In Little Witch in the Woods, the player takes on the role of a young witch named Ellie, who is experiencing an adventurous and wonderful period of her life. The overall atmosphere of magic can be spoiled by the huge amount of resources that need to be collected for a complete walkthrough. But if this does not scare you - grab your broom and let's read the review!
The story begins with a naive and kind witch named Ellie, and a grumpy talking hat Virgil. The pair graduated from magic school and were supposed to begin their practice. However, the train they were traveling on made an emergency stop, which the young rogue gladly took advantage of. She ran into the night forest, where she began chasing a glowing white cat. The exploration of the area ended with the departure of the train, and the unlucky heroes were left in the wilderness and solitude.
Ellie decides to settle in an abandoned witch's house, where there are all the necessary tools for practice. Nearby was a semi-abandoned village, which is slowly being destroyed by giant thorny vines. Ellie vowed to use her modest skills to bring villagers and hope back to the village.
The adventures are not without a sinister component. Someone is behind all the destruction, and solving problems brings a meeting with this person closer. Ellie is also visited by a man with the face of a pathological teenager eater. He pretends to be interested in the common good, but his behavior clearly suggests otherwise.
Witch's Delivery Service
As you progress, the escaped residents will return to the village. They need to be helped in every possible way to settle down and provide them with the necessary resources. Over time, the requests of the residents will become more personal, and their relationship with Ellie will become stronger. The strongest bonds materialize, and also allow you to make the atmosphere more vibrant and lively.
It turns out that the village is under the patronage of literal kitty-goddesses. Perhaps this is the reason for the appearance of a large number of stray cats. The fluffy villains need to be cherished and pampered in order to achieve friendship.
Each day begins with collecting resources. Cute creatures live in the forest, which become active during the day or night. To get what you want, you need to squish rabbits, chase puppies, and pet lizards. Less fortunate creatures will have to be thrown for processing. You need to find a unique approach to each one, and sometimes special potions will help in the collection, which simplify the work.
The collected resources are subject to processing in special devices. After that, they need to be thrown into the witch's cauldron to get potions and candies. Candies are sold for good money, while potions help in everyday affairs. The cauldron has its own mind, and arranges all sorts of dirty tricks - if you do not pay attention to the process, the final product will lack in quality.
The game provides various tools for working in nature. It is convenient to extract stone and clay with a pickaxe and a scoop, but this process is quite boring. But fishing is exciting, although you only need to wait for a bite and hit one button. The behavior of the fish, which swim around the float and pretend to swallow the hook, makes the process exciting - it is easy to hook it ahead of time.
In your free time from collecting resources and cooking, you can advance through the main plot. You need to use the knowledge and potions you have gained to solve simple puzzles. If Ellie's skills are not enough, then you will have to ask for help from others, who will gladly take part in solving the problem.
Black hole for free time
You can complete the main plot relatively quickly. The problem is that the game does not know the measure when it comes to additional activities. Ellie has a journal with all the plants and animals found. To fill it, you need to collect resources in a specific way - pet lizards until they turn over on their backs, or look for mice in flower buds. And you need to repeat these actions dozens of times. It took me twenty hours just to complete most of the bestiary from the first act. The reward for your efforts is a toy or a picture of the studied plant or animal, which can be placed in the witch's house.
Another problem is the exorbitant consumption of resources:
- The broom allows you to move quickly, but by the evening part of the collected resources are spent on its repair;
- The production of sweets and potions eats up a lot of ingredients;
- Buying furniture and expanding the witch's house is expensive;
- Cats eat fish like there's no tomorrow;
- To improve relations with others, you often need to give gifts;
- The teleport system allows you to return to the witch's house, but they also need to be repaired. At the same time, you cannot choose a destination point in the main teleporter - you can only return to the one you visited last.
At the same time, you won't be able to play for a long time - after a few hours the game will start to slow down, and you will have to take a break. An interesting feature that directly forces you to stop. Maybe that's why I didn't get tired of it?
Diagnosis
Little Witch in the Woods is the perfect way to relax your soul and body - it's a cute game where no activity is stressful. It is pleasant to communicate with characters, explore the environment and admire the views. At the same time, the locations are so easy to navigate that I practically did not use the map.
But it is worth considering the game's ability to draw you into everyday activities. And before you know it, you'll start patrolling the bushes to catch the local residents in a specific way - all for the sake of a perfect score for petting lizards and a cherished souvenir.
Pro:
- Beautiful pixel graphics
- Exciting collection of ingredients and their subsequent preparation
- Exciting fishing
- Magical atmosphere
- Charismatic characters
- Soothing sounds and music
Contra:
- Additional activities take up too much time
- No translation into Russian
