GAME REVIEW | Gorgeous & Erotic Fun in Masterful "FlipWitch"
WARNING: The following video game discussed in this review is intended for readers 18 & older. In other words:
(Pic from FlorkOfCows)
It takes gumption to make a solid Metroidvania; it also takes a unique and dirty mind to craft a solid eroge. Yet the folks at MomoGames and Critical Bliss have managed to combine both and make not just a solid adventure game, but also an incredibly sexy one! Welcome to the world of FlipWitch: Forbidden Sex Hex, a naughty platformer that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen!
The world of FlipWitch is one that’s been thrown into turmoil thanks to the Chaos Witch. You’re a new witch who needs to collect six keys to access the realm of the Chaos Witch. In order to get there, you’ll have to traverse through the worlds of goblins, ghosts, demons, and even mermaids. But you’ve got a special skill that no one else has: the ability to switch genders!
Going between male and female will allow you to solve puzzles, find hidden platforms, and even deal with some side quests involving cute monster girls. As you progress, you’ll also learn how to use goblin bombs, spirit powers, and even turn into slime to get through the tiniest of holes. (No, we mean secret passages, not the kind you’d think a hentai game would showcase.) However, even with your powers and skills, facing off against various enemies and bosses will not be a walk in the park.
When you first start out in FlipWitch, the likes of goblins and demons will deal a lot of damage with just a single hit. It’s where a strategy must come into play in order to defeat some of the tougher enemies you’ll come across. Although most Metroidvania lovers would no doubt just love to run in and start attacking nonstop, the need to evade and avoid hits is very necessary to survive the attacks. Granted, you may want to die a couple times as either gender in order to unlock one of the many sexy Game Over animations, but it can get a little frustrating when you are forced to backtrack and attempt to rediscover the items and areas you already uncovered.
I’ll be blunt: FlipWitch can be one tough cookie. It makes you work to get to those naughty bits, with some areas being filled to the brim with enemies that will keep on attacking nonstop. Even if you have a good amount of HP restoring peaches in stock, you may find yourself seeing them dwindle down to zero when a big boss battle comes in. Whether it’s a knife-wielding Goblin Queen, a foot-stomping Demon Boss, or even a giant Frog Girl and her powerful tongue, these fights will give you a run for your money! But keep on persevering, and you’ll be rewarded handsomely (or, in many cases, gorgeously)!
With each enemy defeated, a little coin will go into your pocket. This cash can be used to buy new weapons, power-ups, and outfits. Said outfits will be important to own in order to get through certain side-quests, which may involve you dressing up like a sexy nurse, a farmer boy, or even a nun. Completing these side quests will help you with not just unlocking new NSFW animations, but will also upgrade your magic and health bars to make your witch more powerful.
Of course, with it being a hentai game, the presentation of the sex scenes is very important. For pixelated art, it’s indeed very sexy. The visuals leave nothing to the imagination, as we see both versions of your character being pleased in the most wild of ways. It earns its Adults Only rating not just because of how naughty it is, but also because of how finely detailed it is.
However, even if you were to take out the erotic stuff, FlipWitch would still be a surprisingly solid Metroidvania! The gameplay is a lot of fun, with some aspects reminiscent of both Dead Cells and the Shantae series. There are enough challenges that’d leave fans of the game genre very satisfied. On top of that, the controls (which work great using an Xbox One controller) are both fluid and easy to master. Even its soundtrack is memorable, with songs that feel like they could easily fit with any Cuphead or Castlevania level.
Perhaps the only complaint I have with the game is its midbosses. While creative, their level of difficulty can be low if you know the proper place to stand to attack. It takes the challenging aspect away once you discover how to deal with them, sometimes resulting in players simply throwing magic spells from a safe distance until they’ve been defeated. Thankfully, these moments happen very rarely, so they can be considered nothing more than a minor trudge.
Completing FlipWitch will take you roughly 12-13 hours. Players can return and attempt to complete side quests once the game is over, as well as collect erotic figurines from various gachapon vendors placed throughout the levels. And if you need a little titillation, you can always replay the sexy animations you’ve unlocked thus far. (Just lock the door to make sure no one barges in at the worst time imaginable!)
PROS:
- Inventive Metroidvania gameplay
- Great power-ups
- Unapologetically sexy
CONS:
- Some midboss battles too easy
FINAL THOUGHTS:
FlipWitch is the new standard for erotic video games. It places fun gameplay at the forefront, with the sexy stuff feeling like a nice bonus. Even with its adults-only content, FlipWitch is shockingly one of the best Metroidvanias I’ve played in ages. Dare I say, it’s a Game of the Year contender, even if the prudes elsewhere won’t acknowledge it.
FINAL GRADE:
Reviewed on the PC via Steam.
