The Witchaven games are not the most beloved first-person slashers of the 1990s, but they’re an important bit of history. Developed by Capstone, they’re first-person slashers loosely based on a set of dungeon maps for D&D released by Wyrm Works. You’re a knight with a variety of mostly melee weapons and a few spells, and a volcano full of goblins, witches, and other greeblies to kill.
Though you do have access to a bow, a lot of the time you’ll be fighting with a morning star, battle axe, and various blades, switching as they break. Like most first-person melee games of the era, and frankly today, judging the distance between you and the enemies was a bit, ha ha, hit and miss.
Reviewing Witchaven 2 for PC Gamer in 1996, Brett Jones brought that up along with control issues: “try to bring your character to a stop, and he seems to ‘float’ to a standstill, like a car with bad brakes. At other times, you’ll spin out of control or find yourself moving when you need to be still.”
He did praise the way characters would do their own thing before they noticed you, such as in-fighting and looking shocked if you suddenly open a door to catch them unarmed. His praise was measured though, resulting in a score of 58% and the memorable conclusion, “a pig in a dress is still a pig.”
Witchaven’s most notable for historical reasons. When it came out in September 1995 it was the first game to legally use the Build Engine, which would later power Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, PowerSlave, and Shadow Warrior. The Build Engine had been used illegally by Taiwanese studio Accend for Rock ‘n’ Shaolin: Legend of the Seven Paladins 3D in 1994, who got access to an early version while negotiating a contract with 3D Realms, then continued using it even though the deal was never completed. But Witchaven was the first legit Build game, followed by another Capstone release: William Shatner’s TekWar.
Anyway, revivalist publisher SNEG has announced that both games are going to be delisted on June 15, though whether that’s because of a licence expiring or because remasters are on the way to replace them goes unsaid. Both games are on sale though, and you can get the pair as a bundle for 89% off on Steam, or 90% off on GOG, which works out even cheaper because they’re being discounted from a lower initial price.
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