Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree looks to challenge players in a fusion of Soulslike and Metroidvania style! Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Review Overview
What is Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree?
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is a fusion between the Soulslike and Metroidvania genres set in the stylized and atmospheric dark fantasy world of Faelduum. As one of the King Priest’s Inquisitors, you must find, detain, and eliminate heretics. The game also features a beautiful 2.5D landscape for players to explore, featuring 75 unique locations with more than 40 hours of gameplay. Lastly, the game features 6 distinct classes, each with its specialty in melee combat or magic.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree features:
⚫︎ Metroidvania and Soulslike Fusion
⚫︎ Beautiful Visuals and Dark Atmosphere
⚫︎ Fully Voice-Acted Experience
⚫︎ 6 Starting Classes That Can Be Mixed and Matched
⚫︎ 75 Unique Locations to Explore
 Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 Epic |
 PSN |
 Switch |
 Xbox |
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Visually Stunning Great Atmosphere and Setting |
Combat is One Dimensional Balancing Issues Exploration is Boring Feedback and Controls Don’t Feel Great |
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Overall - 70/100
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is a good example of how having too much of a good thing is not always a good idea. There’s a lot to like about the game, especially its audiovisual aspects. But ultimately, the game struggles with finding its own identity and suffers from the common pitfalls found in both Soulslikes and Metroidvanias.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Story - 7/10
The story of the game is a tale you’d commonly find in most dark fantasy media. You are part of the king’s personal army; in this case, an Inquisitor. During a showcase of power led by the king, you had a lapse in judgment and got cursed in the process. One thing leads to another, and now it’s up to you to find the truth of what’s going on in the world of Faelduum. It’s not the best story you’ll hear or experience, but it’s interesting enough to keep you going in tandem with the combat and exploration.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Gameplay - 5/10
The gameplay aspect of the game is simple to understand, especially if you’ve played games of a similar genre. It has elements of both Soulslikes with the stamina management, Poise, weight system, and more, and the exploration of Metroidvanias. The biggest problem is that it doesn’t go all in on one of either genres, leading to a somewhat bastardized version of both. You can clearly see that the game has the makings of a stellar game but fails to capitalize on the little details that make these genres great.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Visuals - 10/10
In terms of the visuals, this is one of the better-looking games in the genre. The dark fantasy aesthetic, paired with the gritty animated visuals, makes for an amazing atmospheric experience. There’s not much to criticize about the visuals, as this is the best aspect of the game by far.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Audio - 8/10
The sound design and music of the game are also a great part as to why the presentation of the game is near flawless. Everything about it captures the dark fantasy atmosphere, along with the fully voice-acted characters that are featured in the game. The only nitpick that I can point out is that the sound effects could be a lot heavier so that combat could have a little more oomph.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Value for Money - 5/10
For $39.99, Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is a decent game that has a considerable amount of content on release. However, it was advertised to be more than a 40-hour experience and a new game+ option to get people interested, and neither of these seems to be true. There’s a lot to like with regards to the presentation, but it lacks in terms of gameplay, which does make it a lot less desirable.
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Review: Pick a Struggle and Stick With It
We all know that anything good in excess is a bad thing, which is a thing that affects us in reality and in the gaming space. In this case, Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree combines two of the more popular genres in gaming to this day: Soulslikes and Metroidvanias. While the combination of the two isn’t exactly new and not that far off, especially since you can draw similarities between them. However, does the combination of the two really work? Don’t both genres ideal scenarios clash with their designs? Well, yes, and this game is a stellar example of that.
Atmosphere, Visuals, and Audio Design are Top Notch
Let’s first get this out of the way. Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree looks and presents itself amazingly. These were the main aspects that are definitely the main selling points of the game. From the character designs to the visual effects, the game looks absolutely stunning. If you’re a big fan of games like Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked or Red Hook’s Darkest Dungeon, then you’ll like the dark and grimy aesthetic of the game.
