Polish developer The Astronauts has announced that it has pushed the Early Access release of its first-person shooter Witchfire from Q4 2022 to early 2023 after it made the decision to expand the game’s combat and exploration from arena style to a semi-open world.
The news was published in the latest blog post by the game’s creative director Adrian Chmielarz, who goes into detail about the change, why the team decided to make the switch so long into the game’s development, and the impact it has had.
“The feature is now 95% implemented. It makes the game better. It is kind of hard for me to imagine the player did not have that freedom before. Sure, you can still be trapped by the witch in this or that spot, and some doors will be closed until you find a key, and it might be too dangerous to enter areas closer to the boss before you are ready – but the world is wide open for you to explore in almost any order, and you can both push forward and retreat as you please.”
While it’s a bummer that we’re going to have to wait a little longer to get our hands-on Witchfire, a game that was first announced at The Game Awards in 2017, the new change to the way players will play the game is exciting.
Chmielarz also teased some form of Witchfire content later this month for Halloween. He did clarify that it wouldn’t be gameplay footage, but instead would be for those keen on learning more about the story, world and 2D art of the game.
Witchfire will launch in Early Access on the Epic Games Store in early 2023.
Are you excited about Witchfire’s shift to a semi-open world? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
Despite a childhood playing survival horrors, point and clicks and beat ’em ups, these days Zach tries to convince people that Homefront: The Revolution is a good game while pining for a sequel to The Order: 1886 and a live-action Treasure Planet film. Carlton, Burnley FC & SJ Sharks fan. Get around him on Twitter @tightinthejorts
