrant and, quite honestly, absolutely bonkers world of fantastical enchantments and souped-up wizardry, then I come bearing good news: Witch It—a hide-and-seek game with a witchy twist—has just about finished parking its broomstick over on the PlayStation Store. That’s right, the immensely popular multiplayer elixir has finally shed its PC exclusivity after four long and awfully grueling years, and what’s more, it’s in receipt of some brand-new content that spans an extensive collection of in-game maps, cosmetics, and creative suites, to boot. So, if you did happen to miss out on the game’s initial debut on Steam back in 2020, then now’s your chance to see what all the fuss was about during its heyday.

Not entirely persuaded by the concept of a kitchen utensil playing a spot of tag with a ravenous hunter? Don’t sweat it, as we’ll be taking a deeper dive into the latest developments in the Witch It world in just a few minutes. Care to join us as we unpack the secrets of the ever-growing treasury of Barrel Roll Games’ unruly online concoction? Then let’s go ahead and stir the pot, fledgling spatulas.

Where Art Though, Cheese Grater?

Witch It paints a picture of two distinct communities: Hunters, who push their anti-witchcraft propaganda to their limits by actively bathing in daring techniques in order to remove the veil from their enemies; and Witches, who mischievously seek to utilize their repertoire of spell-casting and shapeshifting skills to belittle and outsmart said Hunters. The game, which allows you to side with one of the aforementioned cliques, invites you to engage in team-based battles—hide-and-seek schoolyard bouts that either require you to manipulate household objects and hide in plain sight for a set amount of time as a Witch, or use the power of intuition and observation to unmask the Witches as a Hunter. And that, really, is what Witch It is: a traditional hide-and-seek game with a prop-centric twist.

Of course, there is a little more to the process of either excavating a few well-oiled household objects from the brush or merely gallivanting around on a makeshift broomstick for several minutes. Don’t get me wrong, the objective for either side of the playing field is still self-explanatory: disguise yourself as a generic item for long enough to reap the benefits of your mythical existence, or locate a Witch for bragging rights and a few nifty perks. With that said, there is something of a wild card here: each team has Abilities to use on the board—tricks that allow you to possess items, create traps, and even lure enemies out of their hiding spots, to round off just a few of them. To obtain all of these quirky pick-me-ups, you only need to level up your character over the course of each round. Simple enough, right? Right.

Plenty for Your Cauldron

Witch It comes jam-packed with four modes to choose from: Hide and Seek, a relatively self-contained mode that, quite frankly, doesn’t really need a formal introduction; Mobification, which tweaks the strings just a smidgen by forcing players to swap sides after being captured; Hunt a Hag, which removes the Abilities and other attributes from the default mode for a quicker game; and Fill a Pot, which invites teams of two to competitively race against one another to cram as many props into a cauldron as possible. Regardless of the mode you opt to take for a spin, the structure for each round is mostly one and the same, thus making it an easy game to pick up and play right off the bat.

There are fifteen “official” maps to divide and conquer in Witch It, all of which feature their own thematic props, landmarks, and secrets. Granted, none of these maps are enormous, but they are, on the other hand, large enough for you to get lost in and mess around with for hours, if not weeks. And even then, the game takes a stab at recapturing your interest by lifting the veil on a separate arc of player-created maps—zones in which players have the opportunity to shape, mold, and ultimately present to their friends and online compadres. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of bang for your buck here, which is good, given the game mode’s lack of mechanical complexity.

A Witch at Heart

I’ll admit, Witch It is a lot more fun to play when you’re hovering on the Witchy side of the pitch; the thrill of the chase far outweighs the monotonous nature of the hunt and all that jazz. But that sort of comes expected with these sorts of hide-and-seek-like co-op games, right? Don’t get me wrong, the Hunters do have their own share of great moments, several of which can easily lead you to favor the “good” folk over their menacing counterparts. But, I think I can quite easily say that, as far as genuinely exciting things go, being able to manipulate a piece of crockery is far more exciting than having to find the needle in the haystack, so to speak. Maybe I’m just nitpicking at this point though.

To answer the question of whether or not the game provides enough replay value to justify the price tag — yes, it most certainly does. Alright, so it isn’t likely to cough up enough surprises to keep you coming back for months on end, but if you’re looking for a solid multiplayer game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy kicking about with a few of your pals for a handful of hours in the magical quarters of this chaotic sandbox. And, let’s be completely honest here, for the generously low asking price of $5, you can’t really go wrong here, and to be fair, there just isn’t enough to complain about to warrant a bad review. It’s evidently hide and seek, so as long as you don’t expect it to be more than that, you can rest assured that you won’t be disappointed.

Verdict

Witch It adds a new layer of complexity to a formula that’s as old as time itself, and does so by introducing magical infusions of humorous props and surprisingly in-depth in-game map editors. In addition to all of that, Barrel Roll Games’ wizardly concoction also comes clean with a vibrant art style that’s both unique in its own right, and not to mention absolutely bursting at the seams with hundreds, if not thousands of fascinating set pieces and tailorable components to unlock and experiment with. That’s barely scratching the surface, too; it’s also worth mentioning that there are several glorious, albeit somewhat basic game modes to grovel around in, and an entire collection of cosmetics, rewards, and lavish bonuses for you to accrue along the way, too. So, it’s quite the melting pot of ingredients, all things considered.

I’m quite impressed by the amount of content Witch It manages to cram into its core, to be honest. Given the fact that the game pours its heart and soul into emulating a timeless schoolyard activity that doesn’t exactly stretch much beyond the traditional rules and regulations of an almost prehistoric pastime, it’s quite surprising to see just how much it has to offer. Sure, it’s basically hide-and-seek with a few extra layers and mythical flair, but that doesn’t make it any less of an interesting and, in most cases, enjoyable thing to sink a few hours into. Is it Game of the Year material? Eh, I wouldn’t go that far, but for what it’s worth, I will say this: Witch It is a barrel of fun, and it’s something that you should definitely consider playing should you be on the hunt for a competition that lacks bloodshed and obscenity.