Witchbrook, a bright and colorful magical school life-sim, is finally ready after spending ten years in development. Chucklefish, publishers of Stardew Valley—and developers of its own games including Wargroove and Starbound—announced the game’s release date, January 28, 2027, during Nintendo’s October Indie World showcase.
Y’know, I’m not particularly moved by life-sim games but damn, Witchbrook is pretty. Its colorful cheeriness exudes the hope and sense of boundless possibility a magical school should have, as opposed to whatever the dank and dreary hell that other one was doing. Fans of Stardew Valley have been eyeing Witchbrook for a while, receiving brief glimpses of the game over the last handful of years. Chucklefish devs first tweeted sneak peeks of early development images back in 2017, and the studio’s no-crunch policy means that if it takes ten years to get the game just right, so be it. Since those first looks, the developers have literally changed perspective on the game, going from a side-on view to an isometric one.
In Witchbrook you’ll be able to attend classes and pass witch exams, start a magical business, and build friendships or romances with your “coven mates.” A number of them have been revealed already on Witchbrook‘s website and I’m already in love with Pip, Eli, and Leif. I could very well see myself playing Witchbrook. I bounced off Stardew Valley pretty hard but I’m willing to give the genre another go, especially since this game looks as good as it does.
