There is almost no way to review this book without comparing it to Mage. The games have similar backgrounds and similar themes, plus I'm feeling intellectually lazy. Even if I wasn't, it would be difficult. So there.
In the atmosphere department, Witchcraft edges out Mage. The magic system, the fictional examples, the artwork, all of it contributes to a brooding, Gothic atmosphere that Mage is missing. It has a Hellblazer type of feel that I appreciate.
Playtesting, however, was another matter. I quickly longed for the free-wheeling nature of the Storyteller system. Mercifully, the back of the book has all the charts you need to play, because otherwise, my game would have slowed to a halt. This game desperately needs a GM screen! Unlike Mage, this game requires you to keep track of Essence, that special something that allows players to do cool things....except when they don't need Essence to do cool things. Not to mention the Fear Tests, the damage and armor rolls, etc. Yeesh! Still, the system makes sense, so it's not AD&D, or Palladium, but it can still be complicated. (Don't even ask me about using the Crowd Modifier in the middle of combat. Arrgh!)
So it has it's upside and downside. By having a limited system of reality bending (actually, several systems) instead of an overarching meta-framework like Mage, contributes to the atmosphere and makes Chronicle-running quite a bit easier than in Mage, where all the options can quickly get overwhelming for the players and the GM.
However, by using Essence as a means of reining in characters, it requires quite a bit of record-keeping, something that helps accentuate the realism, but also tends to slow down the game.
Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)
