Get a potion (so, er, a cuppa tea) and settle into my Potion Permit Switch Review. To spare you my yapping, the TLDR is to get this game. I’m so serious when I say Potion Permit has singlehandedly pulled me from my gaming rut and kept me longing to play more whenever my attention was elsewhere. This might be a bold claim, but I’m pre-emptively nominating this game as my favourite launch of 2024.
Potion Permit is one of those games that I can easily pour hours of progress into because I enjoy it so much. From mechanics to visuals and story. Of course, I’ll go into more detail in this review…so this is my last reminder to get comfy!
Potion Permit Switch Review
On launch, I instantly fell in love with a beautifully animated pixel cutscene introduction. I already appreciate the arts of animation and considering this didn’t feed into the story much it felt like a lovely bonus to welcome me into the game. Moving onto the character creation, which is simple yet diverse. There’s no overly complicated time-wasting with outfit builders which some might find drab, but I personally preferred since I wasn’t dawdling in the menu for ages. One thing I did note is that the closest eye colour to dark brown was a reddish tone, but it’s a silly problem to have so I hardly consider it a criticism.
Next up, the actual game introduction. I don’t have much to say on this other than I love the sound that plays during conversation. I find it really satisfying that the pitch and speed give a glimpse into that character’s personality and life. One lovely touch was how older residents typically talk slower than younger ones, so their text had a slight delay which I think is a genius detail!
It’s consideration like this for the small things that made the overall look, feel and playability of the game simply divine. During this brief chat introduction, you get to give your name and the name of your companion dog. Now, if you’re a cat person I’m sorry, but as a dog person I was so happy to learn I get to name the dog! I named him Eddie after my own pooch.
Even if you’re a cat person I imagine you’ll love the dog, this fuzzy friend will come in clutch if you ever need to find an NPC before a certain time or dig up some ginger for a snack. Plus, he has the cutest walking up-and-down animation that resembles happy stompies. Love it.
Game Mechanics
Shifting into the actual core part of the gameplay, Potion Permit is ridiculously easy to follow. All the controls for the game are gradually fed to you so not to overwhelm, and if you need a refresher the game has an on-demand journal that details your entire adventure up to now. Using this journal, I could refresh myself on items, mobs, villagers and controls at the simple press of a button. Nifty!
One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the rhythm-esque diagnosis games. Before I completed my first diagnosis I was ready to be frustrated and have dissatisfied patients. But, to my surprise, every version of the diagnosis mini games I’ve played so far has been really fun and easy to participate in! Happy me and happy patients. I usually suck at rhythm games, so if you’re like me, don’t let it put you off the overall game. They’re quite rewarding and fun.
Another core part of the game I like is the actual brewing of potions. It takes critical thinking, strategy and material planning to fill all the tiles in the cauldron. Again, I’m not usually a fan of puzzles but I loved making potions to cure and sell. Whilst brewing, your daytime counter doesn’t move so you have plenty of time allowance to fix up a potion which is something I was very thankful for as recipes gradually became more involved.
There is an overall lack of rush to this game. Yes, some of the game is technically timed such as having 4 days to mend a patient or shopping hours, but there isn’t a scramble to get everything done within those limited day hours. The lack of rush doesn’t make for a boring game, as in my notes I wrote ‘A lot to do but not overwhelming – very ADHD friendly.’. There is always something to do, but with a sense of control where you decide if you want a more lax day talking to villagers, or a forage and hunt type of day.
The Poison Amongst The Potions
This is the hardest part to write because I don’t want it to overshadow the rest of the review. The only problems I encountered did fall down to controls. Firstly, fishing took me a while to understand, but once I figured it out it became my absolute favourite pastime. So much so that I pretty much never make time for my part-time jobs in favour of impressing Leano with my catches.
The other struggle I had and continue to have is with the decoration. I began tinkering with my bedroom design but had no idea how to remove furniture from my room after it was placed. Even now I still have a row of 3 lanterns leaning against a wall because I felt like I button-mashed every possibility but alas, they remain. It hardly bothers me as the room is only occupied when I sleep to save the game.
The final slice of critique, you must sleep to save the game! I didn’t realise this and ended mid-day losing some progress. But, nothing so significant that I felt bummed about it. The days aren’t too long, so this isn’t an issue in the grand scheme of things if you don’t want to waste days. But, if you don’t care about skipping days, you can sleep anytime.
Let’s Finish Brewing
Alright, slice of struggles aside let’s wrap up this review. My yapping about Potion Permit has already convinced my good friend and coworker Adele to buy the game so I’m pretty chuffed about that alone. I was hyping it up as a similar title to Stardew Valley but better. I could never get into Stardew Valley and always felt like I was missing out since it’s such a cosy cult classic. But, I’ve finally got what I longed for and then some.
I think my love for Potion Permit comes down to the stunning world design, weird villagers and homely, whimsical charm. That and I’m not immune to being a witch doctor. Echoing what I said at the start of this review, you need to try this game! Potion Permit is stacked with a great storyline, freedom of choice but a linear progression, lovely visuals and a huge sense of accomplishment as you build relations between the characters.
If my review has you sold, check out Potion Permit for yourself on the Switch Store. Or, if you’re a fan of reading reviews and shopping around for new titles then check out our Dadish 3D [Switch] Review. On a final note, as I’m putting the images together for my review I’m noticing Reyner being a frequent photobomber. I was going to romantically pursue Leano, but being forgetful I kept chatting to Reyner when also viewing his shop rates and somehow became besties with him.
The good
- Stunning game and visuals
- Weird and charming villagers
- Engaging plotline
- Fun minigames (Diagnosis, Brewing, Part-time jobs
The bad
- I have no idea how to remove decorations from my bedroom