The first Witchaven I have a soft spot for as a curiosity piece of first-person action games from the mid-90s, among the earliest of any games released to use the Build Engine later made famous by Duke Nukem 3D and refined to near perfection by Blood. I feel many of its shortcomings, the original's I mean, are excusable due to its time of release in 1995, before 3D Realms would revolutionize not only FPS games but also 3D game design in general with Duke Nukem 3D, and because no other game was really trying to do what it was doing by mixing first-person, real-time action heavily based in melee with magic and some very light RPG elements. For what it was, Witchaven is an enjoyable little time if you go in with the right frame of mind. This courtesy I cannot extend to Witchaven 2.

Witchaven 2 came out after Duke Nukem 3D did, when the bar had been set much higher than ever before, and it came out on the same engine no less. Despite that it suffers from many of the same problems as the first game while gaining new ones in the process. Firstly, levels still do not feel distinct from one another. They still have the issue of running together and lacking anything in manner of setpieces or interesting environmental design. This is particularly egregious versus the last game because, unlike the first Witchaven, this has Duke Nukem 3D as a reference point yet still fails at making levels interesting, which should be a top priority for any retro FPS of the time. DN3D had buildings collapsing in massive explosions, it had you witness the quaking of the Andreas Fault, escaping prison and infiltrating a submarine, all that in just the first episode. No such variety exists in Witchaven 2. And on the topic of poor variety, the enemies in Witchaven 2 are so much more boring than the first game. The first game had this breadth of beasts, a wide menagerie of monsters that made the game actually feel somewhat fantastical. Witchaven 2 features mostly boring human enemies lacking anything in ways of creativity. The combat hasn't seen any improvement, which is unfortunate. And largely speaking, Witchaven 2 is way, way buggier than the first, much to its detriment. Undoubtedly a byproduct of Capstone's seeming inability to stop pumping out their games at breakneck speeds and take their time on one for once. Really, there isn't any charitable way of putting it, Capstone phoned it in with Witchaven 2, and predictably, they couldn't keep competing. When you put Witchaven 2 side-by-side with games like Shadow Warrior, Blood, Duke Nukem, what have you, it quickly collapses under the weight of scrutiny. More boring enemy variety than the first, failing at all to build on the first game's ideas, it's a pathetic sequel.

The action genre features fast-paced, thrilling, and intense sequences of physical feats, combat, and excitement. The characters of these stories are involved in daring and often dangerous situations, requiring them to rely on their physical prowess, skills, and quick thinking to overcome challenges and adversaries.

The fantasy genre features imaginative and often magical worlds, characters, and events. It explores realms beyond the boundaries of reality, featuring elements such as magic, mythical creatures, supernatural powers, and fantastical settings. These stories can take place in entirely fictional worlds or blend fantastical elements with real-world settings.

Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

A mysterious golden dragon warns knight Grondoval the Witchbane that Cirae-Argoth, the sister of dead witch queen Illwhyrin, wants revenge. Grondoval must destroy her minions and her and save princess Elizabeth and his country, Stazhia.

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Witchaven II: Blood Vengeance

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