Witch & Hero 2 from Flyhigh Works is a minimalist pixeltastic action adventure on Nintendo Switch. Find out why in our Witch & Hero 2 review!

 

As was the case of its prequel, Witch & Hero 2 was initially released on the Nintendo 3DS – back in 2016 to be precise. We’re not getting a Nintendo Switch port at a budget $4.99 asking price, and I’m here to report that it’s a fun minimalist game that you can finish in a handful of hours. You’ll be controlling the titular witch and hero at the same time as you try to stay alive while wave after wave of enemies from every corner of the screen. If you’re playing with someone else, each one will control one of the characters. As expected, your goal is simple: defeat all enemies!

 

The story for Witch & Hero 2 picks up a year after the finale pic battle of the previous game. One day the witch and the hero get a letter that contained a challenge from the demon lord. The two quickly accept this challenge and rush out into battle to show the Demon Lord who’s the real boss. Unfortunately, the Demon Lord catches them off-guard and freezes the pair, defeating them in the process. This, therefore, is the end for the witch and the hero.

Years later, in a faraway land, lived a little witch and a little hero. They set out to visit the great witch in the woods, who tells them about how the Demon Lord defeated the witch and the hero of old tales. After hearing this, the pair set out on a journey into an adventure they will never forget… because it was cut short. The hero tried to win an impossible fight and ends up dead. The witch was so sad that she used a forbidden magic spell to give him half her life, forever creating a bond between their fates. If the hero is defeated, he’ll be able to recover and carry on with the battle. If the witch falls, then it’s game over! If the witch is closer to the hero when he’s defeated, she can help him recover at a faster rate.

 

The hero is a knight, so he’ll have a shield and a sword to protect the witch and melee attack enemies. The witch has a weaker physique, but she has the ability to use magic to deal plenty of damage. The first set of stages in the game will teach you the basics so that you can dive straight into the action. If you’re playing on your own, you’ll control the hero with the left analog stick and the witch with the right one. Damage is dealt by bumping into enemies, dealing additional damage if hitting an enemy from behind. The witch can also cast spells, but to do this, you must collect the blood that enemies drop so that she can cast spells. You can switch between mobile and stationary spells by pressing the R button.

 

As you defeat enemies, they will leave experience gems and gold coins behind, which you should always collect. After clearing a stage, you will get a first time bonus for clearing a level, distributed as bonus experience points, and as bonus gold coins. The more experience points you get, the more quickly you’ll be able to level up, boosting your hit points and your magic points. Gold can be used to get better equipment at the shop by leveling up your arsenal. These include a better sword, shield, and boots, as well as improving the witch’s spells.

 

If you are defeated in battle and get a game over, you’ll at least be able to make some progress towards improving your characters. Any experience points you had gained and any gold coins you had collected will carry over, but you will lose half of each in the process. It’s a good way of rewarding your effort without removing the grind that is part of the RPG genre.

Witch & Hero 2 is a fun sequel that changes things up a bit by offering a witch that you can control, instead of having her be a stationary target like in the prequel. It has a pixeltastic presentation with some colorful sprite work that looks great on the Nintendo Switch, but the gameplay mechanics are certainly not for everyone. You’ll be completing this one in a few hours, but for its $4.99 asking price, it definitely has something to offer.

Disclaimer
This Witch & Hero 2 review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Flyhigh Works.