Hunt witches and question what’s right in the murky but compassionate sounding WITCHHUNTER.exe

You know, I wish there were more morally dubious protagonists in the world of video games. I know why there’s not, many people want to identify with the characters they’re embodying. But then I think about every other storytelling medium out there and how some of my favourite pieces feature people that aren’t supposedly good or heroic, and long for the same in games. So, I’m quite interested in WITCHHUNTER.exe, a throwback text adventure game that actually has quite a lot of pretty pixel art where you play as a priest that must uncover witches in a rural town while the Devil tempts you astray.

As said priest, or I suppose witch hunter, you must investigate five women suspected of practicing witchcraft. According to the game’s press release, this involves using “brutal witchcraft tests inspired by real inquisition practices,” a decidedly not easy thing to experience, so this understandably won’t be a game for everyone.

Gameplay works as you’d expect it to in a text adventure game, there are lots of micro choices for you to make, places to explore, questions to ask, axes to pick up and deals to make. Interestingly there even seems to be some sort of combat system where you have to type out your actions, i.e. for things like dodging or blocking an attack (the accused witches don’t lie down and accept their fate).

All of this is wrapped up in a faux OS/’80s adventure game aesthetic that does have me wondering whether or not there’ll be some kind of late game twist, given that the game seems nebulously set in the past. I’m a fan of all the pixel art too, it feels authentic to the time but with a tad more precision than would have been possible.

Of course, with murky narratives like these, while I do want to see them in games more, the intention behind them can muddy the waters further. Is this a game where we’re meant to relish in the punishment of presumably innocent women? Are we meant to question our actions? Based on a quote from solo dev Noah Dundas, thankfully it more sounds like the latter.

“One of the things that really guides my vision for WITCHHUNTER.exe is the phrase ‘the sin of empathy’,” Dundas explains in the aforementioned press release. “As paradoxical as it sounds, it’s a real phrase that’s been used by religious leaders in the US to discourage empathizing with other people – typically minority groups like immigrant and LGBTQ+ individuals. I feel like there are a lot of similarities in that way of thinking as with what happened in Salem, where fear can twist religion into a weapon for violence.”

That gives me a tad more faith in the difficult story presented here, though the proof will ultimately be in the pudding. Though, I currently can’t tell you when that course will be served, as there’s no release date just yet, but if you’re curious you can wishlist it here.