The realm of Hus might look like your average cozy farming simulator, with villagers bustling about and a young shepherdess named Ren taking care of her flock. But hold up—this whimsical world is nothing but a façade. There’s a dark twist in this pixel art platformer called Quantum Witch, where Ren must uncover the horrifying truth and, oh yeah, dethrone God.
Quantum Witch is the brainchild of Nikki Jay, a lone developer who clearly knows how to mix comedy with some seriously heavy autobiographical vibes. Inspired by classic LucasArts adventures and the ZX Spectrum’s Dizzy series, this game is a wild ride through Jay’s personal hell and back. Jay grew up in a hardcore right-wing religious sect that was obsessed with the apocalypse. ‘They believed it could happen at any time and that all the wicked people would be destroyed: so I had to be good. It was extremely oppressive,’ she reveals.
In her teens, Jay came out as a lesbian and, just like that, got kicked out of the group. After being homeless for a bit, she taught herself coding and landed a job as a software engineer. But the trauma lingered. ‘I thought: I have to do something with this. I can’t just sit on this trauma,’ Jay says. Instead of writing a novel, which she found to be a nightmare, she turned to video games—a medium she had loved since her childhood escape into the ZX Spectrum. ‘I retreated into video games, because there I can make the world I want,’ she explains.
In the game, Ren realizes her idyllic world is a lie and sets out to discover what’s beyond the pixelated illusion. You’ll pick flowers, complete fetch quests, and ultimately wage war against a malevolent deity. Although the game has a Metroidvania-style structure, it’s more of a Choose Your Own Adventure narrative quest with multiple endings. The choices you make shape the plot, turning this from a platformer into what Jay calls a ‘plotformer.’ ‘The choices you make form the plot. There are multiple endings, and wherever possible each side quest has multiple endings too. It is an absolute logistical nightmare,’ Jay says.
And Jay didn’t skimp on humor either. The 20-minute demo on Steam is jam-packed with quirky characters and bizarre scenarios. You’ll find a dancing skeleton who can see through time, a group that worships a lamp shade (‘We’re not a cult!’), and traders who look suspiciously like famous video game characters. This ain’t your average farm simulator, folks.
Jay’s obsession with surreal humor led her to connect with Paul Rose, creator of the cult Teletext games magazine Digitiser. Rose helped Jay fine-tune the story and character development, turning Quantum Witch into a multilayered metaphor about game development, identity, and escape. ‘A lot of religion is about giving up autonomy to some mystical power that you’ve never seen, heard, or met. Over the course of the game, Ren takes that agency back. It’s a queer emancipation story,’ Jay explains.
Guys, this isn’t just some pun-heavy romp. Quantum Witch is a deeply personal journey wrapped in a comedic, pixelated package. It’s about making huge, life-changing decisions—from the perspective of someone who’s been through the wringer and come out the other side. Can’t wait for this to drop on PC in 2025.
From whimsical farming tasks to dethroning a god, Quantum Witch offers an engaging, emotionally charged narrative wrapped in playful, retro aesthetics. This game isn’t just a trip down nostalgia lane; it’s a profound story of struggle, identity, and ultimately, emancipation.
Source: Theguardian