Player Comments on Witch Hunter: An Uninvited Guest

Witch Hunter by Fluxion was a decent story, but did have a few flaws. Ultimately though, it was a fun read and one that I would recommend without question to an 16+ audience.

The use of pictures in the story, just like in so many other Fluxion stories, really enhanced my immersion and the overall quality of the piece. I felt that the pictures added to the story and helped me visualize the events better. It also showed that by adding items and pictures, Fluxion put a lot of effort in the construction and design of the story.

The use of items was a good feature of the story. Particularly, I enjoyed how we could see all the items that a witch hunter would carry with him layed out: the book, his purse, a sword, a crossbow, and a demon coin. Especially since we get to see all these items used by the witch hunter in action, thereby showing that it’s not just cosmetic but he actually uses all of his stuff at one point or another in the story. The most interesting items were the book on Witches, Werewolves, and Wyverns and the demon coin.

The book was a really clever and interesting way to give some worldbuilding information and background lore without dragging the pace of the story. As a matter of fact, I didn’t use the book in my first playthrough, and only really read it after I beat the game. That is a small drawback since regardless of the reader choosing to check out the textbook, they get all the information on how to kill witches through context anyways, so some readers may just skip the book entirely.

At the same time, not everything in a story needs to be judged solely on the basis of its usefulness to the story, and criticized if it doesn’t provide a clear and concrete purpose; that is a stark and rather utilitarian view to approach art that takes out some of the passion and life from it. Therefore, I can just appreciate it as a bonus feature for more passionate readers to check out and enjoy, even if the information on werewolves, wyverns, and ogres doesn’t really show up, because it gives us more insight into the kind of world the witch-hunter inhabits and what kind of danger he deals with on a day to day basis. So I like how you spent a lot of effort creating this textbook, and it is a must read for readers to check out simply to gain a further appreciation for the world you built.

On that basis, I did enjoy the pages of lore drops describing witches, wyverns, werewolves, ogroids, and other dragon kin. I read the page about the witch in its entirety skimmed the pages not relating to the witch, but still appreciated all the lore. My main suggestion would be to expand “Witch Hunter: An Uninvited Guest” so that we see more of the witch-hunter’s adventures, where he actually deals with all the monsters mentioned in the textbook. I know he’s mainly a witch-hunter, but maybe he could branch out or acquire a different skill-set, just so we could see these monsters show up?

I enjoyed how we could use the demon coin both in its proper way to exorcise a demon, and in an improper way where flipping the coin burns non-iron bindings 20 feet from every direction.

I would have liked to have the items integrated into gameplay, as opposed to them just being used to add to the setting/show what equipment a witch hunter typically carries with him.

The story was largely pretty linear, but at the same time there were actions you could take that slightly changed the way you would get to the same place. For instance, in the beginning you could either get scammed by the bartender or talk to a customer, get kidnapped, then escape by misusing the coin. The branching doesn’t really change the direction of the story, which is a bit of a downside, since in a world with such expansive lore and lots of potential, it would have been cool to see multiple branching storylines.

Despite this flaw, the branching format was used to lend a form of discovery in the way we could choose to explore the various villages. Unfortunately, at some points, there weren’t really consequences for making mistakes. For instance, choosing to not trust the salt merchant and missing out on the 50 sovereigns doesn’t really change the story. At the demon merchant’s shop towards the end, if you trusted the salt merchant and then he paid you back, you had the ability to buy all the merchandise, but if you passed up that opportunity, you had to pick and choose. That element was really good, because it gave some weight and consequences to the choice you made, but then it turns out you could still get the same good ending irregardless, since I was able to get it both times, one where I trusted the merchant and one where I didn’t. I would have liked to see some consequence of not being able to buy all the merchandise, or at least a different outcome. Also, when you scare off the husband by drawing a sword on him, you still get the relevant information regardless, so I would have liked to see a consequence for choosing the wrong tactic to interrogate the husband, and the fallout from that error in judgement.

The plot was quite interesting, and really fit into the grimdark category with its sexual themes. I would probably caution someone younger than the age of say 16 against reading this story, but it works really well for older audiences. There are references to BDSM as well that reminded me of the pair in Wheeler and Brandt(the case of the husband and wife in Braedon). In particular, the writing of the witch as this loathsome, revolting creature was done well. It really sets the scene for the antagonist, and I enjoyed the mystery as we travelled through the land and noticed the residents behaving quite oddly. I thought it was kind of gross to scrape off the priest’s “juices” and store it in a bottle, but that element later showed up as an important plot device to deal with the succubus, so it fits in line with the rest of the story.

I liked the backstory between the witch and the succubus, and how the problem haunting Bracklewhyte and the surrounding villages came to pass.

Kilner was a good character to balance out the protagonist, and I enjoyed their back and forth repartee. I thought his character was fleshed out quite well, and the role of the foolish dishonorable man who at the same time provides a necessary service really fit well in this grimdark world.

The mayor was really fucked up as well, and although not a main villain like the witch and the succubus, still had quite a villainous presence, and it felt cathartic to kill him. His character also serves a necessary purpose of showing that not everyone was corrupted by the succubus, some people were just that evil to begin with.

Overall, it’s a great story. I really enjoyed playing as this witch-hunter, saving Kilner from the Knights of Virtue, figuring out the mystery behind this demon, then stopping the witch and the demon, and at last finally killing the despicable mayor and saving the girl. It was a really cool story that was remarkably grimdark, and the writing was great! Right from the first page, we get a plethora of sensory details mixed with really poetic language(Veils of thick smoke block most of what little lighting there is, floating through the large room like forlorn geists searching for long forgotten loves”), aptly setting the tone and mood for what is to come. The prose has a rhythmic, lyrical quality to it that shows that Fluxion is truly a master at writing beautiful, atmospheric style that makes reading his stories a joy to read. The long, winding sentences and use of metaphor are both really apt for a fantasy story like this because they give a sense of verisimilitude to the world, which is something that Fluxion also achieved in Fey Light. And with Fantasy/Grimdark Fantasy, it’s just fun to read fancy sentences like that and marvel at the quality writing while enjoying the plot.

Nicely done!

I will not be afraid god is always there

Really enjoyed this one.

Too short, not enough choices and didnt even use anything in my inventory. It was an OK short read.

This was a very good story. There were only a couple of minor spelling mistakes which is always a positive. As for the story itself, I really don't have many complaints so I'll talk about the things that stood out.

The characters: Kilner was a jerk but in a very believable way. He was essentially the rough mercenary type that cares little for honor but is lovable in his own way. The witch was downright revolting. Just a despicable creature all around, which is a good thing. I mean, anyone that eats their own babies isn't a good person. The mayor was a creep and he got what was coming to him. And our character was your average hardcore monster hunter. Not too much more to say other than the characters felt unique and had their own personalities.

Items: Honestly, there wasn't much use for the items from what I could tell. It seems more like something that was supposed to be implemented more thoroughly, but wasn't. Of course, I could be mistaken, in which case please disregard this. I do have to say however, this is the only game I know that gives semen as an inventory item. So bravo for that.

World: The world was almost your typical low fantasy type world. There were witches and demons but magic wasn't abundant and it was mostly grounded in reality. I did find the various towns to be unique however, and the pictures really helped. I also really liked learning about the various techniques the witch hunters used. The salt circles, speaking to demons, that kind of thing.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable read. The pictures, characters and descriptive writing really suck you into the story and the ending was satisfying and complete. Great work Fluxion.