I’ve been keeping a close eye on Witchbrook for quite some time now, largely because it seems to be combining two things I’m almost always going to have a difficult time resisting: a magical school setting in the vein of Hogwarts Legacy and the kind of cozy life-sim elements that have kept games like Stardew Valley firmly planted in my rotation over the years. Chucklefish has already shown off plenty of the usual suspects, including cottage decorating, gardening, and a rather enormous collection of furniture, but its latest developer blog finally pulled back the curtain on something I, and many other players, care about just as much. Romance is going to be a pretty significant part of Witchbrook, and after seeing how dating actually works, I think the upcoming life sim may already have Stardew Valley beat in that area.
To be clear, I’ve always enjoyed the romance system in Stardew Valley, and some of the game’s most memorable moments come from gradually getting closer to Pelican Town’s bachelors and bachelorettes and seeing their heart events play out. The process of actually getting there, however, has always been fairly mechanical. I find someone I like, learn what they like, speak to them whenever I can, give them gifts, and eventually watch their heart meter climb high enough to unlock another scene. Witchbrook will still have gifts and regular conversations, but what Chucklefish has revealed about its dating system sounds considerably more involved, because getting someone to like me is apparently only the beginning.
Witchbrook’s Romance System Actually Makes Me Go on Dates
There will be 11 romanceable covenmates in Witchbrook, several of whom Chucklefish has already introduced, and each of them will have their own personality, interests, daily routine, and ongoing story arc. They’ll also respond to what’s happening around them, including the weather, time of day, location, and whatever might currently be taking place in their own lives. Their individual stories can even be completed without romance ever entering the picture, so learning more about someone won’t necessarily require me to pursue them romantically in the first place.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
Once romance does enter the picture, though, Witchbrook starts doing something I’ve wanted to see more life sims attempt for a long time, because I’ll actually have to plan dates rather than simply unlock them. Mossport has a tradition of expressing affection through cards, so asking someone out starts with sending them one, but from there, I’m responsible for choosing two activities for the date. On its own, that might not sound much different from selecting a destination from a list, but Chucklefish is apparently making everything that happens between those activities matter as well.
There will be 11 romanceable covenmates in Witchbrook, several of whom Chucklefish has already introduced, and each of them will have their own personality, interests, daily routine, and ongoing story arc.
More than 200 “date chatter” spots will be spread throughout Witchbrook‘s magical world, where whoever I’m with might react to something nearby. Chucklefish specifically mentions the jewelry shop, the college’s romantic bridge, and even seaweed on the beach, but these conversations aren’t merely there to give the walk from one activity to another some extra flavor. My date might actually hint that they’d like to stop somewhere, or make it fairly obvious that whatever I’m considering probably isn’t their idea of a good time.
What makes that especially interesting is that I’ll apparently need to pay attention if I want the date to go well. Rather than choosing an activity because a menu tells me someone likes it, I can learn what they’re interested in by listening to them while we’re exploring Mossport together and use that information to decide where we should go next. Chucklefish has also confirmed dates can go badly, so ignoring what someone is telling me could come back to bite me by the time I drop them off at home.
Witchbrook’s Dates Can Actually Go Wrong
For me, that’s where Witchbrook starts gaining some serious ground on Stardew Valley, because there’s something much more interesting about a romance system that allows me to misread someone. If I take a character somewhere they clearly aren’t interested in going, there are consequences for that decision, whereas a good date can eventually lead to another one and then another after that. Getting closer to someone sounds like it will require me to understand them rather than repeatedly perform the same reliable actions until I’ve accumulated enough affection.
Even the point at which different characters become available to date is going to vary depending on who they are and what they’re currently going through. Chucklefish uses the example of a shy wallflower taking longer to open up than someone who’s naturally more outgoing, which means I may not necessarily be able to decide I’m interested in someone and immediately begin working toward romance with them. Their own story has to reach a point where they’re ready for it, and I love the idea that these characters might have lives that aren’t simply waiting for me to become part of them.
That same idea continues as the relationship develops, because different covenmates will apparently require different amounts of time before they’re willing to open up further. Some may wear their hearts on their sleeves, while others might make me work a little harder before they let me into their lives. If Chucklefish can make those differences feel natural rather than reducing them to another invisible checklist, each romance could wind up feeling considerably more distinct.
Witchbrook Is Making Romance Part of Mossport
Relationships can eventually progress to “going steady,” which is once again handled through Mossport’s affection-card tradition, and doing so unlocks further relationship privileges like sleepovers. The card system itself also sounds exactly as ridiculous as I would expect from Witchbrook, especially since there are different cards for asking someone out, becoming exclusive, and even breaking up with them. Chucklefish specifically highlighted a seasonal jack-o’-lantern breakup card that says, “BOO! I’m breaking up with you!”, which is probably enough on its own to make me end at least one relationship during autumn just to see what happens.
There’s something much more interesting about a romance system that allows me to misread someone.
Multiplayer in Witchbrook adds another wrinkle to the whole thing, since each player can romance a covenmate and two players can apparently pursue the same person until one of them eventually goes steady with them. I’m already imagining the completely unnecessary arguments this could cause between friends, but even that fits into what I like so much about the system Chucklefish is building. Romance doesn’t sound like a completely separate feature operating in the background. Rather, it’s being integrated into the world, the people living in it, and even the way players interact with one another.
Of course, Witchbrook hasn’t been released yet, so there’s no way of knowing whether all of this will feel as natural in practice as it sounds on paper. Stardew Valley also has years of proven character writing behind it, and I’m certainly not ready to say Witchbrook has somehow surpassed that before I’ve even met most of its cast. When it comes specifically to the act of dating someone, however, Chucklefish seems to be building something considerably more interactive than the romance system I’ve grown accustomed to in Stardew Valley.
Instead of memorizing someone’s favorite gifts and watching their heart meter steadily climb, I’ll apparently have to spend time with them, listen to them, take a chance on where they might want to go, and occasionally get it completely wrong. Stardew Valley gave me plenty of memorable characters to fall in love with, but Witchbrook looks like it wants the process of falling in love with them to be memorable too. If Chucklefish can make those 200-plus little moments around Mossport feel as meaningful as they sound, I may end up spending just as much time worrying about where I’m taking someone on Friday night as I do whatever magical homework Witchbrook College has waiting for me on Monday morning.
- Released
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2026
- ESRB
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Teen // Suggestive Themes
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
