Wytchwood

Video review: https://youtu.be/348FBxrRS3M -------------------- * Very casual * Stunning art style * Well-written fairy tale stories * Collect resources and craft potions, traps and spells * The crafting chains are lengthy (collect 2 items for A, but you also need to craft B out of XYZ for which you need…) * Gathering and crafting gets grindy over time and isn’t rewarding * No combat, no challenging puzzles, no gameplay progress * Everything is spelled out for you

once again, the "role-playing" description on gog is bewildering. there is no role-playing here. there is one way to solve problems, through recipes that are handed to you (though sometimes how to get them is a bit opaque), and while you get multiple tasks and can do them in the order you want in a fairly open world, that's as much lee-way as you get. nothing inherently wrong with that, and it's a fine, relaxing, simple game, as others have already described, but i continue to be befuddled by what counts here as role-playing. surely role-playing involves 1. choosing characteristics 2. multiple ways to solve problems 3. making choices that have an impact on the story, or 4. all of the above? none of these are present for this game, which again, wouldn't be a problem if it weren't described as an rpg.

This is a beautiful and very chill game that feels like reading through a collection of old cautionary tales, something like a cross between Grimms' Fairy Tales and Aesop's Fables. It struck a rare chord for me, with overlap of many things I look for in games. If you want a relaxing atmosphere with a bittersweet story and seemingly-cute-yet-dark themes, then Wytchwood is for you. As others have already mentioned, the game hinges on ingredient collection, recipe crafting, and fetch quests. In short, "go to the place, to get the thing, then the other place to get the other thing, to make the final thing." It's not for everyone, but if you can lean into the slow pace and immerse yourself in the world, you'll likely find the style of gameplay enjoyable enough. Took me about 16 hours to complete. However, some of that was me zoning out to the lovely music, or otherwise taking my time and wandering around inefficiently. Efficiency is definitely not the goal of this game though, haha!

This game is a fun take on the fairy tale genre. It's super casual and impossible to fail and is a semi open world adventure that primarily consists of extensive fetch quests and complex gathering and crafting with very minor combat mechanics. Overall I enjoyed it. The game mechanics were a little bit tedious towards the end but me wanting to find out the story pulled me through. The game had some nice twists and variations on familiar fairy tale genres. The art style was incredibly beautiful, the length felt solid and didn't overstay its welcome. I liked the music and sound effects. It had no voice acting and a lot of reading which I didn't mind. If you're looking for a relaxing, casual game experience that has a lot of charm and soul, this is the game for you.