Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree

In Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, humanity has abandoned the world to monsters. The people of Faelduum hide behind walls built by their treacherous leaders. Players journey through a world in decline, slowly succumbing to the effects of entropy. In this dark fantasy world, which skilfully combines polygon graphics with hand-drawn elements, players will experience a robust story based on their choices, consisting of 10+ main quests (and maps) and 25+ optional quests. The narrative was created by Brian Mitsoda (Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines) and includes alternate endings based on player choice. The soundtrack was composed by Christos Antoniou (Septicflesh) and performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra of Prague.

In Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, humanity has abandoned the world to monsters. The people of Faelduum hide behind walls built by their treacherous leaders. Players journey through a world in decline, slowly succumbing to the effects of entropy. In this dark fantasy world, which skilfully combines polygon graphics with hand-drawn elements, players will experience a robust story based on their choices, consisting of 10+ main quests (and maps) and 25+ optional quests. The narrative was created by Brian Mitsoda (Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines) and includes alternate endings based on player choice. The soundtrack was composed by Christos Antoniou (Septicflesh) and performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra of Prague.

Players take on the role of an Inquisitor and explore the 2.5D world. They fight creatures, challenge bosses, meet allies and shady characters in the upgradeable camp, and make decisions. Even though it's a sidescroller, the combat is tough, just like in a Souls-like game, but not too difficult. Players have to dodge a lot (with precise controls), learn their opponents' attack patterns (especially in boss fights), and strike when the opportunity presents itself. However, the combat system is more tactical and therefore not quite as action-packed. It's also handy that many of the aspects that determine the difficulty level (enemy hit points, stamina consumption, etc.) can be adjusted directly. However, the combat is a little repetitive at times and the game wastes potential when it comes to exploration.

Mandragora combines Soulslike combat with level exploration reminiscent of Metroidvania titles, although these elements and the platforming are not as pronounced as the combat. Instead, it offers surprisingly deep character customisation, with a choice of six character classes, each with unique talent trees, 96 passive skills and over 200 active skill upgrades. Later in the game, it is also possible to create multi-class characters, allowing for more skills, combat styles and flexibility. There are also over 350 pieces of equipment, consumables and crafting ingredients.

The game was developed by Primal Game Studio, based in Budapest, Hungary. Founded in 2012, the studio now employs more than 50 people and started working on the title in 2018. In the beginning there were only five people involved, but over time the project grew. The game received an Epic MegaGrant, and a successful Kickstarter campaign raised $276,742. Marvelous Europe was initially brought on board as publisher, but in June 2024 My.Games announced its new premium games publishing label Knights Peak and stated that it would take over publishing from then on. So, Knights Peak Interactive released Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree and Tempest Rising on the same day.

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree was released on 17 April 2025 for PC (without third-party DRM via Steam, the Epic Games Store and GOG.com), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for €39.99 or as a Deluxe Edition for €10 more. The latter includes an additional quest, cosmetic bonuses, a companion pet, a digital soundtrack and a digital art book. A demo is also available to download from the PC, Xbox and PlayStation stores.

On Steam, the game initially received a lot of backlash due to data collection and in-game telemetry. The issues have been addressed with patches. Knights Peak on Steam: "We never sold your data nor shared it with anyone outside our internal telemetry systems. We are fully compliant with all data protection laws (...) With patch 1.2.7 for Steam, no data will be collected at all, even if you had previously accepted the privacy policy."

Conclusion

The dark fantasy setting, the (tactically) challenging combat and the rich RPG system are the highlights of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree. However, the combat is a little repetitive at times and the game wastes potential when it comes to exploration.

Features

• Mix of soulslike combat, exploration and RPG
• Six character classes with a lot of skill, multi-class and customisation options
• Dark and atmospheric 2.5D environments