Magical Girl Witch Trials
Magical Girl Witch Trials is a 2025 mystery adventure game by Re,AER and Acacia, published by Circle Line Games. It released on Windows in July 2025 and will come to Nintendo Switch in spring 2026. The game features gothic visuals and a dark magical girl theme.
The story follows Sakuraba Ema, Nikaidō Hiro, and eleven other girls who are taken to a remote island prison by a Warden. They’re labeled as potential witches who could become incredibly powerful but must be kept under control. The prison uses a cycle of four phases: wandering and talking with the other girls, discovering a murder, holding a Witch Trial to identify the killer (with a strict time limit), and then the cycle restarts, moving the plot forward.
Key twists unfold as Ema and Hiro learn the prison’s mastermind Meruru has fabricated the girls’ backstories about bullying. Ema discovers she has power to kill witches, and a failed attempt to destroy the world triggers a timeline reset that shifts the perspective to Hiro. Hiro uncovers her own ability, Death Rewinding, and learns that Yuki, a former middle-school friend, is the true final witch behind the plot to wipe out humanity. To stop Yuki, Hiro must push all thirteen girls toward a final ceremony that would awaken their witch powers.
In the climax, Hiro makes extreme sacrifices to reset the timeline and awaken near-complete witch power, forcing a final Witch Trial. The girls confront their traumas, summon Yuki, and persuade her to abandon vengeance. Yuki and Meruru die, the curse ends, and the prisoners regain their humanity and can leave the prison.
Development and reception: The game was largely crowdfunded in 2024 via CAMPFIRE, quickly hitting its target and enabling full voice acting. It draws inspiration from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Danganronpa, and Steins;Gate. Critics praised its character designs, story, and artwork, and it performed well on Steam, selling over 400,000 copies by December 2025. A manga adaptation began in August 2025, and the character Hiro is set to appear in related spin-off games.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:00 (CET).