I’m learning how to curse exes and talk to the dead in So May It Be

I am loving all the magical witchy games we’ve been covering for RPS Magic Week, but I wanna learn how to actually be a witch, you know? I wanna learn the witchy ways, and not just from some not-so-well informed TikToks.

Thankfully, So May It Be has been my gateway to Witchcraft 101. It’s a sapphic dating sim about a bunch of witches just hanging out doing witchy things. You're part of a small coven with your three friends, and you all meet online every night to chat about school, shitty part-time jobs, and of course, witchcraft. At the end of each evening, you can privately ask one of your friends to hang out the next day 1 on 1, getting to know them better and just doing cool witch shit.

So May It Be: A Witch Dating Simulator Steam Release Trailer

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Hanging out with all these cool ladies feels like filling a mental grimoire with all my new witchy knowledge. I got to know Morgan first, a cute cottagecore witch who loves cozy knitted jumpers and wears an actual witch's hat, pointy tip and all. Each time you hang out with one of the coven you get to click around their respective homes, picking out objects in the scene that interest you. Erin’s grandma’s house, for example, is full of old-school folk magic like poppet dolls used to cast spells on people, hanging bundles of herbs from the ceiling, and a bubbling brew in a cauldron.

My favourite discovery in Erin’s place were the hag stones. These are stones with a natural hole that goes all the way through them, and Erin told me can be used to stop nightmares, encourage quick healing and even see the future. We then had some relaxing spiced tea and read each others tea leaves in a mini-game. I’m pretty sure I read hers completely incorrectly (something about a screeching cat and how it's a sign of good things to come??) but it’s all interpretive, right?

Next up I hung out with Brigid, a kind of new-wave witch, and as I clicked around her bubblegum pink bedroom she told me all about the different powers of her crystal collection and the potent effects of magical charms. We decided to make a charm together and she explained what all the ingredients mean, letting me pick which ones I’d like in the charm bag. I chose rosemary for cleansing, peppermint for energy, and then salt for purification against bad magic. I love how the game actually teaches you a bit about witch lore, and what everything they use means. Into the brain grimoire it goes!

Last up is Morgan, who is basically Nancy from The Craft. She’s kinda hardcore and her crypt (yup, she lives in a crypt next to dead bodies) is filled with candles, a giant empty coffin, jars with skull symbols on their labels, and the scariest of them all, an MCR poster. We chatted about curses, and soon enough she was teaching me how to curse an ex of mine, repeating their name and speaking a magical spell to seal the deal.

I'm loving all my new witchy knowledge. I might not really believe in any of it, but it's cool to know anyway. As you play through the game and get to know each character, there are plenty more mini-games and magic to master. You can peek at your future in some tarot card reading, speak to the dead through an ouija board, and craft a straw ‘parshell’ to ward off bad luck and illness. There’s also a wider story that unfolds about what the three witches plan to do after school ends, with characters revealing more about their lives the more you decide to hang out with them. I’ve yet to finish it just yet, but So May It Be is a great visual novel for those who are keen to learn more about spooky witch lore.