I'm a gamer, and I'm a witch, so it's probably no surprise that I love when those two combine! I have a bunch of witchy games that I love to play, and even more on my list to check out. So, while I was stuck on the couch with a pain flare-up (I was working on my Wylde Flowers review, speaking of witchy games...), I thought I'd make a post about some of them!
And to be clear, there are plenty of great games that are fantasy-based with extensive magic, and I love many of those, but this list is focused on games that bring the feeling of witchcraft to them -- herbology, potions, divination, etc. I will probably make another list of my favorite fantasy magical games -- I've got a lot of those, too! But for this, I wanted to keep the vibe on the "slightly more realistic" side of things.
This post is divided up into 3 sections: games I've played or am currently playing, games I want to check out or are in my backlog, and upcoming releases that I've got my eye on. (A note on the last two: I am always interested in review keys from developers... but as a disclaimer, most of these, I've purchased with my own money.) Is there a game that belongs in this list but I've neglected to mention? I'd love to know about more, so feel free to leave a comment about any other witchy games you've played and enjoyed -- or want to play!
Reading not your cup of tea? Check out the video instead!
Games I've Played and Enjoyed
Little Witch in the Woods
If you're yearning to escape society and go live your cottage core dreams in the forest, Little Witch in the Woods is the game for you! In this game, Ellie does exactly that, and fills her day with gathering herbs, making potions, and helping to rebuild a charming little village. It's a calm, combat-less game with endearing dialogue, simple puzzles, and lots to explore. Help your new neighbors, decorate your house, and learn all about being a witch in this charming game. Little Witch in the Woods is available on Steam and Xbox, and plays great on the Steam Deck. Check out my full review here!
Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator
If you're interested in herbology, look no further than Potion Craft! A very relaxing game with faux "old world" aesthetics, mix various ingredients together to discover potions and help the residents of your village. Unlike a lot of other games that have potion crafting as an element, this focuses on it. I love that you actually stir the ingredients yourself, and adjust how much heat you give any individual potion. There is so much experimenting to be had in this process, and in my opinion, it really feels like I'm making the potions -- or messing them up, as is often the case with my experiments. If you're interested in potions, definitely don't miss this game! It is currently available on Steam and will be available on all consoles. As a bonus, it plays great on the Steam Deck!
Wylde Flowers
A game that I'm still exploring, Wylde Flowers merges together witchcraft and farming to create a cute hybrid game that caters specifically to me. Tend to your garden by day, learn magic by night -- and yes, use that magic to help your garden grow! The game is more story than sim, at least as far as I've gotten so far, but that's fine with me. I'm having fun learning secret magic as the town divides into pro-magic and anti-magic factions. (Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this game from the publisher, and a full review will be coming soon!) Wylde Flowers is available on Steam, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. I hear that it plays well on the Steam Deck, but I haven't had a chance to play it much there yet, so that will also be included in my full review.
Cartomancy Anthology
Cartomancy Anthology is a collection of 22 short games that explore the major arcana of tarot. It doesn't get more real-life witchy than that! Each of these games provides soul-searching opportunities to bring clarity to your life, and can even be used as divination if you want to. I've done a full review of this game before, so head over there if you're interested in more! I definitely think that any witchy gamer should check it out.
Games on my Wishlist/Backlog
Strange Horticulture
I picked up Strange Horticulture a while ago, but it's gotten stuck in my backlog. But the premise sold me instantly! You tend to and grow plants, and have a cat companion! Oh yeah, and there's a plot too, I guess, but you had me at plants and cats. Wander the woods nearby to discover new species, use your herbology skills to identify them and their uses, and try not to delve too deep into dangerous territories while gathering specimens. Doesn't it just sound great? This is definitely near the top of my list to get to!
Witchy Life Story
I just recently picked up Witchy Life Story in a Humble Bundle, but it had been on my list for a while before that. And, while I'll say that the title isn't exactly unique or creative, it does get its point across -- it's a life sim, where you play as a witch. Tend your garden, practice magic, befriend the townspeople. Simple, straight forward, and exactly what I want -- in a game and real life! Oh, wait, I already do the first two, does that mean I should actually talk to my neighbors? Eh, maybe I'll just start up this game and talk to those neighbors instead.
