Potions: A Curious Tale Review: Enjoyable Potion Mastery

Have you ever thought about becoming a potion master? That’s your goal in Potions: A Curious Tale when Luna returns to visit her grandmother. Luna is just an apprentice but she believes learning from her grandmother is the best path towards her dreams. Along the way she encounters a cast of characters who play a role in her development.

The potion-making experience is a joy to experiment with, letting you create various potions with your ingredients. It does a great job in emphasising the trials and work that go into becoming a potion master. Combat isn’t a straightforward affair which makes you think creatively before confronting enemies.

The story is remarkably accepting of Luna’s journey, making it a simpler story than one might expect. The scattered puzzles are also random and seem to be there for the sake of it. But those flaws are minor compared to the enjoyable experience that Potions: A Curious Tale offers you.

Potions: A Curious Tale is available on PC for 16.99 USD.

Story – Becoming a Potions Master

Your journey begins with Luna, a young woman sailing back to her grandmother’s home to learn about potions. After protecting the ship that she is sailing on, she successfully reaches her grandmother. But instead of getting a class on her own, Luna must carry out several tasks to become a potion master. It’s similar to Cuisineer, though the story emphasises the journey more.

You get a free broom with the promise to replace it.

The story is easy to jump into and it’s a friendly story. It feels like reading a children’s book; everyone is cooperative and evil forces are easy to see. It’s a simple story that is more accepting of Luna’s pursuits than you would expect. For example, she’s asked to visit a witch in the woods. The witch’s familiar is easily accepting of Luna, where other stories would have the familiar be more cautious.

Just like a children’s story, you aren’t going to be amazed by the narrative. It’s as if the world is cooperating with Luna, making it inevitable she achieves her goal.  It’s fun to stick with Luna’s growth and see her become a potion master. But it’s not a story that grips you with excitement or keeps you in suspense. You largely know what will happen and can see it coming. The game’s charm can be felt through the story, but the real power comes from the gameplay.

You get clear instructions on what you need to do.

Gameplay – Experimenting & Creative Thinking

The gameplay of Potions: A Curious Tale is one part experimentation and one part creativity. You harvest several ingredients in the wild and use them to make potions. A few potion recipes are given to you but the rest are discovered through experiments. You are encouraged to try several combinations of ingredients to create various potions with different effects. The best way to learn what these new potions do? Throw them at creatures you encounter and see what happens!

At the same time, you encounter enemies and environmental obstacles that make life difficult. Unlike other games, brute force isn’t the answer; it’s often the wrong thing to do. Instead, you must think about your options and what is available to you. Can you turn the environment against your enemies? Should you use a different potion? Is it possible to run past and ignore the obstacle?

Use every advantage you have to get past enemies.

Taking a chance and experimenting helps you interact with the world and discover new things. Just like how an apprentice evolves into a master by making their own discoveries, you feel you grow along with Luna. It’s a great immersion factor since you are an active participant in her education. Testing everything you can find, pushing past your failures, and celebrating your successes reminds you of scientific discoveries. The only difference is that your discoveries go beyond just potion making, but also potion usage.

One of the greatest strengths of Potions: A Curious Tale is the possibilities you can pursue. It gives you a sense of wonder that is rarely found in other games. The ability to experiment makes you feel like a young child, curious about how the world works. It also provides great benefits that pay off in the long run.

Possibilities – Around Every Corner

Potions: A Curious Tale rewards you for experimenting or chancing upon a random occurrence. For example, poisonous dart frogs are dangerous to approach. You can use potions to hurt them and push them away. But you can also throw water on them to shed their oil, which serve as great potion ingredients. It’s similar to Slient Hope in that you have several possibilities available to you and they are enjoyable to explore.

There are several potions you can create to help you on your journey.

The possibilities in the game aren’t just random; they make actual sense. Instead of brute-forcing your way through obstacles, you must consider a different approach. As infuriating as that initially seems, the process is actually enjoyable. When you finally come across a solution or come up with a potion that solves your problem, it’s a great feeling. You feel like a young child who solved a tough maths problem or a scientist who discovered a solution to a simple problem.

Thanks to naturally regenerating ingredients and convenient cauldron locations, creating new potions is always possible. It’s rare to find situations where you can’t make potions and use them immediately. They are necessary for solving puzzles or getting past difficult situations. Weirdly, puzzles seem to naturally exist in the world but it’s another area that lets you develop your creativity.

There’s always a way to come up with a new potion.

Audio & Visual – Soothing Simplicity

Potions: A Curious Tale is a mostly 2D game with some 3D elements. There’s great attention to detail with the environment, making you feel like you walk through several locations. Putting together a potion feels magical, as if you are a witch carefully preparing the ingredients. It’s not always obvious when side quests are available as there is no visual cue. But it’s nothing you couldn’t find out by talking to someone.

There is no voice acting in the game but the sound effects more than make up for it. You fly around on your broom, throw potions around, and listen for noises that indicate enemies or environmental objects. The background music is soothing in safe areas or matches the theme of the area you are in.

Potions: A Curious Tale was reviewed on Steam with a code provided by Stumbling Cat.