It’s time to get your Harry Potter on: in Potion Permit you are the best alchemist the town of Moonbury has ever laid eyes on, and it just so happens that the mayor’s daughter is in need of some healing!
Releasing today on Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Switch platforms, Potion Permit is a cutesy, pixelated open-ended RPG that immediately gives notes of Stardew Valley, just with a lot more ointments and meds. The main loop of the game is to traverse Moonbury and see to its sick inhabitants: alongside the mayor’s daughter are around 30 inhabitants that are also prone to being under the weather, and as such you must use your alchemy skills to rustle up a cure.
Whether it’s a low heart rate, shoulder pains or the odd gelatin over-consumption, it falls upon you to scavenge ingredients out in the world, and put together a medicinal concoction. Once a recipe is decided upon, it may be the case that in order to gather said ingredients, an upgrade or two is in order. Upgrades to your basic tools such as the hammer or sickle, as well as the foresight to adapt your playstyle when entering dry deserts or harsh blizzards, are essential if you are to work your way through your patients, and progress the story.
Provided you can battle past some monsters guarding the way (again, through alchemy, buffing your character or ailing your foes), and you return with the correct cure, you can develop your relationship with each character, unlocking nuggets of information along the way. It’s a well-trodden loop of adventuring out in the wilds, and then developing the story as you return to the village, and it’s very much addictive!
The core loop of Potion Permit is excellently summarised on the game’s Xbox Store page:
- Take care of residents. Moonbury has around 30 unique inhabitants who will occasionally fall ill and call for your aid. Sick residents will have their schedules interrupted while they recuperate in bed.
- Diagnose symptoms and find a cure! Hmm… a low heart rate and a bloated liver. Shoulder cramps, perhaps? No, these are sure signs of burning lungs. This patient has been consuming too much gelatin! Easily remedied; you’ll just need to craft some Minty Goblet.
- Gather ingredients out in the world. Once you’ve decided on a potion, ointment, or salve, gather ingredients from the surrounding environment using your tools. Upgrade your hammer, axe, and sickle for new swings and attacks to help with your day-to-day tasks. Watch out for changing weather conditions! You may find yourself caught out in the rain, a freezing blizzard, or even the baking heat of a desert.
If you consider yourself the doctor Moonbury desperately requires, then you can pick up a copy of Potion Permit on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One via the Xbox Store – the game costs £16.99. For £19.99, you can also pick up the Deluxe Edition, granting you some extra cosmetics. A ton of those extras can be purchased individually too – ranging from £free to £1.19 in price.
Potion Permit is also available over on PS5, PS4, PC and Switch.
Game Description:
The town of Moonbury has always been wary of the advances of the outside world, preferring to rely on their traditional methods of healing. Until one day, when the mayor’s daughter falls ill, and the local witch doctor can do nothing to help her, they are forced to look outside their small community for help. The Medical Association decides to send their most accomplished chemist – you – to help cure the mayor’s daughter and convince the residents of Moonbury of the wonders of modern alchemy. Gain their trust and tend to each person when they fall ill in this open-ended sim RPG.