Wytchwood
Wytchwood takes its influence from the witches of fairy tales -- you play the morally dubious witch who crafts potions and meddles in people's affairs to "teach them a lesson". Yes, you can turn people into frogs and curse those you feel really deserve it. We don't always have to be the "good witch", and it sounds like Wytchwood is a delightful take on this. Personally, I'm a huge fan of fractured fairy tales, and this seems to be in line with that concept, so I'm really excited to check it out! I love unique takes on fairy tales, and the few movies that we've gotten from villains' points of view, like Maleficient, only fulfill the need a little. I think this game sounds great for that!
Teacup
Teacup is an adorable game about planning a tea party. Okay, from that premise, it doesn't sound explicitly witchy, but bear with me here. First of all, you are the CUTEST frog, and we all know witches and frogs go together. I mean, I just talked about them in Wytchwood! Also, there's a whole questline about getting magical ingredients for your tea, from magicians of course! But really, I'm including this because... is there anything that is inherently more magical than tea? I mean, I did a whole episode about tasseomancy and the magic of tea for Celestial Cafe, the podcast I was on! Tea is good for the body, good for the soul. Combine different herbs to create different effects -- it's just alchemy! And this game is all about making the perfect teas for just what your friends need. The restorative power of tea is magic, and this game embraces that at its heart.
Upcoming Releases I Can't Wait For
REKA
Now, it's time to talk about the games that haven't released yet but I'm excited for. That backlog isn't going to grow itself! Well, okay, sometimes I think it does, but still. REKA tops this list of anticipated games. I can't stop talking about it -- I work at a witchcraft book publishing company, and I've gotten literally everyone interested in playing it... when it releases next year. In this game, you play as Baba Yaga's apprentice, learning magic as you help people with herbology in the 19th century. You live - and travel - in a chicken-legged hut that you design and decorate yourself. It's truly a witch's dream, especially a witch obsessed with decorating in games like me, and I can't wait for its release -- but I have to. But rest assured that I'll definitely be reviewing it when it releases!
Grimoire Groves
Grimoire Groves is a delightful (and colorful!) magical take on farming sims. In fact, it's technically not a farming sim at all -- its official genre is "rogue-lite dungeon crawler", but farming is a part of it regardless! Use the power of magic and the different elements to make your garden grow, in addition to exploring secret, magical forests with unique spirits. Help and befriend a siren, dryad, basilisk, and other magical creatures as you explore the procedurally generated forest and strengthen your powers. There's a demo available on Steam, and I've had so much fun playing it already!
Witchbrook
Who hasn't dreamed of going off to a witchcraft school? You can finally live that life with Witchbrook, a cute life sim that's all about learning magic, making friends, and discovering mysteries. Enjoy all the staples of sim games like gardening, fishing, and romance, and work hard on your assignments to graduate at the top of your class -- and maybe have a cute date to the prom! All this sounds pretty great, right? I've been keeping an eye on this game for years, and although it's been a while, it's developed by indie team Chucklefish so I'm sure it's going to be worth the wait. (Side note: if you're itching for magic school life in the meantime, check out Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times! It's an interesting take on "Animal Crossing goes to magic school" and I love it!)
Magical Delicacy
I learned about Magical Delicacy through the Wholesome Direct, and was instantly sold on it. Kitchen witches, this one's for you! And for those of us who fantasize about being kitchen witches, it's for us too. I hate cooking but I love the idea of kitchen witchery. If you understand that sentiment, check out this game where you use the power of different ingredients to fulfill townsfolk's needs. The game promises a robust cooking system, with plenty of room to experiment and make your own creations to satisfy customers, so the creatively minded kitchen witch will love getting their digital hands dirty coming up with all sorts of new recipes. It will also feature platforming to explore areas for ingredients, a shop (and home?) to decorate, and lots of characters with their own stories to learn about. Additionally, the developer, skaule, is working hard to bring a variety of accessibility features to the game so players can play in ways that work for them, including high contrast platforming and adjustable UI scaling. Seeing developers address accessibility in a proactive manner like this, instead of waiting for players to raise concerns, is such a great thing to see, and makes me very optimistic about this game. I'm very excited to keep an eye on this one as development continues!
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