In a world flooded with fast-paced action games and sprawling open worlds, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator dares to slow things down. Developed by niceplay games, this charming indie title invites you to step into the worn shoes of a medieval alchemist—not as a chosen hero, but as a local craftsman brewing remedies, poisons, and whatever else the villagers might need (or fear).

This isn't a fantasy game about slaying dragons—it's about grinding roots, boiling slimes, bartering with shady merchants, and navigating a strange, beautiful map of alchemical potential. And it's a quiet triumph.

At its core, Potion Craft is about experimentation. You're handed a mortar and pestle, a cauldron, and a handful of herbs and minerals, then let loose to explore the mysterious Alchemy Map—a foggy grid representing potion effects, which you traverse by combining ingredients in creative ways.

Each plant or mushroom pushes your "potion cursor" across the map in a specific direction. Your goal? Guide it skillfully to the right effect, avoid hazards, and stabilize the mixture to create potions like Healing, Fire, Sleep, or even Explosions. There’s no handholding here—trial and error is part of the fun.

Mixing, stirring, and heating your concoctions feels genuinely tactile and satisfying, thanks to intuitive controls and a delightfully earthy visual style. You don’t just click “brew”—you grind herbs by hand, pour water to steer your path, and blow on the bellows to heat your potion to completion. It’s immersive in a low-stakes, cozy sort of way.

Outside of the lab, you're a shopkeeper, selling potions to a line of villagers with specific needs—some noble, some suspicious. Should you help the local farmer grow his crops, or brew a poison for the guy who "wants to get rid of a small animal problem"? Morality is lightly threaded into the game, affecting your reputation and future customers.

You’ll also haggle for prices, upgrade your skills, and manage limited inventory. These systems aren’t overly complex, but they add just enough depth to keep the loop engaging. There’s no real plot, just the day-to-day rhythm of a medieval apothecary—and that’s the charm.

The visual style of Potion Craft is one of its strongest elements. Inspired by medieval manuscripts and woodcut prints, the game’s textures and illustrations feel authentically aged yet crisp and clear. Everything from the labels to the customers to the UI oozes rustic personality.

The music and ambient sounds are subtle but effective: crackling fires, bubbling potions, and soft lute melodies create a deeply relaxing atmosphere. It’s the kind of game that makes you want to play with a hot drink in hand and no rush at all.

While the early game is all about discovery and novelty, the late game shifts toward optimization—mapping out efficient recipes, unlocking better ingredients, and completing your Alchemy Machine (a mysterious endgame device with grander ambitions).

That said, the pacing may feel slow for some. There’s no combat, no story twists, and only minimal character development. It’s more about the journey and experimentation than reaching any grand finale. If you’re looking for a tight narrative or a challenge curve, this might not be your brew.

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator is a delightful blend of creativity, strategy, and aesthetic satisfaction. It excels in creating a relaxing, immersive loop of experimentation and discovery, all wrapped in one of the most distinctive art styles in recent indie gaming. While its slow pace and minimal plot won’t appeal to everyone, for the patient and the curious, it’s an alchemical delight.

Pros:
-Deeply satisfying and tactile potion-making system
-Beautiful, hand-drawn medieval art style
-Relaxing, low-pressure gameplay loop
-Encourages experimentation and discovery

Cons:
-Can feel repetitive or slow over time
-Lack of structured narrative or story progression
-Limited customer interaction variety

If you've ever dreamed of being a mysterious figure in a quiet forest cottage, crafting potions and solving problems with plants and bubbling brews, Potion Craft is exactly the fantasy you're looking for—no combat, no prophecies, just pure, medieval chemistry.

Rating: 8/10

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☑ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☑ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☑ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ 7 / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☑ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

don't let Scyler ruin everything