The planted seeds have finally blossomed and are ready for harvesting. And not with our hands, of course! Back in June, I took a peek at the demo of witchy farming (and loose intro to coding) sim Ritual of Raven by Spellgarden Games, and the time has finally come to see what it has grown into.
Merry Meet
Time to dig out the grimoire, charge my crystals and make a cup of witch’s brew – I’m ready! Available now on Nintendo Switch and PC , Ritual of Raven is playable on Steam Deck (with only small text size as a slight issue), so the sofa is calling.
Storytime
A typical grad student obsessed with the arcane, you are plucked from your mundane life and sucked through a portal to the magical world of Leynia. You learn the ways of magic as an apprentice to the witch Sage in the village of Nevar, and discover that these portals are becoming more commonplace. But when Sage suddenly departs through a portal, it’s up to you to develop your craft and uncover the mystery of the portals.
Gameplay
As an apprentice witch, you journey across this magical new world foraging and growing various items to complete quests and rituals. Crystals, flowers, herbs – all of the arcane must-haves are yours for the collecting and expanding your Book of Shadows. But to preserve their magical properties, you harvest them using ‘Arcana Constructs’, magical living plant pots modelled on the Major Arcana tarot cards. Through completing puzzles at various locations, you’ll unlock a plethora of these cute little pottering pots to call on for all your gardening and harvesting needs.
Here we’re introduced to a core mechanic: command cards. Controlling these constructs is done through Command Cards which represent actions such as ploughing, planting seeds and watering. Placing these in a command sequence to form an ‘Enchantment’ will have the construct carry them out. By obtaining more action cards as you progress, you can have them do more layered and intricate actions. Hence the “loose intro to coding”. This is a genius way to include coding as an aspect without being too complex or overbearing. Your Enchantments can be as long or as short as you like; there is zero pressure to make an egregiously long command line. If, like me, you struggle with keeping track, keep it simple and queue up little bits at a time. Being able to save Enchantments is also a godsend!
The puzzles to unlock a Construct are also very enjoyable to figure out, pitched at just the right level of difficulty. You’ll be given a card recommendation, but beyond that, it’s down to your observation and problem-solving skills. In fact, I would’ve liked to see more of these for things other than gaining Constructs.
It Takes A Village
Leynia is full of weird and wonderful characters that you’ll meet along the way and come to learn more about. Many of whom were suddenly sucked through portals and dropped in Leynia, just like you. While the overarching story is interesting, the individual backstories and lore are much more engrossing, touching on feelings of doubt, regret and acceptance. A couple had me reaching for the tissues! There are no relationship meters, which I actually find quite refreshing for a change, but I did want to explore more conversation with these characters and do more things with them beyond quest conversations.
Over time, they will give you character-specific quests for items you can either find or grow. It’s quite fun to guess the silhouette for each item they need. Some items require growing under a certain moon phase—which you can choose!—which changes them into altered states. A witch’s dream, I tell you! Some items require portal fishing to obtain, a minigame which makes you dust off your arcade grabby machine skills while being much less punishing than a real one. And some include decking out a museum or exhibition with various items – one hosted by an alien who is obsessed with “trash”.
Graphics & Audio
Just like in the demo, the graphics are a pixel art lover’s dream. Colours are popping and vibrant with each locale having its own unique colour scheme. The crystal plains are how you’d imagine a good acid trip would be! From lush fields to liquid opals, it’s gorgeous! Characters too are bold and expressive in their sprites and portraits, aptly matching their dialogue. Adventure Time meets Over the Garden Wall was a comparison I went for in the demo, and that still applies, though there is something extra I noticed over time. As nearly all of Leynia’s inhabitants are somewhat anthropomorphic (even though pulled in from other worlds), you as a human seem the most out of place visually. Much like in Animal Crossing, there’s an almost doll-like look to your character’s design. It’s not unpleasant—unlike Animal Crossing—but it does stand out. And perhaps this is intentional.
The great sound design also remains strong which is fantastic to hear. The sound effects are crisp and tingly, perfectly reflecting the cosy vibe; I could spend hours weeding grass simply to listen to the satisfying crunchy sound it makes! The character grunts and chirps are still used a little too often for my liking; Raven in particular started out endearing but began to grate on me very quickly! Having the option to turn voices off would be a plus.
The music is also strong with a warm ethereal atmosphere throughout, each locale having its own unique track. The “Welcome Wagon Orientation Sensation” is also just as entertaining the second time around! What is that, you ask? You’ll just have to discover it for yourself, young witch.
Final Thoughts
Ritual of Raven is a delightfully charming game that celebrates the wonders of both the arcane and the feeling of community, infused with the intricacies of coding. Colourful and cosy, it’s perfect for settling down for a quiet night in. Puzzles and conversations could be explored a little more, but with playtime in double figures and a unique take on farming, there’s enough to keep you coming back for more.
Thus it receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award, charged under the sun for a vitality boost!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast