Quantum Witch review
If you have a nostalgic sensibility, an open mind, and enjoy creative narratives steered by your decisions, Quantum Witch is for you! Its smooth and charming graphics that feel like they just came out of UFO 50 will please your eyes, and its light yet deep visual and textual story will immerse you. And always remember: this is not a cult!
After a quick tutorial framed as a dream, you quickly dive in and take in your surroundings. In a masterful technique of “showing not telling,” you understand that you are in charge of sheep called “faer” and that they broke their fence and have been causing havoc in the “town” in which you live – a very, very strange land that feels simultaneously fantastical and dreamlike yet tangible and real. So your first quest is to find your animals and tell them to go home while your beloved partner, or “bonded one,” fixes the fence.
While Quantum Witch feels like those old school side-scrollers like Contra and Mega Man, you quickly realize this is no beat ‘em up or platformer – there are no enemies to beat up or pits to fall into (or are there?) – but rather, a very quirky choices matter visual novel. However, unlike story-rich choices-matter games like Life Is Strange and Disco Elysium, Quantum Witch is very light on text and quite bite-sized.
It does not feel heavy at any point, and much of the story is told through the visuals and the gameplay. It is an absolute breath of fresh air in the genre.
Your first quest: explore the town and gather your sheep. You may go left or right, and pick directions at crossroads. Where you go first is up to you, but you’ll need to go everywhere to find those pesky faer! I personally had the… um, delight… of going to the church first, which is absolutely NOT A CULT, let me repeat. And I absolutely did not almost die. And please don’t question the fact there are more people in that church than in the rest of the town all together!
I met a bunch of ladies worshipping some kind of lampshade God – a metaphor, perhaps. Right away, I was confronted with my first important and narratively impactful decision: do I join the cult- sorry, religion? Or do I leave?
This first location truly set the quirky, ethereal, and cheeky tone of Quantum Witch. Some moments feel very real and touching, without ever feeling heavy despite some deeper themes. There is a lot of wit and humor, alongside silly references like Princess Peach and Pac-Man, to keep the game light and fun.
I can’t help but think of this game as providing cathartic joy, healthy humor as a coping mechanism for queers with religious trauma. Oh, did I forget to mention? This game is full of sapphic love! But queerness is never an issue or blatant theme, it’s simply the reality of the game, which is SUCH a refreshing take!
Just look at the beautiful cast of characters! And yes, the massive leg is a character in itself! These are but a few of the silly, yet poignant characters that will help (or hinder) you in the series of quests that will unfold before you like dominos.
The addition of the skeleton is a welcome one, it serves as a guide if you feel stuck. Despite the relatively small world to interact with, searching for what to do next (or where your final sheep is) is more difficult than it seems, and the skeleton can give you hints as to what to do next. I was even a bit confused and lost at first, it feels a bit like a game of Where’s Waldo? at times, which I did enjoy but did not expect.
The game even has its own time system, effectively doubling the size of the explorable area, since different characters and events can be found at night. You’ll have to go back and forth a bit, since your decisions also affect possible interactions. But nonetheless, it does not feel repetitive. The game does a great job at making you search just long enough to make it satisfying when you succeed, and not crossing the line into frustrating and grindy exploration.
In fact, you’ll finish the game (your first play through of it) in one sitting. It will take you about 4 hours (a bit longer if you take your time or choose not to take the skeleton’s hints), but the game offers multiple paths and endings, which will absolutely make you want to replay it. I, for one, had to replay it to see what happened if I chose to join the cult rather than leave!
An absolutely fantastic integration to the game is the “waveforms”, basically a checklist of all possible outcomes in the form of achievements. It will make the collectionists among us want to do at least a few play throughs to mark them all off and truly get the full narrative experience.
In short, Quantum Witch encapsulates indie excellence. It showcases a clear artistic vision, tells a quirky yet touching story visually and textually, offers charming nostalgia with a resolutely modern twist, and immerses the player into a compelling, outside-of-the-box universe.
You can feel the love that the developer has poured into her game as you move around its virtual world and interact with its inhabitants. Quantum Witch has heart, it has soul, and it has humor. This is developer NikkiJay’s solo project and first game, and what a treat for indie enthusiasts!
In fact, let me go start my third playthrough now…
Quantum Witch is available on Steam for $9.99 (currently on sale for $8.99 until July 1st).
Rating: 9/10
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