Despite not being a 100% freak, I really dig metroidvanias. They deliver dopamine like those dog enrichment toys, making you feel good for finding clever shortcuts and secrets.

Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree posits an interesting solution to the inherent flaws of the genre, though: while more classic entries are overly married to your ability to traverse big mazes in one go, Mandragora implants elements from other genres to give yourself an incredibly bespoke journey through its rich gothic setting.

Title: Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree

Developer: Primal Game Studio

Publisher: Knights Peak

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch

No One Expects The Mandragora Inquisition

While "Gothic Metroidvania" is a bit of a cliche nowadays, I have to praise Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree's specific flavor. It's not just a Souls style "World is dead and you are the chosen one". No, instead you're an Inquisitor. And not in the "Scientists are the inquisitors of nature" kind of way, I mean in the "bring back witches and inquire, 'are they dead yet?' " kind of way.

Mandragora's opening act is incredibly tense and flavorful for this reason. A lot of the supporting cast are delivering great vocal performances, turning something as simple as telling you to go kill a handful of bandits into something gripping and dramatic, as its setting commands.

It helps that the world itself is deliciously gothic in its trappings. From fighting what appears to be Death from Puss in Boots on top of a spire to a forest full of winding roots, there's a lot of great scenery to take in. There's a good dash of fantasy where you'd normally find medieval styles to it- a nice change of pace that helps it stand out a little from its contemporaries.

Of course, there's no use for cool environments if you weren't doing metroidvania stuff in it. I got the pure experience from Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree: I found myself roadblocked on one end of the map, so I decided to explore its cardinal opposite only to hit another progress roadblock there, too.

Mandragora's maps are somehow big and economic: it never feels like any particular area is devoid of purpose, being able to yield either crafting materials or upgrades for your town or, better yet, a stray boss. It's a great feeling, since you'll be going in a lot of different directions trying to solve problems. Bosses even drop skills themselves- so be sure to pay attention to what each boss is doing in case part of its moveset might be equippable.

Bossfights Go

Speaking of those bosses, I'm glad the game has the Souls-style "use any weapon" approach that most metroidvanias tend to avoid. Being able to ditch my class's sword-and-board for a giant hammer and put all my eggs in my dodge timing basket is always a fun time, even if that means occasionally blowing a third of my health on an EVO-tier corner setup.

It's here that the genre-mashing really comes in clutch. In a metroidvania, if you're struggling with a boss your solution is usually just to get good or find the item out there in the world that either deletes or outright skips the encounter altogether. Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree does reward stubbornness somewhat, and you're well within your rights to just pump levels and pushing your stats high enough that maybe you only lose a quarter of your health instead of a third.

One thing that does grind my gears is exactly how the game handles multi-weapons, though: Class-specific weapons only fully unlock at Level 25, and you're basically not trying other class's weapons unless you're willing to spend a Skill Point (Level) in that Class' Skill Tree. Rather than just having the stats to use a pair of daggers, for example, I need to actually spend a level in the Assassin tree to get it.

Weirdly enough, despite skills being weapon-locked you're also able to switch betwen skillsets independently of weapons. I get the reasoning: if you're going all in on a Vanguard build, you'll want to switch to your second row of skills without necessarily changing your weapon.

But if you have points in another class it just feels odd that you would switch to something like daggers only to need a second button press to access its class skills. It's a minor nitpick but one I can't help but feel other games have solved somewhat.

Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree- Verdict

If you've got a hankering for a good Metroidvania with fairly challenging combat, I couldn't recommend Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree enough. There's lots to sink your teeth into, from seeking out upgrades to simply wanting to clear out the game's array of bosses.

Admittedly my biggest gripe is with the Inquisitor character themselves. While the rest of the world is dripping with gothic charm, having the most Cali-accent "Looks like I can't open the door from here" feels a little out of place. It's not a huge gripe, just an oddity considering the rest of the game commits super hard to its setting.

It's negligible enough, though. After all, you don't even hear the voiceline all that much when you're busy dying to a boss for the fifth time in a row. Or worse, desperately trying to find a way to progress to the next area.

• Presentation: 7/10
• Gameplay: 8/10
• Content: 7/10

Final Score: 7.5/10

Game reviewed on PC. Review code provided by publisher