Journey with Luna as she embarks on a mystical adventure to become the potion master she was always born to be. Engage with a colorful cast of characters you may recognize from popular fairy tales, myths, and legends. Seek the help of witches, concoct powerful potions, and delve deep into the temples of the land to uncover an evil plot that threatens to swallow the world whole.
At first glance, Potions: A Curious Tale is a sweet little indie title brimming with charm and witty writing. The opening cutscene sucks you into the world and sells you on the idea of experimental potion crafting. Luna seems charismatic, accompanied by her faithful companion Helios, and right from the get-go you find yourself rooting for her. The first fight holds so much promise, as you find yourself battling a towering Kraken and must use the surroundings to ward him off. But don’t be deceived, it is a great shame that this is about as deep as any boss battle will get.
Potions: A Curious Tale has a lot of things going for it, creative writing, an interesting world, a bestiary brimming with monsters, and dozens of mysterious brews to discover. Yet it is seriously let down by the lack of polish. As soon as you arrive in Old Haven, the town feels dead, which wouldn’t be a huge problem if this issue was rectified down the line, yet even as you recruit (and that’s a word used lightly) more townsfolk, the town never really feels more alive. There are four buildings of which you will only ever use one, Granny’s house, where you mix your potions and get ready for the next adventure. The inn is small, the NPCs fairly one-dimensional, and the other two buildings can’t even be entered, which is a shame. In addition, when you recall home you’re automatically plopped into Granny’s house, even if you don’t need to be there, which makes getting back to the world map more of a chore than it needs to be.
It would be remiss to ignore the good points, however. This title is built on a brilliant foundation. Unlocking new pages in the bestiary and mixing different animal parts to fill out the recipe book is certainly a lot of fun. Fascinating ingredients can be found by interacting with creatures in different ways, and these new potions can have varied effects on the world, from growing vines to reach new places to controlling a bull with a pot of red dye. But how useful are these potions in actuality? I found myself using the same three or four potions for the majority of the playthrough (water potions, lava potions, and spike potions), despite having crafted and tested most of them. Using all of the potions in your arsenal should be a crucial part of the adventure, but in reality, many were rather underwhelming and wholly unnecessary. Also, some potions wreaked havoc on my sense of immersion, namely, the Greater Summon Cloud, which honestly looks like the development team just copied an emoji onto Luna’s head and called it a day.
In terms of difficulty, a casual player won’t find themselves struggling much with this potion adventure. I wouldn’t class myself as a particularly skilled player, and yet throughout my quest, I never died a single time. I’m still not sure what happens when my health bar depletes to zero. Similarly, the puzzles encountered in the temples were embarrassingly simple, featuring uninspired block-sliding puzzles, brazier lighting puzzles, and a lily pad ‘maze’, with none of the intrigue that made similar puzzles in The Legend of Zelda so captivating. None of these temples will challenge you or take more than 10 minutes of your time, though perhaps this is for the best. On another note, twice I became stuck, once after pushing a large block onto a pressure plate and being trapped inside the temple, and another in the Temple of Life, where I found myself out of water potions and trapped on a small platform by the darkness behind me. These, however, were rectified by teleporting home and trekking to the temple again, yet this feels unnecessary. It certainly shows a lack of playtesting that this game sorely needs.
Perhaps the final nail in the coffin lies in the story. Or rather, the lack of story. Even now I couldn’t say what it was about, something about fairies and darkness? By the time it starts to become clearer (and I thought the story was about to unfold) you press three switches and the game suddenly ends. It took me by surprise and I felt myself feeling a little cheated, or at least underwhelmed. One could argue this isn’t about the story, it’s about the potions and Luna’s journey, but I can’t help but disagree. A powerful story would make that journey feel more important, and the characters would feel more fleshed out. It also doesn’t help that every character only has a single portrait and a fixed expression, which makes them feel lifeless and hollow. Luna’s rival Emily feels particularly rushed in this regard, as her redemption happens in the span of a minute and she’s left with a frown on her face. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her, or Prince Charming who has a similar change of heart? It’s messy, confusing, and more than anything, rushed. These atonements don’t feel earned, and as such, I find it hard to care for any of the characters, (apart from Helios, he’s great).
Whether it’s discrepancies in visual style, stiff animations, or the surprising shortness of the game, Potions: A Curious Tale struggles to find its place among the growing swathe of popular indie titles. And what makes this particularly difficult to write, is that I truly wanted to love this game. It has so much potential, yet almost none of that is fully realized. It could be incredible with enough time and a little more effort, but right now, it seems that this potion needs a little more time in the cauldron.
