Release date: 2021
Version played: Xbox Series X in 2021
A combination top-down action-adventure and twin-stick shooter, Trigger Witch is what happens when The Legend of Zelda finds all it’s combat and puzzles solved with destruction long ranged firearms. Developed by New Zealand based developers Rainbite, players will control Colette, an aspiring member of The Clip, the lawmakers and problems solvers of her society of witches, as she uses the new technology of ballistic weaponry to save the land of Evertonia from a mysterious stranger.
+ the core gameplay is immensely satisfying. Nine varied weapons are available for Colette to blast through countless enemies, all of which explode in horrendously gorgeous blood and viscera (thought this can be toggled to “Piñata mode” where they explode into confetti, instead). Firefight are not often long, but they can be incredibly intense as new and improved enemies are introduced
+ the dungeons absolutely nail the feeling of old school Legend of Zelda games, with a nice mixture of combat and puzzle rooms, a new item to use (in this case, a new gun each time) and a boss to finish the level off with. It’s not ground breaking, but it feels just like it should
+ the story is a little bit hit and miss, with a very limited ‘choose the tone of your response’ system, but not enough to warrant calling this an RPG. The twists are turns are relatively enjoyable, but the final twist had me simultaneously scratching my head in confusion, and picking my jaw up off the floor from shock. Whether you love it or hate it, you definitely won’t see it coming
+ graphically, this at first appears to be a loving rendition of The Legend of Zelda: A link to the Past. Once the enemies start being turned to goop at the end of your rifle, Trigger Witch carves its own little niche and I am all for it. As Colette rotates, her equipped gun is shown from a huge number of different angles, rather than the expected eight you might expect. It’s a small thing, but I adored it
– there are a few smaller issues, which are not entirely the fault of the game itself. The simple fact of most top down shooter is that you’ll invariably want to kite enemies away from you, so you can continue to attack from range. That just means that every battle will devolve into the same tactic
– the way for Colette to heal herself is done by killing enemies to fill up a ‘health vial’, which then heals her. This works fine in group encounters, but when you eventually battle a boss with no mooks there is no way to heal yourself. Perhaps letting the potion refill by attacking, not just killing enemies would have been a better system
> a handy in-game timer shows that I 100% completed the game, with all achievements, just a few minutes shy of 10 hours. Make of that what you will
Should you play this game: I’m a sucker for twin-stick shooters in general, but the story’s writing, action gun-play and dungeons all combined to make this a delightful experience I can highly recommend.
MoshFish Reviews 
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