Dog Witch May Seem Simplistic at First but It's Actually a Pretty Complex Rougelike

I’ve played quite a few deckbuilding roguelike’s in my time but the ones that I go back to again and again are Slay the Spire and Dicey Dungeons. Mastering the art of a roguelike that’s fun to fail again and again, slowly improving as you make slow progress, is tough. And I was totally surprised when I played Dog Witch from Developer Heckmouse to find that it scratches the itch I get when I’ve gone too long without playing a deck-building roguelike. 

On the surface, Dog Witch is a simplistic and easy to learn deckbuilding roguelike where you use spells, special items and more to defeat enemies with the ultimate goal of finding “the wizard” and defeating him. In the beginning, things seem easy enough, roll your dice and play them and try to survive, but you’ll quickly realize that there’s much more going on here. 

The game features over 150 unique items creating seemingly endless combinations and helpful synergies. The more you play, the more you’ll unlock and discover and the more you can experiment to find out which combos pack a punch. With quick runs, you’ll only have a few short rounds to try and come up with your plan for defeating tough enemies and powerful bosses which can be challenging, but also makes for a game you can pick up and play for just a few minutes at a time or on the go if you’re playing on Steam Deck (I did and it runs perfectly). 

And did I mention it’s easy to learn? It may seem that way at the beginning, but honestly, it’s pretty hard to master once things start to get complicated. Especially once you unlock different game modes with increasing difficulty. You can always play on normal, but what’s the fun in that? Dog Witch will make you crave experimentation, so you’ll want to challenge yourself with its unique game modes. 

And, maybe the best part of the game, you can design your doggie witch with customization options. Want a super smol boy? You can do that? How about a large and powerful chihuahua? Sure. The magic is in your hands and so is your furry friend. 

Dog Witch is available now on Steam.