Noita is a rogue-lite sidescroller with pixel-based physics simulation and a weapon system that encourages experimentation, the combination of which leads into some fun emergent gameplay. It is still in early access.


In Noita (Finnish for "Witch") you play as a tiny witch character traversing down a randomly generated maze of caves and pathways while trying to avoid death by various enemies, environmental hazards and traps. Your character gets more powerful by picking up new wands, spells, perks and potions along the way.

The big game within the game related to wands and spells is that each wand has some base stats like mana, casting time etc. and they have a varying amount of slots for the spell effects you can have in them. In between cave sections there is a safe zone where you can purchase things and get to pick up a new perk but most importantly, where you can freely move around the spells in the wands you've picked up so far to create more devastating combinations. Or horrible self-destruct devices.

Noita has a bit of a steep difficulty/learning curve. You get further in the runs not by rushing to the exit as fast as you can but by being more careful, learning to avoid things that killed you previously and trying to gather materials for wands that you like using and find effective. If you haven't managed to create a decent enough wand a few floors down it becomes really difficult to proceed.

Technically the game is surprisingly mature for an early access title. The pixel graphics hold up as well as you like the aesthetic. The (as far as I know mostly improvised) soundtrack by From Grotto fits the game like a glove. There is some occasional technical jank and I have experienced a couple of game crashes, but it is still at the start of its early access and is receiving constant updates.


Even though I'm quite bad at the game it is still a lot of fun to do a run or two every now and then and experiment with the mechanics. I'm not sure if it changes the formula enough to recommend it to people who don't typically play these types of games, but if rogue-lites are your thing you should find this enjoyable.

Note: This was written at Update #7, during steam awards nominations where I nominated it for "The Best Game You Suck At Award".

[h1]Summary[/h1] Noita is a rogue-lite sidescroller with pixel-based physics simulation and a weapon system that encourages experimentation, the combination of which leads into some fun emergent gameplay. It is still in early access. [h1]In detail[/h1] In Noita (Finnish for "Witch") you play as a tiny witch character traversing down a randomly generated maze of caves and pathways while trying to avoid death by various enemies, environmental hazards and traps. Your character gets more powerful by picking up new wands, spells, perks and potions along the way. The big game within the game related to wands and spells is that each wand has some base stats like mana, casting time etc. and they have a varying amount of slots for the spell effects you can have in them. In between cave sections there is a safe zone where you can purchase things and get to pick up a new perk but most importantly, where you can freely move around the spells in the wands you've picked up so far to create more devastating combinations. Or horrible self-destruct devices. Noita has a bit of a steep difficulty/learning curve. You get further in the runs not by rushing to the exit as fast as you can but by being more careful, learning to avoid things that killed you previously and trying to gather materials for wands that you like using and find effective. If you haven't managed to create a decent enough wand a few floors down it becomes really difficult to proceed. Technically the game is surprisingly mature for an early access title. The pixel graphics hold up as well as you like the aesthetic. The (as far as I know mostly improvised) soundtrack by From Grotto fits the game like a glove. There is some occasional technical jank and I have experienced a couple of game crashes, but it is still at the start of its early access and is receiving constant updates. [h1]Recommendation[/h1] Even though I'm quite bad at the game it is still a lot of fun to do a run or two every now and then and experiment with the mechanics. I'm not sure if it changes the formula enough to recommend it to people who don't typically play these types of games, but if rogue-lites are your thing you should find this enjoyable. Note: This was written at Update #7, during steam awards nominations where I nominated it for "The Best Game You Suck At Award".