There’s a massive new update out today for Witchfire, the grimdark first-person shooter from The Astronauts.
Honestly, after reading the notes, this feels like a total overhaul of the game, rather than a simple update. Let’s tuck into it:
What’s in the Ghost Galleon Update
The roguish shooter, which is currently only available on the Epic Games Store, has just received the so-called Ghost Galleon Update and with it, a ton of content.
The main addition is the new player classes, which have soft and gentle names such as the Slayer, Berserker, Hunter, Shadow, Saint, and Penitent (this last one offering “an extra challenge” for experienced players).
In the other direction there’s a feature called Gnosis, which sounds like it’ll make things just a little bit easier (but only “slightly” easier).
Also, look out for the new Calamity Meter on the revised HUD, which is part of an overhaul of the entire calamities system.
What do the devs have to say?
“I like when gameplay matches lore,” writes the game’s creative director, Adrian Chmielarz. “The Witch launches Calamities at preyers as they venture further and further into her realm. The threat of a Calamity is immense, but so is the reward. The witch tends to launch these assaults when players are wounded, at their weakest— which hasn’t always been well-received by players— but this design still feels exciting to me.
Chmielarz continued: “So we’ve kept the soul of it, but redesigned it to feel more fair. It’s a feature that both teaches you how to play by pointing out mistakes, and motivates you to do better. Yet it’s also an element great players can abuse: trick the Witch into thinking you’re losing, then strike back and reap the rewards. This supports two main pillars of our design philosophy: Competence and Autonomy.”
The highlights of the update are…
- 3 New Calamities (including the Ghost Galleon)
- New Activity: Vault Raiding
- 6 New Classes
- 5 New Weapons
- 4 New Spells (plus 4 redesigned spells)
- New Shop Vendor
- 7 New Magical Items (fetishes, rings, relics)
- 10 New or Variant Enemies
- 5 New Events
- 6 New Traps
- Calamity Redesign
- Gnostic Knowledge & Level Progression
- Quality of Life Updates & Bug Fixes
- And more…
Full patch notes for the Ghost Galleon Update can be found over on The Astronauts’ official website. I’ve also put in a code request so I can take a looksy myself, and I’ll have more to share if that gets approved. Now, behold the trailer!
