October 1, 2021

All The Right Ingredients - Potion Craft (Steam) Review

This post may contain affiliate links from places like Amazon and Green Man Gaming — and we may earn a small commission when you click these links. All earnings will go to keeping this website as minimally ad-free as possible. Learn more here.

All The Right Ingredients - Potion Craft (Steam) Review

By Joel | October 1, 2021
All The Right Ingredients - Potion Craft (Steam) Review

A light drizzle falls as a north-wind breeze passes through an open window. It is the start of a new day and customers have been patiently waiting in line to sample some of your magical wares and concoctions. They come to you for hope, healing, and for words of wisdom. You are the alchemist. You are the potion master.

Developed by Niceplay Game Studios, Potion Craft approaches its gameplay in the realm of art, its spells are heightened by subtle graphics and greyish-tinted visuals, which evoke an environment of early 19th century murals.

In your imagined lab, the edges of the frame blur into shadows, surrounding your creations in a mystery. As you progress further into the game, the layers of depth start to show, and the developer's vision becomes clearer and brighter.

A Little Bit of This. A little Bit of That

Gameplay consists of, you guessed it, making potions. Part storekeeper, part deck builder, and part point-and-click, Potion Craft takes pieces of these respective genres and combines them to make a game worthy of your time, effort, and imagination.

Using traditional mixing tools like cauldron, scalpels, and essence bearers, you'll experiment to find the best ways to create specific potions. Because the game also focuses on storefront economics, you'll have to experiment to determine how to maximize your ingredients on hand.

Mixing a bunch of herbs in a cauldron of boiling water, for example, may yield you the same potion but you'll quickly realize that grinding them down to powder first yields you twice the amount with minimal wastage.

Experimenting with different ingredients opens up a makeshift skill tree, or what I like to refer to as a progress bar. Here, you can see the effects of what combinations work and don't work depending on what you're trying to create.

When you have successfully created a potion, you can save the recipe for future use. From there, you can sell them to your customers at set prices or you can haggle for better pricing using the 'haggle' icon. Personally, I rarely use this feature as it seems to upset the customers, so I simply sell them at the asking price which seems to work reasonably well.

All The Right Ingredients - Potion Craft (Steam) Review

The Right Stuff

Potion Craft doesn't have a plot in the traditional sense, and honestly, it doesn't really need one to attract an audience of gamers young and old. In place of story, there's premise; in place of snazzy 3D action, there are carefully designed visuals. Some may find this type of gameplay boring, but for me, the simplicity is wondrously appealing.

That's it really for the gist of the game. Of course Potion Craft being in Early Access, means that future updates and add-ons will be forthcoming. The rest of the gameplay is centered around experimentation, exploration, and the creative abilities of your own imagination. I'm going to file this game under 'H' for Highly Recommended.


November 3, 2023
Making Waves: Tunnel Boat Terror (Demo) Impressions

Immerse yourself in the extreme conditions and compete against real-life racers to become a power boat racing legend.

Read More
November 2, 2023
Surviving the Unthinkable: How Tsutomu Yamaguchi Lived through Two Atomic Bombs

Learn about the incredible story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the man who survived both atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Read More
November 1, 2023
Candy Overload? Here's How to Make the Most of Your Leftover Halloween Treats

Discover creative and delicious ways to repurpose your kids' leftover Halloween candies with our expert tips

Read More

POPULAR POSTS

April 23, 2020
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord - Your Ultimate Cheats Cheat List

TL;DR: Download the Developer Console mod. Enable cheats in your engine_config.txt file (located in \Documents\Mount and Blade II Bannerlord\Configs). Spam CTRL + F4.

August 15, 2020
Mommy, Hold Me - Terrordrome: Reign of Legends Review

Terrordrome: Reign of Legends is solid title with an entertaining premise. It's not as deep or complex as other fighting games, but it certainly is fun.

June 9, 2023
Halls of Torment (Steam) Review - A Captivating Blend of Rogue-like Survival and Gothic Atmosphere

Beware the malevolent shadows that dance in the Halls of Torment, where hope flickers and desperation reigns supreme

October 30, 2022
The Top 5 Scariest Video Games of All Time

These games are not for the faint of heart—but if you're looking for a truly spine-tingling gaming experience this Halloween season, any one of them would make an excellent choice.

October 13, 2022
The Eternal Cylinder Rolls onto Steam and Consoles Today

Experience new content on all platforms plus support for 4K visuals, ray tracing and more with The Eternal Cylinder’s free Anniversary Update, available now

envelope
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram