Releasing tomorrow, December 9,Wytchwoodis an indie fantasy crafting game where players assume the role of a witch.Relaxing gamesthat don’t include combat but instead focus on other gameplay aspects like crafting, storytelling, and exploration have become popular in recent years, and this is one that fans should keep on their radars.
Stardew Valleyshowcased this when it released back in 2016 and would later go on to become one of the most popular indie titles on the market. And last year,Animal Crossingreleased its Switch installmentNew Horizons, which added many crafting elements to a franchise that was already about collecting and selling resources. WhileWytchwoodisn’t an exceptionally long one, it should interest gamers who enjoy titles likeAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsandStardew Valleyfor likewise elements.
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What is Wytchwood?
Wytchwoodis a crafting adventure game set in a gothic fantasy world pieced together with stunning storybook art. After losing her memories and speaking with a talking goat, the witch needs to awaken the sleeping maiden by collecting a series of souls from nearby beings like a snake, a bear, and a leech. Crafting is presented as puzzles, which are also the quests inWytchwood. After getting the initial tasks from the goat, the witch ventures out into nearby areas like a swamp, forest, and fields to find the souls.
One task leads to the next, and it typically involves a request to craft or fetch an item from someone else who also needs some item crafted or returned to them. The world ofWytchwoodis filled with ingredients, from mushrooms, grasses, and other plants lying around to items obtained by catching creatures, like pixie dust from fairies and frog slime from frogs. There are also many interactable objects, like clay mounds or fireplaces, that drop items needed for recipes when activated.
LikeAnimal Crossing, there isn’t any combat inWytchwood, but the witch can still take damage from hostile creatures, though many beings are generally friendly. Each enemy has an item, typically a craftable one, that they’re weak against, such as unveiling powders or sleeping potions. When it’s used on them, they can drop items used in other recipes, which is part of the puzzle and crafting process that players need to figure out on their journies.
What Makes Wytchwood Similar to Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley?
For a long time,Animal Crossinghas largely been about collecting resources. In the early days, the only ways to make bells were to collect fruit, catch bugs and fish, dig up fossils, and sell them to Tom Nook to pay off that pesky mortgage. And whileStardew Valleyisn’t as much about foraging, crafting facilities for the farm is. And generally speaking, folks who enjoyAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsandStardew Valleytend to be on the lookout for more quiet crafting games with meditative gameplay, andWytchwoodis likely to scratch that itch.
ButWytchwoodis a little bit more on the storytelling aspect than eitherStardew ValleyorAnimal Crossing, both of which feature open-ended gameplay and allow players free reign of whatever they please, at their core. Players can still progress in various ways throughoutStardew Valleysuch as courtship and marriage, whileAnimal Crossingreally isn’t about progressing so much as decorating, though crafting is still a major part of the game.Wytchwood, on the other hand, ties its crafting and puzzles into its quests, meaning it’s the main premise of the game culminating in a lighthearted gothic fairy tale.
Wytchwoodreleases Jun 30, 2025 for PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox.
