It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Stardew Valley has had a considerable impact on the indie gaming scene. Stardew Valley's combination of easy-to-learn but constantly unfolding gameplay, low-stakes narrative premise, and simple graphical style hides plenty of depth, making for an engaging, long-lasting experience that didn't cost millions of dollars to make. Naturally, other indie developers have taken inspiration from such humble beginnings, hoping for the same major success.
There have thus been countless so-called Stardew Valley clones in the past several years, some great, some bad, and many more likely lost to time. However, one upcoming game, which has been in early access for quite some time now, appears to be an especially promising entry in this genre space, taking the fundamentals of games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing and inverting them with clever iterations. The game is called Little Witch in the Woods, and as its title suggests, it offers a magic-tinged twist on the quaint slice-of-life antics of other Stardew-likes. And while it has obvious parallels to ConcernedApe's cozy opus, it's also injected with action-adventure fundamentals that promise to keep players on their toes.
Little Witch in the Woods releases on September 4, 2025, but its beta version is available for purchase now on PC.
Stardew Valley Fans Don't Want to Miss Out on Little Witch in the Woods
Little Witch in the Woods Has All the Makings of a Modern Cozy Classic
Players assume the role of Little Witch in the Woods' Ellie, an apprentice witch who has recently moved into the Witch House, a retreat designed specifically to help novitiates with their training and studies. In this world, witches aid those in need as part of their training—they are far from the antisocial or transient witches of other media. Since Ellie is still in training, she has a lot to learn, which helps tee up a solid and logical gameplay loop centered on progression and learning.
The story also facilitates typical cozy game fare: players will be encouraged to bond with NPC villagers and complete various objectives, as they are all in service to the player-character's main goal. Naturally, players can customize the Witch House to their heart's content and gather all sorts of different resources for potion-making, which is akin to cooking in Stardew Valley and similar slice-of-life games. However, these potions can tackle a much broader set of problems than a plate of eggs or an apple pie in Stardew, which relates to Little Witch in the Woods' next main point of difference.
Indeed, Little Witch in the Woods isn't about farming or intense resource management like other cozy games; instead, players will be tasked with exploring various biomes, cataloging their flora and fauna, and filling up an in-game index.
More than just a fun way to track progress, this system is yet another part of Ellie's witch training. Ellie can interact with these critters in a number of different ways, whether it's by collecting their byproducts for potion-making, feeding them, or simply triggering a unique animation.
Like in so many other areas of the game, purpose-brewed potions can be used to make interacting with these animals easier. This means that animal cataloging is part of the gameplay loop, not just fodder for completionists.
All of these systems promise to band together under Little Witch in the Woods' stunning art design, which is arguably the star of the show. It's gotten some nice buzz over the past few years while in early access, so hopefully the alpha version of the game serves as a more polished, complete version of the game's major strengths.
- ESRB
- T For Teen: Alcohol Reference
- Developer(s)
- Sunny Side Up
- Publisher(s)
- Sunny Side Up
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- Early Access Release
- May 16, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
In the 'LUCEREIN ORTU', witches live together. They built 'Witch House' in various areas and have been sending their apprentice witches there. The apprentice witches must go to the one of the 'Witch's Houses' and help the nearby village and villagers. If you complete your apprenticeship successfully, you can become a formal witch. Become Ellie the Apprentice Witch and experience her daily life!
- Platform(s)
- Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
