There's something very comfortable about old-school first-person shooters, especially for a particular subset of gamers. If you belong to Generation X or fall on the older end of the Millennial set, and grew up with shareware shooters like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, what could be more homey and nostalgic than a maze-like FPS set in a 3D space with 2D assets? That's a big part of what makes Witch Rise, a retro "boomer shooter" from Juliano Ferreira de Lima, so enticing. But is it enough just to look like great games of the past?

Witch Rise takes place in a faraway land, where once upon a time lived a wise and beautiful witch, respected by all. As time went on, the witch grew greedy for knowledge and secret power, and ultimately succumbed to darkness. When the witch learned about a young girl, pure of heart and skilled in magic-casting, she felt intense jealousy. She transformed the girl into a pig and dared her to collect four magic staffs hidden throughout the land. The girl now sets off on a quest to find the staffs and regain her human form.

The story in Witch Rise doesn't leave a strong impression. The characters and premise are generic, and apart from brief narrative bookends at the beginning and end of the game, there's no storytelling or world-building to speak of. There are also a handful of grammatical issues in the text that make the experience feel unrefined. Now, to be fair, story isn't essential in a game like this. No one would mistake Doom for Dune, or Wolfenstein 3D for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Unfortunately, Witch Rise also struggles in other areas.

In terms of momentary gameplay, Witch Rise is a straightforward, no-frills experience. You aim with the right stick, move with the left stick, and attack with the right trigger. There are a few more inputs and commands, but this is essentially how you will interact with the game's fantasy world. For a time, it's refreshing. With so many modern games buried under busy UIs and intrusive feedback notifications, it's nice just to walk through a forest or sewer and blast baddies. There's a certain visceral, shut-your-brain-off satisfaction to Witch Rise — at least at first. 

Things soon become monotonous, however, as you travel through similar-looking rooms and fight the same battles over and over. Witch Rise does actually have some nice environmental and enemy diversity — there are four distinct biomes and several monster types, including blobs, skeletons, bats, spiders, and goblins — but every encounter feels the same. This is due in part to predictable enemy AI and in part to the Little Witch's limited arsenal. She starts the game with the "Old Short Sword" and soon finds her first staff, which fires magic projectiles. Each subsequent weapon is also a staff, which either fires one or three bolts, at different damage levels. You'll most likely settle in on your favorite staff and never change weapons again. It all becomes rote after a while.

It hurts, too, that the game is far too easy. In my two hours with Witch Rise, I didn't die once. Boss battles raise the stakes slightly, but with enough patience they're easily dispatched. Speaking of bosses, they represent a huge missed opportunity. Each of the four guardians, including the Witch herself, performs only two moves: a spread projectile attack or a ramming maneuver. They're just boring.

One thing that Witch Rise does well is non-linear exploration. From your starting point in the Little Witch's house, you can explore three biomes in any order you please (the fourth and final biome is locked at first). There are very few signposts and indicators, apart from wooden signs with one to four skulls indicating the difficulty of the area ahead. It's up to you to explore the terrain, update your map, and find your way forward — all without instruction. It's very reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda. There are even cracked walls with treasure behind them.

Ferreira de Lima goes a little too far, however, by omitting any icons on the world map. You can see openings and connections between rooms on the map, but you can't see the location of a shopkeeper or a locked door, even after you've discovered them. It leads to a bunch of tedious backtracking and meandering.

Even with all that backtracking, Witch Rise is a painfully short experience. I completed my quest at 75% in less than 80 minutes. If you want to purchase each upgrade, find every last treasure chest, and hit max level (and earn a special thank-you message in the process), you could extend that playing time to around 120 minutes. Still, that's not a lot of value. Gratefully, the game is priced at only $4.99, so it might be worthwhile if you're interested in a quick adventure you can finish in a single sitting.

At the very least you'll be treated to some charming visuals. Not only does Witch Rise lean into that nostalgic early-90s first-person shooter aesthetic — 3D levels filled with enemies and objects created via 2D sprites — but it makes those sprites quite winsome. There's a colorful chunkiness to everything in the game, which works with its storybook setting. Furthermore, it features some small details which enhance the experience: falling leaves in the Forbidden Garden and a cartoonish "puff" cloud each time an enemy is dispatched. Now, sometimes things feel too claustrophobic, due to each room's high walls and lack of a sky box, but in general the game's aesthetic is inviting. 

The music in Witch Rise, by Andy Ray, is similarly inviting. Each biome has its own intimidating theme, which helps highlight the urgency of the quest. The best individual track plays throughout Freezing Caves, a chilly land infested with skeletons. Its thumping beat evokes the "Cave Theme" from A Link to the Past.

While Witch Rise looks the part, thanks to its first-person perspective and interplay between 3D and 2D assets, it doesn't deliver what you'd expect from a great old-school FPS. It's too short, too easy, and too tedious, and it lacks a memorable story and heroine. There's some fun to be had, due to the game's charming pixelated graphics and its focus on non-linear exploration, but not enough to justify a purchase, even at such a low price. For those Gen X-ers and Millennials looking for their next "boomer shooter" fix, keep searching.