During Pax East 2022, I had the opportunity to check out a new upcoming game called Potionomics; the game has been in development for a very long time. This game caught my interest because of my love of magic and fantasy, who doesn’t want to run their potion shop? Potionomics is being developed by Voracious Games and published by XSEED Games; it is a simulation management deck-building game. The game has players taking over their late uncle’s shop, to manage, master the art of brewing potions, decorating his shop, and develop relationships with many different characters. The character’s motivation is either through love of the business or the desire to make money to pay back the collector. The artwork of the characters is what really stood out! If you like games with a bit of magic and like the idea of running your own shop, then Potionomics is for you.
The game looks great from the demo screen and beyond. The artwork for the game is quite stunning from the character to the mini world design; it shows the developers put a lot of love and effort to make a colorful world, which also includes the animation of the characters. Each character looks loveable and colorful. The developers did a great job with adding the ability to switch between 3D characters to 2D Cartoon characters.
When you are currently managing the shop, such as moving the inventory and purchasing upgrades, you are in the world view or management view and in this view your character is 2D. When you enter the “haggling” (Card battle) mode it is automatically switched, and you will be able to see your character in 3D. The main goal of the game is to make enough profit to get out of debt before the game ends on the 50th day. According to the developers, this is when the game ends.
Selling
To sell your potions, you will have to enter a card battle which is the core feature of this game. The haggling mode is a turn-based card battle between Sylvia and her customers where her deck is made up of sales tactics like “Reel ‘Em In”, “Elevator Pitch”, or “Shock Factor”; these are skills cards you will use against the customer to pique their interest to make a profit when selling your potions. One thing to remember is whenever you sell something to a customer, you are bound to form a relationship with that customer that can either be another shopkeeper or adventurer, forming relationship will help you unlock more skills cards to use in your haggling battle. One of the cards you can get is from Mint; she can give you a card called “Sympathy” that increases the customer’s interest in the potions.
Puzzle Mechanics
There is a puzzle mechanic part to this game; that mechanic is called brewing time, which is the most important feature. How else can you sell something in the shop if you don’t know how to make it? While I was playing this part, I had a bit of trouble at first because there is a bit of science to it. Sometimes you might not make the perfect potion but you have to do what you can do with the resources you have. In the end, this will help you make different types of potions to sell to the different customers you will get because not everyone wants the same potions. With each customer asking for a specific potion, this is another core part of the game that will help players become the best potion maker.
Potionomics Key Features
- Wheel and Deal
- Negotiations can be tense when every coin counts, but you’ll manage Sylvia’s stress with ease by playing your cards right. Develop friendships with adventurers and other shopkeepers on Rafta to learn even more advanced negotiation tactics.
- Recipe for Success
- Choose the best ingredients to make even basic potions extraordinary, perfecting the taste and aroma to please your pickiest customers. But beware—if you aren’t careful, you’ll get some pretty gross results!
- Fantastic Friends and Foes
- Rafta, home to some of the world’s most potent magic, is packed with big RPG personalities, each seeking a leg up in their adventures. Befriend and recruit them to help you level up your own potion game, but don’t expect everyone to be friendly…
- Your Shop, Your Rules
- Make your shop pop with customizable decor. Style points aren’t the only perk; decorating your shop just right can improve your prices, reduce potion brewing time, and more!
Planning Ahead
Stay one step ahead with new recipes, negotiation tactics, and ingredients to elevate your potions to new heights. With a dash of magic, you’ll brew up an adventure unlike any before. I’ve long been waiting and hoping for a shop management sim to come out and Potionomics certainly looks like it might be it. This is a game that will surely be loved by all; it is a relaxing and stress-free game that I can enjoy playing while being creative.
The part I love the most is the brewing of potions because the game will test your skills over and over to satisfy each customer who comes to your shop. The artwork of the characters is what stood out! If you like games that test your skills in management but with a twist of fantasy and magic, then Potionomics is for you.
Potionomics have a release date for Fall 2022 and it will only be coming out for PC. Is this a game you might be interested in? Don’t forget to Wishlist the game on PC.
You can also follow their Twitter for updated news for the game as it gets closer to the release date.
