Parents' Guide to The Witcher: Monster Slayer

Parents who aren't crazy about games with violent themes may have an issue with the amount of one-on-one battles their kids will get into in this RPG (role-playing game). Using weapons such as swords and bombs, players repeatedly try to exterminate a variety of creatures in The Witcher: Monster Slayer. Players also talk to other characters they encounter, and the conversations can set them on new journeys. One person, for instance, asks for help finding his horse which a creature stole. Gamers will then attempt to fight nearby monsters, one by one, and try to figure out who took the animal. They'll track monsters, which can involve using elements like weather conditions and the time of day, and gather a collection of creatures they've defeated in a Beastiary journal.

The graphics are impressive -- players can click on an icon to zoom up to a bird's eye view of where they're standing, passing through clouds on the way, and the AR element lets you look for monster footprints and fight a creature in your immediate environment. Even without the AR capability, monsters leap startingly close to you in battles. Players need to come up with an attack strategy, based on each monster's strengths and weaknesses. Going into battle fully equipped, though, is key -- which can require you to spend gold coins on items, and it's not hard to run out. As a result, players may feel pressure to buy things to keep playing. They may also be confused at times about where they're at in the overall adventure and what they need to do to advance. The tutorial just covers the basics, and you don't see much information about what's next or where to go. Some gameplay elements also aren't explained. After you defeat all the monsters standing around you within a circular boundary, for instance, it isn't clear how you can freely wander the area -- the character you're playing just seems to walk in place inside the circle repeatedly. Without an FAQ or other in-app resource to check, trying to determine how to advance can be frustrating. The Witcher: Monster Slayer isn't a simple game, and without much initial guidance, players may not get far in either the app's AR or strictly on-screen version.