Little Witch Nobeta
Developers: Pupuya Games, Simon Creative
Publisher: Idea Factory International
Platforms: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Switch
Release Date: March 7, 2023
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
When it comes to making an action shooter, there’s always a little something that developers try and add to help set them apart from other games in the genre. In a few cases, these extra additions dip into other genres as well and even put some extra spice in the game as a result. The Pupuya Games developed Little Witch Nobeta is one such example as not only is this spell-based shooter something of a “soulslike” game but also features a cute exterior that belies a darker story waiting to be uncovered. With some familiar voicework for fans of a certain Vtuber company and some interesting design choices, does Little Witch Nobeta set itself apart?
Story
The young witch Nobeta finds herself standing in front of the ruins of a mysterious castle with little knowledge of who she is but she feels compelled to find the throne inside the castle to try and learn more about herself. She cannot manage this alone however as she quickly learns that a black cat will be her guide and, upon saving the little kitty, manages to begin her journey deeper into the fortress facing off against the crafted-soul dolls inside and dangerous bosses that reside within.
Little Witch Nobeta has a fairly simple narrative on the surface as players will mostly be treated to a few cutscenes while traveling through the story as Nobeta’s hesitations and choices are often called into question by the black cat that pushes her forward to seek the throne. There are some rather interesting interactions with the few boss characters that players encounter throughout the story but these are unfortunately a bit limited in scope though there are some interesting developments near the end of the game. That’s not to say that the game is without emotional impact as there are some moments that pull on the heartstrings a bit despite the few interactions players have with the cast of characters, especially when it comes to the bosses players battle against as well as the ending sequence.
Perhaps the most interesting element that comes from Little Witch Nobeta’s story is the way the world is built around the narrative as what looks like a fairly cute world is actually cruel and sinister. While players travel through the game they can obtain over a hundred different items from monsters, chests, breakable items, behind hidden walls, and more. These items contain a lot of the game’s lore and detail much of what has happened to the outside world, including detailing various races, the way crafted souls are created, numerous nations and how they are involved, and much more. In fact, depending on how many items players gather it can be easy to put together how certain elements have played out in the main storyline, including what happened to a few boss characters and even Nobeta herself and while this is an interesting way to make the game’s narrative a bit more compelling, it would have been nice to see this worked into the main story a little more directly.
Gameplay
In Little Witch Nobeta players will find themselves exploring a variety of locations that mostly range from narrow corridors that open into larger rooms before later areas open up a bit more in scope and utilizing magical spells and, to a lesser extent, melee to take down the various enemies that stand in Nobeta’s way. Navigating these areas can involve some light platforming here and there with Nobeta quickly gaining access to a double-jump ability though players can also chain together melee attacks to float a bit further and reach hard to reach locations. Though be careful, dodging or running too much can make Nobeta trip and fall when she runs out of stamina, something that may be a little humorous while simply exploring but can be quite risky in a fight.
Combat in Little Witch Nobeta is handled primarily through long-range magical attacks that play similar to a shooter with every one of her spell types having both a primary attack as well as a chanted charged secondary attack. Initially players will only have access to Arcane spells that works as a pistol that can be chanted to pierce through armor but eventually Nobeta will learn Ice that can rapidly fire icicles and can be charged to send locked-on ice missiles at enemies all while shielding Nobeta from fire damage, Fire that works similar to a shotgun and not only can be chanted to buff her melee attack but unleash an explosion when fired, and finally Thunder that works similar to a sniper rifle and has the most unique charged element as it not only slows down time but also allows Nobeta to rain lightning in a targeted location. This allows players to choose spells that either best fit any given fight while also letting them use what they prefer, with the icicle blasts and thunder spell being personal favorites.
All spells use various levels of mana to cast and powering up a spell by chanting will drain mana faster but players have a number of ways to not only increase Nobeta’s chanting speed but also recover mana at the same time. Attacking enemies with Nobeta’s staff will increase both gauges and countering incoming magical attacks with absorption, while a little tricky, can instantly boost Nobeta’s mana. It is also worth noting that there are a number of puzzles in the game that require players to figure out what spell to use and how to use it to clear the location which is a nice touch that, at least in one occasion, left me stumped for a bit.
Where Little Witch Nobeta‘s combat and balance between choosing when to chant and dodging around arenas or simply blasting away with spells shine are the game’s few boss battles. While most of these bosses do telegraph their moves well-enough giving players chances to learn their attack patterns more than a few of these encounters will likely take at least a few tries to complete especially once the difficulty spikes during the later bosses. One thing that is also interesting to note is that Nobeta is a very light character, meaning that getting struck by powerful blows or even her own explosive spells can send her flying through the air with ease so players will always have to be a bit mindful of getting knocked into an instant-death fall.
That being said, this is far from a difficult game despite its design being similar to others in the soulslike genre. Players can choose from normal difficulty at the beginning or opt for the harder Advanced option but players cannot increase their difficulty once they have started the game, even in New Game+. On Normal players will frequently gain health and mana from defeating enemies or smashing breakable objects in the area while Advanced will often force players to rely on limited items to try and stay alive while managing a limited inventory space that can be slightly increased by finding bag upgrades.
Other elements that will feel familiar for longtime fans of the subgenre are elements such as using souls obtained from enemies to increase Nobeta’s stats at Goddess statues. Nobeta can level every stat, ranging from increased health, mana, stamina, to dealing more damage or chanting faster, individually with each upgrade costing a different price from another. This allows players to build Nobeta to best fit their playstyle and just like other games, using the Goddess statue will respawn most enemies in a location allowing players to farm for souls if necessary. One nice thing that is also a bit on the easier side, players will not drop their collected souls when defeated and respawning at the Goddess statue unless they have used a cursed healing item, with this curse being cleared upon visiting a statue.
Visuals & Audio
In a few ways Little Witch Nobeta is a gorgeous game while also being a bit too basic at its core. The character designs for Nobeta, who is given a few fanservice unlockable costumes, and the bosses that players battle against through the game are gorgeous looking and have quite a lot of detail, especially during battle where their special skills are given plenty of great special effects to make them appear very powerful. Along these same lines Nobeta’s spells are impressive looking but unfortunately enemy variety is a bit lacking. Players will face off against only a few types of enemies and often these are then simply color swapped in later stages though at least some of these variations have different types of attacks. The environment that players travel through is also rather mundane most of the time as players will be traveling through plenty of gray-rock hallways but at least this monotony is broken up by the occasional fancier stage, especially near the end of the game.
The only voice track provided with this release of Little Witch Nobeta is the freshly recorded Japanese voice track and while this may be disappointing to some, fans of the Hololive Vtubers may be pleased to hear that three of the game’s bosses are voiced by members of Hololive, with Polka, Fubuki, and Noel lending their voices to the game. All of these characters, including Nobeta, are actually handled quite well, both with in-combat dialogue and reading item descriptions dependent on what location they were obtained. The game’s soundtrack is also quite impressive as the title features a varied soundtrack that changes depending on where players are exploring as well as some rather impressive sounding boss themes.
Overall
Little Witch Nobeta is not a hard souls style game by any means but that doesn’t make it a bad one. Instead it can be seen as a way to ease into the genre while also enjoying a fairly simple storyline with plenty of world lore to discover and some great character designs to go along with its fast-paced shooter-style combat. With limited enemy types and a fairly short runtime, clocking in at around nine hours if players uncover nearly everything in a single run, Little Witch Nobeta isn’t without its flaws but this is certainly a game that fans of the genre and even those looking to dip their toe into should enjoy.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
