Quantum Witch is a Smartly Written Treat [Demo Impressions]

I was able to sit down with the demo for Quantum Witch, which served as a well-written adventure game that’s a great throwback to the old days of the genre. It says it’s a platformer with narrative elements (or as the steam page cutely says a PLOTformer), but the demo featured far more narrative bits and storytelling alongside a small bit of platforming, and well, I gotta review what I was given. 

The game is about the adventure of Ren, a shepherdess who ends up involved in a multiverse mess when she’s just trying to round up her flock. Quantum Witch uses a retro art pixel style reminiscent of the old days of Sierra point and click adventures. The demo itself mainly just covers the rounding of the flock and ends right after an…event happens.

I am a big fan of these old school point and click adventures and loved seeing a contemporary take on the style with this game. Adding to that is the smart quirky writing that this game employs. Characters often give silly quippy responses when talked to, exactly like the old days. This is some of the sharpest wittiest writing I’ve experienced in a hot minute, and I loved every second of it. It’s not surprising at all given it was developed with BAFTA nominated writer Paul Rose.

These jokes landed with me, and I enjoyed a good chuckle. There’s a lot of potential for fun and chaos with the choices players make as well. In the demo I was able to get the local cult (which keeps promising me it’s not a cult) to worship me instead of whoever they had been worshipping. This is one of many possibilities with the cult in the demo among other things.

The Steam promises the importance of choices in the narration ranging from big to small. If you give a character something to wear, they will wear if the entire game. If a character is saved from death by you, they will stay alive the entire game.

The silliness of most of the storytelling is contrasted with platforming sections, which are much darker sections. The atmosphere is completely different from the jovial tone of the point and click. There’s a sense of dread and creepiness that would not be out of place in a horror game.

I only have one real complaint with the demo. The actual platforming doesn’t feel very good. It’s passable, I’ve played much worse, and I imagine I’ll tolerate it to experience the story. Still the character of Ren feels stiffer and slower than she should, even when she’s running. It all just doesn’t feel quite right, and that’s definitely a problem with platforming. I think it’ll still be a good experience for those who are here for the writing, but players less interested in narrative beats might want to look elsewhere.

A playthrough of the demo does not take long at all to complete – it took me about 30 minutes. The game encourages players to experience it multiple times as it isn't a demo where everything can be seen in one playthrough. Overall, this was a nice taste of what’s to come, and I’m really excited for the full product to come out. Quantum Witch launches June 24, 2025.