This also includes the fictional world of Faelduum, where the worldbuilding is already quite set in stone and easy to understand from the intro cinematic alone. Finally, the music and voice acting are also superb. If we could grade the game on visuals and audio design alone, it would be an A. But a game is not a game without actual gameplay, which leads us to…
Clash of Design – Metroidvania and Soulslike
The game is primarily a Metroidvania in how you move around and explore the world and a Soulslike in its combat. The main problem is that the ideal scenarios of both genres clash when it comes down to certain encounters. Let’s start with Metroidvanias. They are known for the numerous movement options you get while progressing through the game. This makes the interconnected game world special because you’ll be revisiting certain areas of the game where you use your new powers to explore more of the world.
Mandragora fails at this because the primary movement options you have are just rolling and sprinting. Yes, you do get a grappling hook later on, but it’s not as satisfying as other Metroidvanias where movement options not only affect exploration but also in combat. As a result of this, the exploration aspect of the game suffers a lot, and it doesn’t feel like a Metroidvania but merely tries to emulate it.
A Soulslike is known to be difficult, first and foremost, but at its core are the interconnected exploration, load management, and snappy combat. Mandragora does have these to a degree with stamina, weight management, and pattern recognition against enemies. The problem encountered in Mandragora is that these aspects feel more like a specific restriction instead of a thought-out limitation.
At first, you would think that playing the game as a Warrior or a melee-focused class would lead you to believe that the game’s combat is fair. However, when you get to play a magic-based class or even a class that has access to basic ranged magic, you get to see the glaring flaws of the combat.
Attacking with a melee weapon and rolling drains stamina while dealing a considerable amount of damage. You’d have to balance the number of swings you do while taking into account how many dodges you have to do to get out of the enemy’s retaliation. Whereas, magic lets you stay on the far side of the screen and throw out an unhealthy amount of fireballs and then dodge out of the way afterwards while dealing more damage than attacking.
There’s a clear unbalance of the game’s combat system with how to deal damage, and on top of all of this, the enemies also have an extreme variance of attack patterns that range from way too easy to borderline undodgeable. It also doesn’t help that there are only two universal ways to get out of attacks without adding points to the class that lets you use a shield.
Fundamentally Flawed Combination of Genres
It’s a shame that Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree doesn’t play as good as it looks, especially when you’re used to playing games of a similar genre. This doesn’t even take into account the unnecessary use of leaving behind your souls
when dying and also the location of checkpoints being unreasonably far for most places. Additionally, the progression of the game isn’t explained well. It doesn’t tell the player that they can put points in other classes so they could access their skills as well.
Is it to say that the fusion of Soulslikes and Metroidvanias can’t be done? No. It just so happens that Mandragora doesn’t execute it correctly. However, it may have been better if the game were either a 2D Soulslike or a 2D Metroidvania that didn’t need to take elements from the other genre. The tiny flaws added up in my experience, and it became more apparent the longer I played the game. And these flaws are what show that combining both genres made the game a lot less special than it should’ve been.
Is Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Worth It?
Go For An Actual Metroidvania or Soulslike Instead
There’s a lot to like with Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, and the visuals are the main selling point of the game. But if you were looking for a fusion of two beloved genres, then you’d be sorely disappointed with the results. It doesn’t have the mobility options offered in Metroidvanias that make exploration special, and it also doesn’t have the intricate enemy patterns and combat options that make Soulslike an actual genre. I would recommend interested players who want to play a Soulslike or a Metroidvania to go play an actual one instead. The combination of the two just doesn’t work due to the clashing game designs that both games have.
| Digital Storefronts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
Epic |
PSN |
Switch |
Xbox |
| $39.99 | ||||
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree FAQ
Does Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Have Other Language Options?
Yes. However, the voice acting is only available in English.
When does Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree release for the Nintendo Switch?
As of writing, there is no specified date of when the game will be released for the Nintendo Switch.
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Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Product Information
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| Title | MANDRAGORA: WHISPERS OF THE WITCH TREE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 17, 2025 |
| Developer | Primal Game Studio |
| Publisher | Knights Peak |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam, Epic Games), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Action, RPG, Soulslike |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | M 17+ |
| Official Website | Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Official Website |
