Little Witch in the Woods

Incredibly solid Zelda-like cozy game. Really solid loop focused on gather ingredients, making potions and progressing your journey. The potions also give it a metroidvania feel in how they unlock new areas yet still remain relevant after first use so not just keys. I found the narrative genuinely good with interesting characters that don't start particularly deep, but grew on me - as did Ellie herself. Gorgeous artstyle. Not much more to say, don't sleep on it.

I've been playing video games for almost over 25 years... And this very quickly became my absolute favorite game, ever. The art style is extremely charming, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. You collect items from creatures (rather than slaying monsters like most other games). Most of the creatures have some sort of quirk to gathering - figuring those out really makes you feel like you're learning the ecology of the area. And not to mention that many of the creatures are absolutely adorable (merch pleeeease)! I'm normally the type of player to gloss over the relationship aspect of games. But the creators of this game really did something special with these characters. They have legitimately interesting backstories that give them depth. For example, the village chief who is the stereotypical sweet elderly lady (minor early spoilers) [spoiler]was actually very lively in her youth, including drinking whatever alcohol was the strongest![/spoiler] They aren't just flat characters who have always been who they are now. There are soooo many collections - creatures, craftables, fish, cats... I'm probably forgetting some. There is absolutely no need for a wiki for this game, because everything is already organized in the journal which you can check from anywhere, including the locations of the various creatures and whether they come out during the day or night, items the villagers like/dislike, and progress on your collections. The journal also shows the ingredients needed for craftables, and you can even track/pin them to make sure you gather the correct amount. The journal system in this game should be the blueprint for the many other games that require you to switch back and forth between the game and a fan-made wiki! Some more great features of this game I didn't even touch on: decorating your house, crafting mini-games, fishing, playing with cats, and of course a touching story. Overall, this game is an extremely cozy experience that brings me so much joy and peace. Thank you so much to the developers for making such a wonderful game. I would absolutely pay for any sort of DLC/expansion for this game, especially one that added proper seasons.