Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Review – A Promising Adventure that Falls Short

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is a dark fantasy RPG with great ideas but struggles with depth, combat, and execution.

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Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Review

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree tries to mix different action-RPG features but has trouble creating an exciting and smooth experience. This 2D sidescroller takes ideas from soulslike games, metroidvanias, platformers and more but doesn’t fully succeed with any of them. While there are some interesting moments in the combat and world-building, game ends up feeling repetitive and shallow.

A dark fantasy planet teeming with evil creatures is the setting for Mandragora. With the help of a spooky voice, you must hunt these monsters as the inquisitor. At first, the world is intriguing, full of terrifying creatures, enormous witches, and an enigmatic force known as entropy. While some of the characters are compelling, the writing and voice acting are inconsistent, and the plot quickly becomes cliched.

Mandragora’s fighting system, which ought to be the primary focus of any action-RPG, falls short. Battles feel monotonous and uninteresting since enemies move slowly and their attacks are predictable. Because they employ the same few attacks throughout game even boss fights which have the potential to be thrilling, are rather dull. Even though there are some thrilling moments, particularly when facing new bosses or opponents, fighting soon turns monotonous making it difficult to remain engaged.

Despite these problems, Mandragora has some deep RPG elements like six character classes, skill trees and a crafting system. Although you can add some depth & customize your character with these features, they are unable to completely overcome for the lack of challenge and monotonous fighting. Although there is potential in the setting and fighting mechanics, whole experience comes across as repetitious and shallow.

If you’re looking for an action-RPG with great combat and strong characters, Mandragora might leave you disappointed. Even with its potential, it doesn’t offer a fully satisfying adventure, missing chances for better gameplay and storytelling.

Platforming in Mandragora: Just a Small Break Between Battles

The combat in Mandragora gets more fun because of its skill trees and RPG features, which let you customize your character and try different strategies in battles. I mostly played as a fast-moving assassin with poison daggers, using teleportation to get close to enemies. However, tanky sword-and-board setups and spellcasting are also alternatives. To create a character that is more adaptable- you can even combine skills from various branches.

For instance: I used magic in conjunction with my assassin build to increase damage particularly when facing bosses like the enormous poisonous rat which appears far too frequently. You can use runic enchantments to enhance your weapons and equipment thanks to the loot system and crafting possibilities which also offer depth.

As a sidescroller, Mandragora offers some platforming and secret-hunting, but these sections mainly serve as brief breaks between combat. There are no real puzzles, and the trap-dodging areas are straightforward, with no serious threats unless you’re not paying attention. While the game does have hidden spots that require upgrades like a grapple hook, double jump, and glide, these abilities are spread out far too much and come too late. For example, the double jump arrives after you’ve already passed many areas where it would have been useful, and by the time you get the glide ability, there’s little incentive to backtrack.

Although the game shines in some areas, it suffers from mild technical issues. Long play sessions lead to frame rate drops making the game nearly unplayable until I restarted my PlayStation. While this wasn’t a constant problem, it did affect extended gaming sessions. Despite these technical hiccups, game still offers a solid experience overall.

Pros and Cons of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree

✅ Pros	❌ Cons
🌌 Dark and interesting fantasy world	📖 Story becomes boring and too familiar
🧙‍♂️ Multiple character classes and skill trees	⚔️ Combat feels repetitive and lacks excitement
✨ Mix magic, melee, and abilities for custom playstyles	🐉 Boss fights are dull and use the same moves repeatedly
🛠️ Crafting and loot system adds extra depth	🐢 Enemies are slow and predictable
⚡ Some fun moments with new enemies or unique skills	🎮 Not much challenge, even during big fights
🧗 Platforming and hidden areas give small breaks	🪜 Platforming is too simple, and upgrades come too late
👁️ Nice visual design and creepy vibe	🐞 Technical issues like frame drops during long sessions
💡 Great concept with lots of potential	🕳️ Feels incomplete and misses key opportunities

Conclusion: Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Review – A Dark Fantasy with Untapped Potential

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree combines various action-RPG elements, but it struggles to deliver a fully realized experience. The game offers an intriguing dark fantasy setting, 2D soulslike combat, and metroidvania-style exploration, but each of these aspects feels underdeveloped. While the RPG systems and character classes provide some depth, they can’t mask the repetitive combat and lackluster boss fights that disappoint after each level. Despite its creative ideas, Mandragora never quite lives up to its potential.