Nine Witches: Family Disruption by indie studio Blowfish has been long in the making but is finally getting released. The game will be available on all major consoles and on PC. After the prologue was released as a teaser, the team made some adjustments to fully optimize the experience with a great final result.
Okkulte-SS
Nine Witches: Family Disruption features Professor Alexei Krakovitz, a quadriplegic connaisseur of the occult, and his assistant Akiro Kagasawa as the heroes of the story. The professor is summoned to aid the allied forces during the end of world war II. In the town of Sundäe, the Third Reich’s Okkulte-SS have been cooking up a devious plan involving witchcraft to tip the balance of the losing war back in their favor. Since the professor is bound to his wheelchair, Akiro has to do most of the heavy work for him forming a great compatible duo. Relying on each other strengths to defend against the forces of darkness unleashed after a ritual involving Nine Witches.
Classic point-and-click
Nine Witches: Family Disruption is an ode to the classic point-and-click adventures of the past. Solely based on an intriguing story without adding too many unnecessary gimmicks, this feels like home-coming for the fanbase of these types of games. Walking around the town of Sundäe and trying to get to the bottom of these occult mysteries will prove more cumbersome than first anticipated. The game developers did a great job of not unveiling too much at once. Subtle roadblocks – literally and figuratively – need to be overcome in order to reach the next part of the game world. The “dangling carrot” is always present throughout the entirety of the game. The balance of just enough frustration to enjoy the solution is well incorporated in Nine Witches: Family Disruption.
Ghostly
You’ll be switching between Akiro and the professor to progress through the game. Akiro might be the only capable of the two but the professor has one very handy ability. He’s not only very renowned in all things occult, but he’s also able to leave his body and become a ghostly figure. When professor Krakovitz is experiencing an out-of-body experience, he’s able to talk to other lost souls and he’s also able to fly through locked doors while being invisible to the living. Both characters complement each other. Having these “tools” available opens up more possibilities offering intricate problems to solve.
Hotspot for strangeness
The two protagonists of Nine Witches: Family Disruption might get all the praise up to this point, the town of Sundäe is the actual star of the game. As it’ll become clear from the moment you set foot in Sundäe, this is classic wonky point-and-click town gold. Every location and every character in Sundäe are all contributing to the enjoyment of the game. Most of these locations and characters can be interacted with and are somehow relevant to your progress. The always-drunk commandant Sauerkraut for instance is a classic example of this. This man runs around farting and burping in his underpants but is somehow needed to get a permit to cross a certain bridge. All these strange occurrences add to the dark humor vibe this game went for.
Pixel perfect
The style matches the intent to make this game an ode to the genre by utilizing pixel art. With a higher amount of resolution than the games from the 80’s and 90’s, Nine Witches: Family Disruption offers great visuals. The different scenes are a joy to behold. There’s even a viewpoint in the game with a sign that tells the player to look at the scene and really appreciate the pixel art. This breaking the fourth wall principle is often used throughout the game. The game developers even make a few appearances mocking your problem-solving abilities from time to time. The humor is mostly well done but the obsession with testicle jokes gets a bit old after yet another ballsy joke.
Conclusion
Nine Witches: Family Disruption is a great ode to the genre of point-and-click adventures. If you like a nice story about the occult and have some problem-solving skills, you’ll surely find enjoyment in this game.
