Blair Witch

Bloober Team is a Polish game developer and publisher team founded by Peter Babieno and Peter Bielatowicz in 2008, with games like "Layers of Fear" and "> observer", both games are very popular on Steam. Together with Blair Witch, "Layers of Fear 2" was also released in August 2019 for PC. Later they released the Console Version and 2020 the Switch Port followed.

  The team is currently working on optimizing both games and producing “Medium”, which will be the next game.

Story:

We start the game with the main character Ellis, a former police officer with a turbulent past who joins in the search for a missing little boy. Together with his dog Bullet, he experiences a nightmare and also has to face his past.

Gameplay:

  The game takes place in Maryland in 1996, we go on a search to find a boy who is said to have left home. The tracks lead into the forest, of all places in which the witch Blair is said to live, an American urban legend that dates back to 1775.    Together with our dog Bullet we roam the forest, where we come across many puzzles, paths and secrets. Very often we only run in circles and always come out in the same place as in the films. The puzzles are, once you know how it works, fairly simple, Layers of Fear players will know what I mean.

Playing time:

Blair Witch has a playing time of 5-6 hours, it took me 7 hours because of a few bugs. The playing time varies, however, depending on how quickly you can solve the puzzles and find the right way. You also have 5 different Endings, that can stretch the play time.

Graphic:

For me, the graphics look okay, at the beginning you have the feeling that you are playing an older game, but at the later when you enter the forest and see the shadows and lighting conditions, you change your mind a bit. However, they could have made more especially since the game was released 2019.

Sound:

The sound is good and coherent, matches the atmosphere very well, the dog also sounds authentic. (If you do not like dogs or are afraid and this fear also applies to games, you should perhaps not access, because the dog barks very often.)

Bugs:

  Many players with really good PCs complain about problems with the game and FPS drops, for me the game worked perfectly. However, I had some bugs where I got stuck and couldn't get away, such as behind a tree or between two trees.    The developers have already released 2 patches, the first few hours after the release, players who bought the game before the first patch was released got a film and a game (Blair Witch Project and BAWL) for free. What I find admirable for such a small team.

Switch Port und Performance:

  The switch version cannot compete graphically with any console, compared to PS4 and PC, the graphics appear rather muddy and in slightly pixelated. Textures pop up again and again, which are quite annoying in the dense forest. The control in handheld mode is good and Blair Witch can also be enjoyed well in tablet mode. Alternatively, you can also use the TV mode, here the game looks graphically really ugly, especially if you have a large screen. All in all I can recommend Blair Witch on the switch, despite poorer graphics, it plays smoothly and the loading times are still bearable.