Shalik
Game provided by publisher. Reviewed via Steam.
Publisher: Chibig
Developer: Chibig, Nukefist
ITS HARD FLYING A BROOM YA KNOW!
Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is a spectacularly cute cosy game. An adorable exploration game using a witch’s broom, some air currents and a little bit of problem solving. There’s no combat, no worries and no strife. We play as Mika, A young witch who has travelled far from home to study under the same teacher as her mother before her. The great witch and keeper of the Mount Gaun lighthouse, Olagari. Mika is eager and excited but possibly a little arrogant and over-confident. So Olagari prepares Mika for a life of witchcraft with one swift lesson…. Kicking her off the top of a mountain. I’ve heard off tough lessons but I do feel this was a bit intense!
Landing with a splat at the bottom of the mountain, we find ourselves on a beach. The beach is cute, picturesque and not far away lies a quaint little cottage owned by a very sweet lady who offers to repair our broomstick that was broken in the fall. Allegra fixes us up and tells us to check out the local town.
The broom that has been repaired could never get to the top of the mountain and if we want something that can, we are going to need money. Thankfully the local delivery company needs a hand so off we trot to help out and start our new job making deliveries around the island and trying to figure out how to get back up to the top of the mountain.
Probably to give Olagari a heated speech about child labour laws and the legalities of using being booted off a mountain as a curriculum for her magic school. Definitely a dodgy ofsted report coming her way!
DELIVERING AND TRANSPORT
Trusty old broom in hand we crack on with delivering some items and meeting the locals. Packages must be cared for properly, apparently there’s no safe places or lobbing parcels through people’s open windows. You must give the parcel directly to the recipient and in good condition.
Every parcel has a “health bar” showing how many times you’ve unceremoniously bashed it as it hangs underneath your broom when you fly and some parcels have issues if they get wet. We could show certain parcel delivery companies a thing or two with this game! So, you fly around using your map to search for the recipients who unhelpfully quite often live beside water or happen to be on a boat, or on a small island in the ocean. There’s also lots of wind currents all over the different areas on this island which as you progress can be exploited to help you reach new places but can also blow you directly into obstacles that cause damage to your precious parcels.
The controls feel a little difficult with the broom often handling a little odd. There’s also not much guidance in what will cause damage to your parcel. I lost a heart for climbing up a step at one point! Cornering feels sticky as you often fly slightly diagonally when attempting to change direction. This causes you to run into scenery a lot when actually if it had turned how I wanted I’d have missed it. Who knew a broomstick could Tokyo Drift?! Staying still for too long causes your broom to sink and eventually Mika gets off it altogether. The broom can’t maintain height so if you’re trying to formulate a plan from a vantage point you better do it quickly. Imagine gliding mechanics of Knuckles from the Sonic The Hedgehog series as he glides slowly down instead of actual flying.
Often the characters will be in a new part of the map and you have to work out how to get to them using air currents, jumps and gliding. Your broom is not equipped with an up function so often the big issue is working out how to climb a cliff. Personally, I found this slightly tedious as each character would have several more tasks for you and while exploring the island was fun, if characters moved you had no idea where they’d be now as your map would not update unless it was a main story line item.
OOOO SHINY
Around the island are several gimmicks. Blue orbs allow you to create an air current cannon when placed in a holder to get you to a point quicker. Yellow orbs create updrafts when placed in a holder but often finding the holder for the orb as harder than the orb. The holders weren’t exactly in helpful areas I found and my own routes to get to places seemed better.
None of the holders were necessary to progress and I found myself ignoring them a little. There are also little voodoo idols which can be collected and traded at the crow’s fountain. Nobody ever tells you where the crow’s fountain is and you usually pass it and get confused by what it is, remember it and promptly go on your way and forget it exists.
You can trade for new outfits and charms to put on your broom. It’s a cute little personalising aspect but again, I completely forgot about it unless I was passing it.
Finally, there are personal deliveries. If you happen upon lost items, you can check the item for a clue about who it might belong to and you can deliver it back to the character. There aren’t exactly any rewards for doing this but it does make you feel better about yourself, and you can help out the villagers as you’re going about your day.
MINDLESS FUN THAT DOESN’T LAST
Overall, the game was cute and a very mindless bit of fun. The characters were loveable with great backstories to make you want to help them and help each of them through personal problems and finding meaning in their lives. The controls often felt sticky but were easy to get used to.
Once I found a route to somewhere that worked the game was very easy and had obvious methods to getting around. The game was very much a story with a little work in between and the story seemed over very quickly but there is the chance to catch up on collectables! My playtime clocked in at 3.5 hours before the credits roll.
This game is great if you want a very chilled out game to fly around in and look for little treasures, but for me did become a little tedious. A nice way to destress though but hard to completely invest in as its over before it has enough time to leave a lasting impression.
