Mika and the Witch’s Forest is a colorful relaxing title from Chibig, they are no strangers to producing fun relaxing titles for people of all ages to enjoy. Some of their previous works include ‘Summer In Mara’, ‘Stories of Mara’ and ‘Ankora: Lost Days’ to name a few. This latest game inspired by Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service was released on 22nd of January and is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox.
The Main Premise Of It
The main premise or setting of the game is around Mika, an aspiring witch who mainly delivers packages to the people of her town with the help of her broomstick. The deliveries are for her to acquire a good enough broom to complete her main goal, complete a journey to the top of the mountain.
The game is a proper coming of age story with Mika encountering all kinds of people, situations and puzzles that all help her in obtaining a good enough broom. However there are shortcomings here and there such as inconsistencies when flying the broom. This is a core mechanic of the game but it feels unpolished and finicky at times that diminishes the experience.
Another issue is that the upgrades we get for the broom aren’t as effective as one might expect which greatly limits the sense of freedom even though the game encourages exploration. While some of the characters that Mika interacts with are quirky, funny and exude proper personality and have proper backstories that give context to what they want delivered.
Gorgeous Art Style And Sound Design
The artstyle of the game is gorgeous and vibrant colors showcase the overall beauty of every environment Mika walks or flies through. Everything feels lively almost like a picture book when one moves towards the forest or explores caves.
The open flower fields, the flowing grass and trees and flowing water all make the game feel alive all the time. Making flying through any area a joy as there is always something to notice and admire.
The sound design is also pleasant and upbeat and never feels to make it clear that this is a cozy game with a light hearted story. The background music is calming and never fails to bring on a sense of relaxation as Mika flies or walks through the town.
Unexpected In-Depth Missions
From looking at the game one might think that flying is all there is to it but Mika And the Witch’s Mountain surprises the player with unique and in-depth missions or deliveries. Every single character we interact with for getting ad delivery have unique points of dialogue such as an Ice-cream seller pondering his next flavour or a painter looking for his significant other.
However due to the short run time of the game, some of these missions and side stories have abrupt ends which takes away from the experience as there is a lingering air of dissatisfaction, this can be improved with future updates that can revisit the side stories that were abruptly ended and change it to provide a satisfying end.
Overall the unique cast of characters provide a solid foundation for anyone looking for something relaxing to sink their time into as there is a guarantee they won’t be bored of the interactions that Mika will face when delivering.
A Worthwhile Purchase To Relax And Play
Mika and the Witch’s Mountain gives exactly what it promises, a relaxing gameplay loop, interesting characters, a light hearted story and great music to accompany the player for its run time. The story doesn’t try anything out of the ordinary to make it stand itself out for anything, in short the game has its own identity.
While the game is short with a playtime of approximately 8 hours to get almost everything done, it can’t be said that it won’t be fun to complete. While there are shortcomings here and there, it’s nothing an update or two can’t fix, the developers have also stated that additional content is coming such as more puzzles, more dungeons which go into the depths of the mountain to face on against the elements.
Chibig has truly made a gem of a game and hopefully will continue to craft unique and beautiful looking games like this in the future hopefully with a more in-depth story and a broader goal as they have done so with their characters.