Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse [REVIEW] – A Loop That Needs More Magic 

Jumping into Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse, it’s easy to see the appeal right off the bat. Blending the fast-paced, repetitive loop of an action roguelike with the exploration of a Metroidvania (as well as putting you in the shoes of a witch armed with a rather handy magical hat), it really does have a lot going for it. And sure, it can be a lot of fun too, though some frustrating design choices keep it from reaching its full potential. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

Let’s get something big out of the way immediately: the game looks absolutely stunning. It rocks a gorgeous 2D, hand-drawn art style that feels like a blend of cute magical-girl tropes with dark undertones, and believe me, it never fails to impress. The enemies you face are wonderfully weird, whilst the animations are all fluid and slick. I absolutely adored the aesthetic of the game, and best of all, it is all backed by a lovely, melancholic piano soundtrack that just fits the vibe perfectly.  

It’s just a bit of a shame that there is not really an engaging story to tie everything together. You are dropped into this beautifully grim world that feels like it’s hiding so many little secrets, but without any real narrative or lore to explain why you are fighting these monsters or the origin of the locales you’re scurrying through, it ends up feeling a bit hollow. More popular roguelikes often thrive on their world-building and making the player want to uncover more, but Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse misses the mark here.  

“There really was a lot that I liked about Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse, but the repetitive nature and over-emphasis on grinding really hold it back.“

When it comes to the moment-to-moment gameplay, things get a lot better. The combat is your standard hack-and-slash affair, relying on well-timed dodges, your trusty dagger, and an assortment of spells that you unlock along the way, with plenty of fun ways to dish out damage to your foes. But the real star of the combat is your companion hat, with it able to be thrown onto certain enemies to possess them. Taking over a hulking beast gives you a brand-new moveset to utilise (as well as an extra health bar for when the going gets tough), and honestly, it always feels great to take over control of a foe that might have been giving you a hard time. Sure, they’re not quite so effective for platforming, but dishing out some hurt as one of the many creatures across the world does feel like a treat. 

Between your dungeon runs, you will head back to a hub village where you can use the loot and materials you have gathered to help rebuild the town, plant crops, and cook meals in your cauldron to unlock permanent buffs. There’s a solid sense of progression as you slowly morph from a squishy novice into a powerhouse, with the roguelike progression making what were tough runs eventually feel like a cakewalk. However, it should be noted that the game doesn’t do a good job of explaining how the base-building actually works, and whilst you will constantly find furniture blueprints out in the wild, figuring out what to do with them is unnecessarily confusing. You’ll figure it out eventually, but a bit more hand-holding to guide the player wouldn’t have hurt early on. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

It’s clear that Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse does have some fun ideas then (you can even play it in co-op multiplayer though I’ve yet to try it), but it all comes with one big caveat: the sheer amount of grinding required to progress. The game features a bizarre progression bottleneck where bosses are locked behind doors with three seals, and to break them, you essentially have to run through the exact same level segment three times. What makes this worse is the forced return mechanic – instead of letting you push forward to the end of the game with a great loadout, the game actively kicks you back to the hub after you unlock a new tier, stripping you of all the temporary stat boons and perks you collected on each run. I get that roguelike titles thrive on this loop of RNG, but Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse just feels like it takes control of a run out of the player’s hand, and there’s nothing more frustrating than amassing the perfect loadout only to be forced to lose it. 

Because the permanent town upgrades get ridiculously expensive very quickly, you are forced to replay the same environments over and over just to farm materials, and while the levels are technically procedurally generated, the layouts all start blending together quite fast. It means making real progress can often feel like an exhausting uphill battle rather than a test of skill, with the need to grind making Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse go from being an enjoyable experience to a tedious one. 

Developer: Frontside 180 
Publisher: Pocketpair Publishing 
Platforms(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2395770/Never_Grave_The_Witch_and_The_Curse/