“You’re playing something very different from the farming and sandbox games that are common in the cozy genre”
We play as Flora, a young witch who moves to the port city of Grat to become a “real” witch, opening a shop to make food and potions for both townspeople and travelers. “With Flora’s journey, I wanted to tell a story about arriving in a new place, finding the exciting sights it has to offer, making new friends, and even just getting a feel for where to buy your supplies,” Skaule explains.
“Flora comes from a remote rural area, which she quickly leaves behind and speaks little about. Grat was said to be a place of adventure and opportunity—the opportunity to make more of her witchcraft powers than where she came from.” However, Grat has its own mysteries and magical undercurrents. There are two opposing covens in the city, led by the witch Cassia and the mage Tauno, and Flora will soon find herself caught between them. On top of that, there are other mysterious travelers and the city’s own secrets and legends, which we’ll learn more about as we gradually expand our exploration skills. Speaking of…
Beyond the magical story and gorgeous pixel art style, one of the key things that sets Magical Delicacy apart is its Metroidvania inspirations and intriguing mix of genres and elements: cooking, platforming, exploration, trading, growing plants, expanding your shop, questing, and more. “It was an organic decision for me, stemming from things I enjoyed in games, with Metroidvanias being some of my favorites,” Skaule says. “While I wanted to avoid combat at all costs back then, I turned to casual games. It’s a lot to cram into one game, and I’ll let everyone figure out how and if that works for them.”
Skaule describes the game as a “Metroidvania-lite,” adding, “which to me means you’ll see a lot of familiar elements, but you’ll miss out on a lot of others, like difficult encounters and boss fights, of course. The most notable part, though, is the map progression in general. This also means you’ll be playing something very different from the farming and sandbox games that are common in the cozy genre. You’ll be progressing through the map by figuring out what to cook, sometimes encountering barriers to what you can cook and where you can go, and it feels similar to how you’d progress through a more traditional Metroidvania.”
That Metroidvania approach comes into play in a variety of ways when it comes to Magical Delicacy’s platforming and exploration, and cooking plays a big part. According to Skaule, one way to access new areas is “by crafting and delivering meals – so upgrading your kitchen is very much tied to progression. There are different items, like the cutting board and mortar and pestle… that can be used to craft different items or change the properties of ingredients. Some recipes will require you to experiment with these upgrades to see what they do to each ingredient.”
Grats environments range from catacombs to cliffs, and in addition to helping you reach new paths, upgrading your movement skills will also unlock shortcuts to get you back to your shop. “You’re going to find a lot of paths to take,” Skaule says. “Some are easy platforming, and some are a little more challenging.” It seems like the game’s elements work well together: exploration is tied to cooking, and cooking is tied to exploration. You’ll need to craft meals to progress, but in turn, “crafting meals requires a lot of exploring and trading. You’ll often have to go out and find ingredients before you can get them.”
Another big part of Magical Delicacy is the characters. “A lot of the gossip in the town revolves around this group of high-profile adventurers and their historical exploits, and how that plays into the actions of the witches and the town itself,” Skaule explains. “You experience the story of the world and these characters as a reward for the meals you’ve provided. From adventurers to scholars, merchants to witches, there’s a wide variety of personalities to meet, and some will even involve you in something more significant. I hope there are characters that many can relate to and adore, characters that you want to help, see succeed, or just spend time with.”
And then there’s Magical Delicacy’s striking, colorful pixel art style. “Before I started developing this game, I spent a few months creating pixel art for various game ideas until I came up with a style, especially for characters, that I liked and was happy to work on,” Skaule says. “There were tons of scrapped styles and ideas, but an early version of Flora that was just a little bit different was the catalyst for the game’s style. From that point on, I just kept doing things that fit the style and the world. It definitely helped that I had an artistic background as an illustrator.”
Magical Delicacy launches on Xbox Game Pass on July 16. If you’re interested in reading more about the game, check out our chat with developer Skaule about how Magical Delicacy offers Xbox achievements that can be earned in a single playthrough and check out a partial reveal of 11 of the Magical Delicacy Xbox achievements!