Would you fight scary monsters for homemade strawberry pie? If so, you’re in good company. WitchSpring R is a quirky story-driven RPG that follows the story of Pieberry, a talented young witch who grew up alone in the forest.
As the name might suggest, Pieberry is a big fan of pies. And strawberries. The story begins sedately enough, with Pieberry trying to leave her magical forest home to find a strawberry pie like the one she ate as a child, while trying to figure out why her parents have seemingly abandoned her. It spirals from there, with a vast world and a vibrant roster of characters, from pudding monsters and lightning lions to witch hunters and celestial beings. It’s a story-driven experience, but the game quickly switches from turn-based combat to fun puzzles.
WitchSpring R is divided into seven different chapters, with multiple difficulty options offered and the ability to create a New Game Plus save file after the initial launch is complete. Our playthrough lasted roughly 22 hours in total, though we skipped a few extra puzzles, unlockables, and pets, focusing solely on the main story.
The story is undoubtedly one of the best things about WitchSpring R. It dances perfectly between light and dark, offering characters with a lot of depth and a solid pace that will keep you engaged until the end. It’s a little cheesy at times, but it’s a moving story with characters that have a lot of depth and purpose behind them.
Aside from the narrative, one immediate benefit to point out is the satisfying sense of progression. As you’d expect, Pieberry gets noticeably stronger as you progress through the game, with plenty of opportunities to train, boost skills, and upgrade weapons.
In fact, the game somewhat punishes you for not training and strengthening Pieberry’s abilities. It’s possible to rush through lower level fights, but it’s not recommended, especially if you’re new to turn-based gaming. The combat is extremely fun and feels powerful, but it can also be challenging. Not building a Pieberry will lead to some bitterly difficult combat encounters, while if you have the right build, pets, and weapons, it can be a walk in the park. At a certain point, you get the ability to summon missiles on top of her opponents, thanks to a key ally.
Pets and summons are especially important during combat. Pieberry has the ability to mind control beings in the overworld, effectively capturing them like Pokémon. Having the right creatures with you can make boss fights a lot more fun, and can offer you other perks like acting as a mount outside of combat or restoring resources in short order.
Speaking of bosses, the enemy designs here were incredibly refreshing. While the game was standard fantasy fare, there were some really striking character designs that felt like fresh takes on the genre. Each enemy dropped items that were related to its design and location, making each fight feel well planned and thought out.
You’ll be doing a fair amount of resource farming during your time with WitchSpring R, as there’s a massive crafting system that allows you to improve weapons, craft consumables, and craft battle accessories. The build feels smooth and efficient, with an interface that’s a bit overwhelming at first, but simple once you get the hang of it.
Small quality of life features have also been put in place to make farming more enjoyable. It’s possible to walk around fights you don’t want to get involved in, and you’ll be able to automatically fight any creatures in low-level areas that you’ve defeated before.
Along with crafting and farming, there’s also a training system that helps Pieberry improve his stats through mini-games. There are a few other minigames and puzzles throughout the world alongside the training games, and most of them are fun – the exception being Blacksmithing, which felt ridiculously clunky and out of place on the Switch.
If you’re a fan of mystery hunting and exploration, you’ll be rewarded for it here. There are several missable items, weapons, and pets around the world, meaning that spending a few extra minutes on location can be incredibly lucrative.
While this game offered an enchanting world with plenty to eat, there were some issues worth considering. Performance was decent enough for the most part, looking good in both handheld and docked mode, but there were minor graphical glitches and bugs. One particularly prevalent one was Pieberry who disappeared after teleporting. Her weapon would remain in the frame, but she would disappear from view – even in cutscenes. This would only fix itself after going to another zone, but it made navigation a bit complicated. This happened a total of five times during our 22 hours of play.
On top of that, we spotted some texture issues and lighting glitches, along with a number of tipfellers and grammatical errors. These issues weren’t glaring by any means, but tipfellers in an emotional monologue or heated confrontation can be disappointing and break immersion.
Ignoring those graphical issues and the disappearance of the main character, this game is very enjoyable. The story is rich and comprehensive, the characters feel soulful, and the world itself is a joy to explore, with a solid mix of gameplay styles ranging from tricky battles and boss fights to intricate puzzles and light-hearted investigations.
Conclusion
If you’re willing to overlook a handful of tipfelers and some pretty significant visual issues, WitchSpring R is a great example of turn-based combat with a strong story to back it up. It’s wonderful and enchanting, and you won’t be able to predict how everything will end. On top of that, the NG+ option provides additional replayability for players who like a challenge. That being said, the visual flaws take a toll on the score here. While not game-breaking, it was frustrating to have the main character pop out during key scenes and it affected our overall experience.
