Mika and the Witch's Mountain
Review
A Charming Romp
by Camrin Santchi
reviewed on PC
You're a Witch, Mika
Magic is a pretty common mechanic that fantasy explores, powers beyond what is possible in the real world, and many games will have their own mechanics that allow for players to explore them. Mika and the Witch's Mountain takes an interesting spin on this concept, introducing a girl named Mika who is out to learn magic from a witch atop a mountain… thus the name of the game.
Only, interestingly enough, Mika doesn't actually spend her time learning spells and honing her magical talents - instead she's given a trial by fire when her instructor pushes her off the top of the mountain, with the not so simple task of getting back up to the top of the mountain. Her flying broomstick shattered from the fall, Mika takes up a temporary job as a delivery girl for the small island of Mount Gaun in order to pay for repairs and later a replacement broom - which could almost instantly remind players of the Studio Ghibli movie Kiki's Delivery Service.
Take to the Skies… Sort of
Mika and the Witch's Mountain is a 3D Platformer that has a focus on delivering packages to charming characters across the colorful map of Mount Gaun. This focus lends to the only style of 'consequence' that the game has - namely, that packages can damaged in specific ways depending on the package - from crashing into things to getting wet, or a time limit. Depending on the package they have a limited amount of health that will lead to them becoming more and more damaged, which directly affects Mika's pay via a 'ranking' system of stickers. Green stickers are best quality, yellow are average, and red are far too damaged.
The way for Mika to traverse Mount Gaun is via her broomstick, which is upgraded as players progress the game. Starting with a minor glide that quickly plummets due to the damage the broom took via the fall at the start of the game, Mika later is able to ride wind currents for boosts to speed as well as verticality, and the broom also allows her to carry more packages at a time. None of the brooms offer true flight, however, so players will need to be on the lookout for ways to get higher in order to make their deliveries across Mount Gaun.
Come and Gone
Really, one of the few bad things to say about Mika and the Witch's Mountain is that the game is incredibly short, with only a few hours of content. That being said, the charming artstyle, pleasant music, and simple controls create a large amount of replayability for players that just want to glide around the island peacefully, delivering packages or searching for collectibles (tarot cards depicting the characters, additional items to deliver like lost ostriches or kites, or a type of currency used to purchase alternative outfits).
The other problem with the game - minor as it may be - is that the map you receive in order to explore Mount Garn doesn't depict a lot of details. You only see where characters are if you've already found them (and they're in a different spot on each day for the most part), and the wind currents and air cannons/catapults to launch Mika aren't depicted on the map. They're usually fairly easy to find, but some of them are just a touch tricky to locate when looking around for them.
Short and Sweet
In all, Mika and the Witch's Mountain is an incredibly charming game that is easy to get into and just relax and unwind, with the only real issues being the short length and the map layout being a bit odd to get used to. When one of the biggest problems with a game is that there isn't a lot of it, that's when you know you have something wonderful on your hands. If you like games that are short, sweet, and relaxing, then Mika and the Witch's Mountain is definitely one to look out for.
As always, follow Hooked Gamers on Instagram for news updates, reviews, competitions and more.
8.8
fun score
Pros
Charming Artstyle, Simple Controls
Cons
Incredibly Short, Map Layout
