Potionomics is the latest indie title from developer Voracious Games and publisher XSEED. Originally announced over two years ago, the game follows the story of the witch Sylvia after she inherits her uncle’s potion shop. Along with the potion shop, however, has come a lot of debt with it. Though now the proprietress of her own shop, she’ll first have to dig herself out of a financial hole.
When it was first announced, Potionomics quickly caught the attention of would-be players thanks to its bouncy and colorful animation and art style. Characters are dynamically animated when talking and that’s a good thing since talking is most of what goes on in this game.
While crafting potions and sourcing ingredients are crucial to the success of a potion seller, they mean little without actually selling the potions. Sylvia will need to pull out every mercantile trick in the book to convince wanderers to her store that they need her potions.
While it’s tempting to draw parallels between Potionomics and Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale, it’s important to keep in mind that Recettear came out over 15 years ago. In the years since games have tapped into the item shop mechanics that were popularized back then and Potionomics will hopefully continue to innovate the genre.
Players won’t just mindlessly sit and sell items, there’s a whole business to manage! Use slimes to produce raw materials, age your brews in the cellar to increase their potency, and on top of it all mingle with your customers and look for love. Players will be able to pursue romances with multiple characters in Potionomics.
You can check out the release date trailer here.
Potionomics is a combination deckbuilding and management simulator packed with colorful characters, vibrant personalities, and a charming story about personal growth and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Following the untimely death of her uncle, penniless novice witch Sylvia finds herself in over her head as she becomes the new proprietor tasked with keeping his potion shop afloat. Thankfully, she won’t have to go it alone as she learns the arts of potion crafting and salesmanship. Sylvia will encounter both helpful allies and challenging adversaries as she hones her skills to make her shop THE number-one potion destination in Rafta!
Haggling in Potionomics takes more than just picking the right social option. The team at Voracious Games has taken the time to create a gamified system that turns haggling into a deck-building mini-game. Players will manage resources and use haggling tricks (represented by cards) to go for high profits.
Potionomics is expected to release on October 17 for Windows PC via Steam. No ports to console have been announced at this point in time.
