MeinMMO editor Dariusz tested an extraction shooter that completely avoids PvP and is still fun.
ARC Raiders is somewhat of a rebirth of extraction shooters. Many players are now discovering the genre for themselves. This is partly due to the fact that ARC Raiders does one crucial thing differently than games like Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown, which have so far dominated the genre:
While PvP is an important part of the game in ARC Raiders, you can also have fun and progress without shooting at enemy raiders – and many players enjoy this PvP-less gaming experience. However, some players are frustrated when they are shot in the back and forced into PvP.
And that’s where a shooter comes into play that could fulfill the need for a PvP-less extraction shooter: Witchfire
In Witchfire, there is only PvE. So you don’t have to worry about other players. This applies not only to your opponents: Witchfire is a single-player game. You enter the fight alone. There’s only you and your rifle.
Hunting witches with bullets
Witchfire is a special genre mix. The foundation is an extraction shooter, but lurking in the background is a soulslike. You are a witch hunter who battles a powerful witch and her bodyguards. But before you can face the evil leader, you must become stronger. Much stronger.
In battle, your witch hunter relies on various spells and classic firepower. You grab an ancient firearm and first take out a few minor witch minions – either with a revolver, an old pump-action shotgun, or a repeating rifle. I spent my first hours of gameplay with a fully automatic rifle and spells that allowed me to throw fireballs at my enemies.
If you successfully eliminate a group of enemies, you can choose one of up to three perks that provide further enhancements. However, these perks are lost after extraction or your death. Nevertheless, they allow you to get more out of your spells, for example, and are an important component in winning an upcoming boss fight.
If Dark Souls Were an Extraction Shooter…
In designing the game world, Witchfire opts for a dark-fantasy setting that fits the soulslike approach and leads you to various locations. Via a portal, you then travel to a medieval town, a coast with wrecked ships, an abandoned castle, or a mountain shrouded in fog.
The major soulslike inspiration is not the setting but the progression system.
While you gather various resources in Witchfire during your excursions on the different maps, the so-called Witchfire is particularly important. It works somewhat like the souls in Dark Souls or the runes in Elden Ring:
- You receive Witchfire when you eliminate villains. You collect it in your inventory but can’t spend it right away.
- If you manage to extract successfully with the collected Witchfire, you can invest it in your witch hunter hideout to level up your character’s attributes.
- The higher your attributes, the better the physical traits and abilities of your hunter are. You will have more health points, shorter cooldowns, or better weapon handling.
However, the collected Witchfire cannot be stored, and the costs for a level-up continuously increase. At the same time, your enemies become stronger as the game progresses. A death becomes truly painful and costs you – unlike in most extraction shooters – not hard-earned weapons or armor, but potentially lost progress.
Witchfire, however, is not as merciless as, for example, Escape from Tarkov, and allows you – like most soulslikes – to retrieve your remains and collect the lost goods. However, if you die a second time before you can recover your Witchfire, it is irretrievably lost.
The goal is clear: don’t die and continuously become stronger to progress in the game.
Witchfire Could Be the Perfect Game for You, but It Wasn’t for Me
I think Witchfire is really good. It has a unique game design that clearly sets it apart from the crowd. Coupled with an unused setting in shooters, which is also a pleasant change, along with really good gunplay and movement that reminds me of Destiny, being both intuitive and smooth, it creates a really well-rounded game.
Technically, I didn’t have any problems with my aging PC. The performance was good, and I didn’t encounter any bugs or crashes.
Still, my time in Witchfire will probably be limited. But that’s okay because I am not the target audience for the game. I miss PvP in Witchfire. The NPC enemies simply do not evoke in me the tension I feel when I sneak toward the elevator in ARC Raiders with a full backpack. I don’t feel threatened by the normal NPCs.
I am currently at a checkpoint in the game where I just have to keep playing. I am too weak for my next boss fight but strong enough not to take damage from most mobs. So I just have to grind a bit – but I don’t feel like it.
If you are frustrated by the PvP in ARC Raiders, Witchfire might be perfect for you.
In Witchfire, you can just grind, play PvE in peace, and don’t have to worry about a ratty player sneaking up and shooting you in the back. You do your thing at your own pace, and no one steals your hours of hard work.
But that’s exactly what I missed. I miss the tension that comes from the presence of other players, and I find myself going back to a game with PvP. That’s where I feel most comfortable. And that’s why I’m convinced: ARC Raiders makes a huge mistake if it listens to whiny gamers – and it could be the end of the shooter
