Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree (Xbox Series X) Review

Fans of the Metroidvania and Souls-like genres are well fed heading into 2025. This action-adventure genre offshoot, as it stands, can be understood by playing Castlevania and Elden Ring (any FromSoftware “Souls” title fits this bill) — just not at the same time. The popular Metroidvania gameplay style — earning a power-up from a boss fight and backtracking to previously inaccessible paths — has developed a cult-like following. And fans of Dark Souls have come out of the woodwork since Elden Ring won Game of the year.

This is where Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree fits in — a cross between the downtrodden Lordran and Dracula’s Castle (also known as “Demon Castle” or Castlevania) that offers intense combat encounters, tight platforming sequences and the Souls fan’s all-too-familiar experience of dying many, many times. “Getting good” is more popular than ever.

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree begins by placing your cookie-cutter protagonist in a dark fantasy... Read more