It’s time to dive back into a wicked world full of witches and demons, Dear Reader, as The Astronauts just put out a massive new update for their sinister first-person shooter, Witchfire.
The Webgrave Update is out now on Steam and Epic, and it introduces a brand new region to the game called Velmorne, plus new enemy types, and a new mechanic best described as the Rosary. There are extensive patch notes right here, if you want them.
The revisions to existing systems are probably just as impactful, although I’ve not played the game in a couple of months, so I’ll have to dive back in and report back my findings on that front. Either way, here’s the new update trailer, plus a few notes on what existing players can expect to find.
The Workshop gets an overhaul that will let you focus your weapon upgrades more meaningfully. In a similar vein, the stats system has been refreshed, and now you will be investing into new categories: Flesh, Blood, Mind, Witchery, Arsenal, and Faith.
The Ascension Shrine is getting a tweak to better represent your progress, and long-standing players will get a token to allow them to apply existing progression back into this system.
Finally, there’s the Gnosis system, which has been simplified and then expanded, with new challenges awaiting players who are, frankly, much better at the game than I.
Finally, finally, there’s an infographic that sums up the broader talking points, which upon inspection, reveals two things that I’ve not mentioned up until now. The first is the new prologue that has just been added, plus there are some new guns, too!
Original: If you’ve been keeping tabs on Witchfire, or if you’re among those who jumped in after the game finally landed on Steam, then you’ll be interested in reading more about the new Webgrave Update that is coming next week.
In fact, the new update is a significant one for The Astronaut’s game, as it adds an entirely new playable area, plus there’s the addition of Workshop 2.0, the Game Handbook (see the trailer below) and a streamlined upgrade to the Gnosis system.
Welcome to Velmorne
The main focus will be the on the new playable zone, because new areas to explore don’t land too often in Witchfire. You can see a short and carefully edited look in the preview trailer below.
The new environment is called Velmorne and we can expect to see the place twisted by the usual witchy evil we’ve come to expect, but also lots of new secrets to uncover. There’s a new tutorial and starting point being added, too.
While we’re talking about the new stuff, there’s also a really in-depth post over on Steam that explains how the update will enhance the Gnosis system. Basically, the higher this level, the more stuff you can access as you explore, and now there are even more ways to engage with what sounds like an increasingly streamlined system.
Looking back to Bullfrog and Syndicate
Just as interesting, in my opinion, is the Workshop + Stats 2.0 part of the update. As outlined in this blogpost, the update includes new and refined systems for research and character levelling.
I particularly enjoyed how the blog explains that the system is a call-back to Syndicate, a game that I thoroughly enjoyed in the ’90s. This Bullfrog classic was challenging and violent, and while they are very different, I thought it was a really interesting reference point to share.
While I’m reminiscing, Bullfrog Productions was an incredible game studio back in the day. The team was helmed by a certain Peter Molyneux, who would later go on to found Lionhead Studios and have one of the most storied game development careers that I can think of.
Bullfrog made some genuinely iconic video games, such as Theme Hospital (and the rest of the Theme series), Magic Carpet (which probably wasn’t iconic but I loved it), the Populous series, and even bloody Dungeon Keeper. It’s just a shame that EA got involved and did what EA does best…
