Potionomics is the latest witchy shop sim to catch our eye
Mix, haggle, sell
Potionomics seems to contain several things I'd like from a video game. It's got brewing potions, yes, that's good. There's shopkeeping, I like that a lot. Then there's a card-driven social system for haggling with customers - perfect. Recettear meets Potion Craft meets Signs Of The Sojourner? With beautiful character animation? Gold.
Watch its new trailer below.
We've written about Potionomics a couple of times before, with an early look at its character art in 2019 and an initial teaser trailer in 2020. There's more to it than even I mentioned above, though, given you're also able to hire heroes, customise your store and romance fellow vendors.
It's the haggling system that most interests me. It looks like you'll collect cards from the adventurers you befriend around town, with each character having a deck of cards you can choose from. Characters have names like "Plant the Seed" and "Shock Factor", and when played they'll impact how interested your customer is in your wares. Dropping the "Jingle" card in the card above causes Sylvia, the protagonist, to sing a little ditty about the tonic she's trying to sell. Delightful.
I can't deny the art is part of the appeal, too. The characters are 3D and cartoony - a bit Disney, a bit Overwatch-y - but the 2D art for mixing potions and the isometric cut-through of your shop are all warm and welcoming as well. As much as I like Recettear, Potion Craft and Sojourner, none of them quite scratched an itch I've got for this kind of game, so I'm looking forward to Potionomics taking a shot. It's up on Steam if you want to see more.
Potionomics is aiming for release sometime later in 2022 and this trailer was release to coincide with its appearance at PAX. If you want more coverage from the ongoing show then Katharine and Liam have you covered with daily videos from the showfloor exclusively for supporters.