“You’ll be playing something very different from the farming and sandbox games that are common in the casual genre”
We play as Flora, a young witch who moves to the port town of Grat to become a “proper” witch and opens a shop to create food and potions for the townspeople and travelers. “With Flora’s journey, I wanted to tell a story about coming to a new country, finding the thrills it has to offer, making new friends, and even figuring out where to buy your stuff,” explains Skaule.
“Flora comes from a remote rural area, which she is quickly leaving behind and speaks of only a little. Women were told it was a place of adventure and opportunity—the opportunity to make more of her witch powers than she came from.” However, Grat has its own mysteries and magical undercurrents. There are two opposing factions in town, led by the witch Cassia and the wizard Tauno, and Flora is soon caught between them. In addition, there are other mysterious travelers and the secrets and legends of the city itself, which we will learn about as we gradually expand our exploration skills. Speaking of…
Aside from its magical story and beautiful pixel art style, one of the main things that sets Magical Delicacy apart is its Metroidvania inspiration and intriguing mix of genres and elements: cooking, platforming, exploration, trading, growing plants, expanding of your store, search. , and more. “It was an organic decision for me, coming from the things I liked in games, with Metroidvanias being my favorite,” says Skaule. “Though, at the time, I wanted to avoid combat at all costs, so I turned to casual games. It’s really a lot to pack into one game, and I’ll let everyone find out for themselves if and how that works.”
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 a lot of others, like difficult encounters and boss fights , of course. The most obvious part is the map progression in general. This also means that you will be playing something very different from the farming and sandbox games that are common in the casual genre map figuring out what to cook, you’ll sometimes hit roadblocks in what you can cook and where you can go, and you’ll have a similar feel to how you progress in a more traditional Metroidvania.”
This Metroidvania approach takes shape in several ways when it comes to Magical Delicacy’s platforming and exploration, and cooking plays a big part. According to Skaule, one way to reach new areas is to “craft and provide food – so upgrading your kitchen is strongly tied to progress. There are several items, such as cutting boards and mortars and pestles… that can be used to make different items or change the characteristics of ingredients. Some recipes will require you to experiment with these enhancements to see what they do with each ingredient.”
Grat’s environments range from catacombs to cliffs, and along with helping you reach new paths, improving your movement skills will also open up shortcuts to get you back to your shop. “You’ll find many paths to take,” says Skaule. “Some are easy platform rides, and others are a little more challenging.” The gameplay elements seem to blend well together: exploration ties to cooking and cooking ties to exploration. You have to create meals to progress, but on the other hand, “making meals requires a lot of exploration and trading. You’ll often have to go out to find the ingredients before you can get to it.”
Another great part of Magical Delicacy is its characters. “A good deal of the town’s gossip revolves around this group of illustrious adventurers and their historical achievements, and how that plays into the actions of the witches and the town itself,” explains Skaule. “You will experience the story of the world and these characters as a reward for your meals provided. From adventurers to researchers, merchants to witches, there are many different 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 them succeed, or even just spend time with.”
Then there’s Magical Delicacy’s colorful, eye-catching pixel art style. “Before I started getting into the development of this game, I spent a few months just creating pixel art for different game ideas until I came up with a style, especially for the characters, that I liked and felt I could enjoy working on. ” says Skaule. “There were countless styles and ideas dropped, but an early version of Flora that was just slightly different was the catalyst for the style of play. From then on, I continued to roll with things that fit the style and the world. It certainly helped to have the artistic background of 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 provides Xbox achievements you can earn in-game, and take a look at part – Discovering 11 of the Magical Achievements Xbox Delicacy!