Potionomics

this was without a doubt one of the best games i got the chance to get addicted to this year!! another indie surprise that deserved way more recognition and awards, just like Made in Abyss, this little game i wasn’t expecting anything from ended up surprising me so much and kept me glued to the screen the entire time without even noticing the hours going by!! it’s a highly addictive game and the more you progress the more content you unlock and the more hooked you get!! the story and characters are amazing too, everything is so well made and fun, and the reactions and poses the characters make while talking, especially the protagonist, make everything feel more unique and magical!! it might sound silly but it really made all the difference and turned the game into something unlike anything else, just like the relaxing music and the cute visuals. the main goal is to make potions and sell them to earn money and invest in your shop, but even though it seems simple at first, it’s actually a very complex game while still being super easy to get into. each potion has its own unique recipe, and every recipe is made up of different elements that go from letter A to letter E, and each ingredient contains one or more elements, so you have to mix different ingredients together to create the perfect potion, and the higher the amount of elements the stronger and more valuable the potion becomes!! for example a potion that needs elements A and B requires you to mix in the cauldron at least one ingredient with A and another with B, but you can also add one that has A+B and keep adding more until you reach the limit of ingredients that fit in the cauldron, aiming for the highest possible score to get the best potion possible. as you move forward in the story you unlock more characters to interact with and more upgrades for your shop, as well as new effects to help you along the way, you can even pay to send adventurers into dungeons to gather ingredients for potions and invest in marketing campaigns to make certain types of potions more valuable during the day. everything is really clever and well thought out, and if all that creative and free potion making wasn’t enough, the selling mechanic itself has a unique and addictive gameplay!! yes, every potion you sell turns into a duel against a customer, a card battle, and you unlock new cards with new attacks and effects as you grow closer to the characters in the game, and the cards create a turn-based system that keeps increasing the value of the potions!! you need to use your cards strategically to keep the customer’s interest as high as possible so you can make more profit from each sale while also avoiding getting too stressed and losing your composure during their counterattacks. it might sound like a lot, but it’s actually much easier to learn and understand than it seems when reading, because the game introduces each mechanic and new feature slowly and calmly, explaining everything clearly and giving you the freedom to explore all the content at your own pace, no rush and no big challenges. even the tournaments that happen every 10 days are pretty chill, since halfway through the time given you can already make the best potions to win each one, you just need to put in the time and actually play, no guides needed or overthinking, it’s all very casual and relaxing, which makes the whole experience even more addictive. just buy it and play it, for me it’s one of the best indie games ever made, a unique and wonderful experience from beginning to end!!

micromanagement hell, but oh my god its so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fun, you lose an hour just on one day and its wild

Potionomics is such a charming game. I really love the expressive animation, character design, music, voice acting, and relationships and romance between characters. The game can be a little bit stressful from the beginning, as you have to create perfect potions in a time limit, gather resources and money, and have a great relationship with friends/partners to get strong carts for your deck. But when you find your favourite ingredients, potions to sell, and strong cart synergies, then you can buy almost everything and have enough time to create specific potions for the tournament and max out your friendships. Luna, the little, nerdy moth girl and giant stress ball, is the best girl, and I will gladly die on a hill for her! My only complaint is that you cannot create and save different cart combinations, and cannot even try out your new deck without losing precious time. The only way to try out your new deck is to save your game, try out your new deck, and then reload your save file in case of bad synergies, but that´s just a minor complaint. Solid game overall, I am excited for a new game the devs can brew next.