(Written Feb 18th 2024)

One of my recent all time favorites of a game, Potionomics was a title introduced to me by my partner, who'd followed its development at its infancy over several years up to its 2022 release. It came out during one of the darkest periods of life for me and my family in recent memory, which has made me all the more happy to revisit it in a much lighter mood (trying to go for all achievements as a first in any game for me!), alongside introducing another friend to the game, who was as equally smitten with it as we were.

It's a genre fusion of store management, dating sim, and deckbuilding, all of which are balanced in a phenomenal way. The deckbuilder experience is what you use to create your sales pitch and boost intrest in potions to sell at your shop, and to g a i n new cards you build relationships through the dating sim mechanics, which all feed into one another.

The cast of characters you meet in this game too have such striking variety, memorable designs, endearing personalities,

and Muktuk.

I have scarcely e v e r experienced aesthetic attraction towards fictional characters, save for a handful of female designs.

I can say unquestioningly that it is still only a handful of female designs, plus Muktuk.

No joke- apart from the turbulence in my personal life, the overwhelming sense of dread I felt towards the rise of AI generative imagery, coinciding around the release of this game- and how legitimately motivating and uplifting of a character Muktuk is, he played such a huge part in helping me still feel reassured with my own path in the creative arts (both as a hobbyist and a career pursuit), as well as just coping with so many coagulated thoughts all at once.

Barring this beautiful man- the game is packed to the brim with so much gorgeous art and personality in of itself. I'm really happy on the one hand that an artbook is even available, but really torn that it couldn't be a physical release. It'd be such an awesome thing to have in my collection should that ever come to pass in the future.

The one major critique I would've had with this game, was actually updated and improved on since I had my first playthrough, with it now incorporating an abUNDANce of sorely needed sorting options for all your potion making ingredients and shop wares alike. My only other qualm on the more subjective side, is I deeply wish there were an endless or randomized replay mode of some sort post the main campaign, as it's a strictly linear storyline. Its a hefty one at the very least- running you a good 30-40 hours to go the full way through.

If you have any hesitance about the combination of genres, but are drawn in by the art or premise alone, I'd still say to give it a chance, as I don't think you'll come out disappointed~

Do it for him.