It’s rare that a shooter gets to change the way you approach combat halfway through Early Access — and rarer still when that change involves letting you bonk monsters in the face with a proper blunt instrument.
The Astronauts’ big winter update for Witchfire, dubbed The Reckoning, pushes the dark‑fantasy RPG shooter further from its original boomer‑shooter roots and toward a more layered, close‑quarters experience. At the same time the studio has ticked a major platform box: Witchfire is now Steam Deck verified.
Melee arrives (but guns still rule)
Players can now swap the default punch for a handful of melee options — think morningstar (morgenstern), an exotic katar, and a buckler/shield among the new choices. These aren’t meant to replace your firearms, the studio stresses; they augment them. Expect a basic attack plus a special for each weapon, turning the little “punch” into something you’ll happily weave between shotgun blasts and spellcasting.
Complementing the close‑quarters additions are three new firearms, including a highly requested triple‑barrel shotgun called The Tribunal. It’s designed to reward aggressive, mobile play: dash or slide to charge shots, then release a devastating overkill that can trigger a shock explosion. In other words, run‑and‑gun loadouts that mix shotgun scatter, spells and a morningstar knockout are now absolutely viable.
Systems that make the new toys matter
The Reckoning isn’t just new kit — it reshapes how expeditions play out. Extraction has been overhauled into a more reactive, corruptible system (the devs have used the shorthand “Extraction 2.0”), which increases the world’s pushback as you siphon Witchfire. Expect grimmer enemy variants, new mini‑bosses and environmental phenomena that can alter a run on the fly. Surges — temporary powerups found or earned in the field — add another layer of risk and reward.
To help you learn the new tools, the update adds a shooting range with an interactive bestiary: defeated foes are cataloged and can be summoned for testing so you can fine‑tune loadouts before committing to an expedition.
Accessibility, quality‑of‑life and Steam Deck
The Astronauts have bundled a number of quality‑of‑life changes with Reckoning: a screen‑shake toggle, font‑size adjustments and an arachnophobia filter for the new spider‑themed calamity event. Those who play on the go will appreciate the dedicated Steam Deck profile that helped secure Valve’s Verified badge — a sensible performance preset plus font scaling aimed at keeping framerates playable on Valve’s handheld.
Handheld viability matters more now than ever for games that lean into intense, repeatable runs. Valve’s device has added features over time to make long sessions more comfortable; Witchfire’s verification joins that conversation around portable play and power management Steam Deck Gains Long‑Requested ‘Display‑Off’ Low‑Power Download Mode. And if you follow the broader trend of streaming and handheld portability, the momentum behind cloud and remote play (see the recent PlayStation Portal enhancements) makes it easier to jump into demanding single‑player experiences away from a desk PlayStation Portal Can Now Stream Your PS5 Library — Major Cloud Update Arrives.
Numbers and timing
The Reckoning arrives as Witchfire passes a notable milestone: more than 500,000 copies sold since its Early Access debut. The update is positioned as one of the last major steps before 1.0, and the game is on sale at a 20% discount for a limited time (recent price windows have shown it around $31.99 during promotions).
The Astronauts — a small Warsaw studio whose senior team cut their teeth on Painkiller and Bulletstorm — have been explicit about the game’s single‑player focus. Don’t expect co‑op. What you can expect is tighter combat variety and more reasons to reconfigure a build between runs: new firearms, melee toys, vault content (one big Velmorne Vault remains a major lure), Torments and pages of Codex Maleficarum that unlock optional, high‑risk challenges.
If you like your shooters with a bruising heel and a little arcane flair, The Reckoning gives Witchfire a more physical edge. It’s an update that invites you to get closer to the monsters — to test whether you’re better with a shotgun in hand or a spiked club — and then makes every expedition feel like a negotiation between courage and consequence.