Is Witchfire Worth Playing in 2025? A Look at the Webgrave Update
/I’ve been spending a fair amount of time with Witchfire, specifically its 0.7 release (Also known as the Webgrave update), which marks the game’s biggest update since its Early Access launch on Steam. Now that it’s live for early access players, many of you might be wondering: Is Witchfire worth playing after the Webgrave update?
What’s New in the Webgrave Update (Patch 0.7)
It wasn’t just marketing fluff when the developers said this was their biggest update. The 0.7 patch adds a lot to this dark fantasy shooter.
Rosary system & Deeper Builds
The Rosary system is arguably the most impactful addition for character progression. It gives stat allocation real purpose by introducing beads, which can only be equipped if you meet certain stat thresholds.
Beads grant passive bonuses such as increased total health, extended status effect durations, or even more elixirs. Some are simple stat boosts; others reduce stamina consumption during dodges or enhance spellcasting.
In update 0.7, leveling up becomes all about finding the right stat balance to equip optimal bead combinations. While I’m still exploring endgame potential, the system feels like a strong foundation. The Astronauts can definitely expand on it, introducing builds tailored to specific playstyles or weapon archetypes. As I do like the system, I hope they will add more beads that will really push a player towards a certain build, even as early as the first two locations.
Improved Onboarding and Tutorials
New playthroughs now start with a proper introduction: a short tutorial level that teaches you the basics of jumping, dashing, Arcana, and more. This leads naturally into the game’s hub, where you can level up, craft weapons, and prepare for your next sortie.
This is a massive improvement over the previous setup, where you were just dropped into the hub without context. Even the process of unlocking weapon and spell research has changed as new players now need to find three mirror shards to access that system.
It’s a smarter introduction overall, helping the game feel more cohesive and ready for a full release. They also added a new section in the menu that explains every possible effect, icon, or element in the game’s user interface when playing the game.
New Location: Velmorne
The update also adds Velmorne, a new zone full of secrets, unique enemy types, and its own Familiar (boss) lurking beneath the city. It fits perfectly as a mid-game level: not as punishing as Witch Mountain, but noticeably more complex in level design than the earlier biomes.
What's Still Missing or Needs Work
Lack of Endgame Bosses and Story Progression
While Webgrave is a major leap forward, it doesn’t mean Witchfire feels complete just yet. Based on the current state, I’d say the game is still a few months away from a full release. Though of course, that’s just speculation on my part.
For one, Witch Mountain doesn’t have the big boss fight at the end. Once you reach the end of that level, it simply concludes as there’s no climactic boss fight or Witch battle. This is likely being reserved for the final release, but it’s important to note that even with the Webgrave update, the game remains unfinished in terms of narrative and progression.
Additionally, the jump between difficulty tiers feels too abrupt. I advanced from Gnosis 3 to 4 in under an hour, which made me question whether there are too many tiers or if progression is currently too fast. This may be intentional or could make more sense once the teased sixth location is added. Even with Velmorne added, the pacing in the mid-game feels off. The game needs extra locations to help spread out rewards and progression milestones, which I believe the developers understand, as it’s clear a sixth location is in the works. The current structure feels a bit compressed, which can make progression feel too front-loaded.
Occasional Crashes, But Strong Overall Performance
Performance-wise, Witchfire remains solid. Whether running on low or ultra settings, the game handles the new content well. I did experience a couple of crashes while playing update 0.7, but they were rare and difficult to reproduce.
Story beats are also still missing in this update, as the only means of storytelling or worldbuilding is done at the very beginning through a series of images. Right now, you are given the context, the goal of the game, and nothing else. In its early access Q&A page in the Steam storefront, they do say they intend to provide a full story as gameplay and its systems are what’s shown in early access.
Maybe with the complete story beats the flow of one playthrough will make sense? We’ll have to see.
Should You Play Witchfire Now?
Based on my experience, yes. Witchfire now offers more than enough content to justify its Early Access price from a gameplay perspective, but again, you have to understand that there are barely any story beats or even characters to meet. This is a stage to polish its gameplay loop and its many systems to make it as replayable as possible. And in my eyes, the heavy strokes to make that happen have been achieved.
Updates are constant, showing developer The Astronauts are hard at work, the moment this project hit early access. Updates are consistent and plenty that each one, like Webgrave, is always significant that which can easily excite players to come back and check out what’s new.
For New Players
Despite some missing pieces, there’s a lot to enjoy from a gameplay perspective at this current stage of development. Thanks to the Webgrave update, the game now features five fleshed-out locations complete with their own set of secrets, events, and dedicated bosses that get extra challenging as you increase in difficulty levels, which are called Gnosis.
There are a variety of weapons with unique perks that make it unique to build around, different spells, equipment, and a more robust build system that has the potential to deliver different playstyles, as stats now have a bigger purpose instead of mainly being a way to increase your total life pool.
You may not be able to complete the game, but the content available so far can easily give you over 20-30+ hours of content. It’s also a tough game, as the chance of death is always present, as it still has the soulslike element of losing currency and certain items, and will require you to jump back into the same location for a chance of picking up what you dropped.
For Returning Players
If you’ve been waiting for a major update, now is the perfect time to jump back in. You’ll want to reserve a new profile slot to start fresh and experience the onboarding and progression from the ground up. The Rosary system alone makes a full restart worth it, and I bet the developers will appreciate the feedback as they fine-tune the overhauled stat system and the Rosary mechanic.
For more about what I think about the Webgrave update, check out my preview of the game to know more.
About the Author - Carlos Hernandez
Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance sports a unique hand-drawn look, Joe will journey through stylistic stages while executing ninja arts and attacks with surprising precision, making for some very satisfying exploration and combat encounters.