Collecting ingredients, brewing potions and helping a small town? In Potion Permit if this becomes a reality, read our review of the RPG!
The history of Potion Permit
The official Steam website gives an indication of the circumstances Potion Permit. The city of Mondburg has always been skeptical regarding progress from the outside world and preferred to rely on traditional healing methods. Until one day the mayor’s daughter falls ill and the local doctor can’t help her, which is why they have to seek advice outside their small community. The Alchemist Council sends you to heal the mayor’s daughter and convince the residents of Mondburg of the wonders of modern alchemy. Now it’s a matter of gaining their trust and healing every person who gets sick in this Sim RPG.
So you start by creating your own character. The pixel graphics are very expressive, different hairstyles, skin tones and more give you a few options. Then you learn in one Little Witch in the Woods-like intro Dr. Know Nestor of the Alchemy Council. After a train ride, during which you can name your dog, you will arrive at Mondburg train station. The first hour of play succinctly tells the story of why you are there – on the one hand, the mayor of Mondburg needs help healing his daughter, on the other hand, the Alchemist Council is only too happy to oblige. Because if the city is in favor of the council, you might set up a local branch…
Das Gameplay
As you would expect, the first hour of play acts as a tutorial and introduction to the game. This is how you learn the basics of the game and how to use tools such as axe, hammer and sickle. You can mine resources in this way – basil, stones, but also honey and spores are immensely important. So while you’re being taught what’s in Potion Permit everything is possible, you will also learn useful background stories. For example, nobody from the city of Mondburg dares you at the beginning because you come from the capital. In individual dialogues, it becomes clear why: The previous alchemist genius caused a terrible accident, the consequences of which are still felt by the residents today.
So you set up your own clinic and take care of the almost 30 unique inhabitants of Mondburg from now on. They occasionally get sick and need your help – so far, so good! The special feature here: Sick residents interrupt their daily routine and recover in their beds. So you can’t start events or complete tasks there! In addition to the typical life sim tasks such as talking to residents, bringing them daily gifts and even possible romance (you know that from the competition) but you can also devote yourself to collecting ingredients. Because sooner or later there will be someone who needs your help once more, and that looks good Potion Permit like this:
Collect, heal, brew potions
It all starts with analyzing the symptoms. A mini-game then shows you where the problem lies: Does your throat hurt, is your pulse low, or is your liver enlarged? Various symptoms can indicate several diseases, and Potion Permit makes a mini-game à la without further ado Dance Dance Revolution out! With a magnifying glass you drive over a character and continuously collect clues as to what the problem might be. If you have done that, there is a satisfaction index that shows you the satisfaction of your patients. Not surprisingly: the higher this is, the better for you! After that, you’ll have a clearer idea of what to brew, and then it’s a matter of gathering the right ingredients. What’s particularly cool here is that there are four elements.
In Potion Permit the ingredients are divided into fire, water, wind and earth. They also have a task, because some medicines only allow you to use certain elements. Each ingredient has a shape, which is best with Tetris can be compared. In order to successfully brew a potion, you must correctly fill out a template with these ingredients. To keep it from getting too easy, there’s also a limit to the number of ingredients you can use. Once you’ve done that, just press X to make the medicine. Then returning to the clinic and administering the medicine to the patient is a piece of cake! This picture shows what it looks like in action:
what her in Potion Permit can do
At first you don’t have to worry too much. Everything is going according to plan, and the next tasks are clear step by step. But the more hours you put into the game, the trickier the tasks become. Then it’s time to upgrade your hammer, axe and sickle for new techniques and attacks! This will then help you in your daily tasks. This is how you get the materials you want from monsters and from the wild, so if you want to fight you can do so in Potion Permit absolutely do. Just like in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt you can also brew mixtures that strengthen you or weaken your opponents. What’s also cool is that there are variable weather conditions such as rain, a snowstorm or scorching heat.
Nothing stands in the way of you collecting resources and making potions and medicine in stock. As you advance in the game, you’ll unlock more recipes, and you can also upgrade your cauldron, clinic, and more. It will take a while, but your patients’ health will improve thanks to your efforts. Your reputation will increase, and then you can see yourself as a citizen of Mondburg. Romances are also possible, there are bachelors and bachelorettes for that, and distraction is definitely provided! Of course, there are also characters who are still not well-disposed towards you, and there can be a little bit of drama from time to time…
Is there anything else?
Potion Permit seems to be a sweet adventure at first glance, but has some rather edgy messages up its sleeve. Especially when it comes to discrimination, generalization and the fear of change, the residents can very often be surprised with depth, which then comes to light in everyday conversations. No matter how much they rail once morest alchemy, when things go wrong for them, they still turn to you as the alchemist genius. The hope of healing is palpable at all times, and if you injure someone, it affects your reputation throughout the village. This can even go so far that the residents are downright hostile towards you, even if you just want to say hello instead of asking someone for something.
Speaking of help: your faithful four-legged friend (named Dogfella in my playthrough, freely following Sword & Sworcery) is an NPC like all the others. You can pet him, feed him, and have him search for NPCs – perfect if you want to turn in a quest and the person isn’t home! It’s the little things like that Potion Permit make it very attractive for both old hands and newcomers. There are some mechanics that always give you something to do without overwhelming you. In order to make an effective impression on the residents of Mondburg, you can give away the moonstones that you get for healing people. In this way, you will always progress step by step in the game, no matter what you have focused on that day.
The technique of Potion Permit
The 16-bit appeal of Potion Permit is something that is already apparent in every trailer. If you like it, here’s your next game, and if you don’t like the look at all, even the best gameplay won’t change that. There was nothing to complain regarding on the PS5 during the test period: the graphics look trendy thanks to HDR, and the animations obviously run extremely smoothly. While the gameplay itself benefits from the optics – there are always friendly environments and yet many details to admire – I personally miss small character portraits. That would still be something for an update, because even if the sprites are very well done, a close-up of the faces would be even more personal. Especially if you want to choose between the six characters who are open to romance, that would be a very nice touch!
The acoustic background music of the game also falls into the “nice” category. It’s okay for the most part, but there’s not a whole lot of variety here. But do you want tunes with catchy tunes, such as the congenial one Stardew Valley with ease, you are definitely at the wrong place here. But that’s just a small point of criticism, because if you Potion Permit plays, the controls are much more important. I’m happy to report that the handling of the title has been implemented very well. Yes, the PS5 DualSense controller is used to its full potential (even the touchpad is used!), but the most important functions are within easy reach. Thus, this game can be enjoyed by everyone equally, regardless of whether they have no, little or a lot of video game experience. Well done MassHive Media!
Rating: 8.5 Pixel
for Potion Permit (PS5) Review: Pixel life simulation with a twist von Mandi