Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

I like it but i don't recommend it. It gets repetetive. When you first start playing it gets addictive. Maybe you grind a few days but after a break nothings pulls you towards. The art is amazing but i would like to have more of a relationship with the customers more stories and what not could elevate the game quite much. It feels unfinished for me like the potion crafting is some part of a bigger game. and I'm quite missing the bigger game.

Chill game with no time limit. It's exciting when you find discover new potions but at higher level especially end game stuff, it can get frustratingly repetitive. Ok maybe not repetitive, but it's a chore when i've to combine effect from opposite end of the map MULTIPLE times. Initially i was a goody two shoes potion maker, but later on near the end i turned towards the dark side and start serving "I want to poison my neighbor" customers and become a witch (in my mind). Forgot to add, if you've played this game years ago, this new 2.0 version has a lot of new features & skill trees. It's quite a different experience from what it used to be years ago.

In a world flooded with fast-paced action games and sprawling open worlds, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator dares to slow things down. Developed by niceplay games, this charming indie title invites you to step into the worn shoes of a medieval alchemist—not as a chosen hero, but as a local craftsman brewing remedies, poisons, and whatever else the villagers might need (or fear). This isn't a fantasy game about slaying dragons—it's about grinding roots, boiling slimes, bartering with shady merchants, and navigating a strange, beautiful map of alchemical potential. And it's a quiet triumph. At its core, Potion Craft is about experimentation. You're handed a mortar and pestle, a cauldron, and a handful of herbs and minerals, then let loose to explore the mysterious Alchemy Map—a foggy grid representing potion effects, which you traverse by combining ingredients in creative ways. Each plant or mushroom pushes your "potion cursor" across the map in a specific direction. Your goal? Guide it skillfully to the right effect, avoid hazards, and stabilize the mixture to create potions like Healing, Fire, Sleep, or even Explosions. There’s no handholding here—trial and error is part of the fun. Mixing, stirring, and heating your concoctions feels genuinely tactile and satisfying, thanks to intuitive controls and a delightfully earthy visual style. You don’t just click “brew”—you grind herbs by hand, pour water to steer your path, and blow on the bellows to heat your potion to completion. It’s immersive in a low-stakes, cozy sort of way. Outside of the lab, you're a shopkeeper, selling potions to a line of villagers with specific needs—some noble, some suspicious. Should you help the local farmer grow his crops, or brew a poison for the guy who "wants to get rid of a small animal problem"? Morality is lightly threaded into the game, affecting your reputation and future customers. You’ll also haggle for prices, upgrade your skills, and manage limited inventory. These systems aren’t overly complex, but they add just enough depth to keep the loop engaging. There’s no real plot, just the day-to-day rhythm of a medieval apothecary—and that’s the charm. The visual style of Potion Craft is one of its strongest elements. Inspired by medieval manuscripts and woodcut prints, the game’s textures and illustrations feel authentically aged yet crisp and clear. Everything from the labels to the customers to the UI oozes rustic personality. The music and ambient sounds are subtle but effective: crackling fires, bubbling potions, and soft lute melodies create a deeply relaxing atmosphere. It’s the kind of game that makes you want to play with a hot drink in hand and no rush at all. While the early game is all about discovery and novelty, the late game shifts toward optimization—mapping out efficient recipes, unlocking better ingredients, and completing your Alchemy Machine (a mysterious endgame device with grander ambitions). That said, the pacing may feel slow for some. There’s no combat, no story twists, and only minimal character development. It’s more about the journey and experimentation than reaching any grand finale. If you’re looking for a tight narrative or a challenge curve, this might not be your brew. Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator is a delightful blend of creativity, strategy, and aesthetic satisfaction. It excels in creating a relaxing, immersive loop of experimentation and discovery, all wrapped in one of the most distinctive art styles in recent indie gaming. While its slow pace and minimal plot won’t appeal to everyone, for the patient and the curious, it’s an alchemical delight. Pros: -Deeply satisfying and tactile potion-making system -Beautiful, hand-drawn medieval art style -Relaxing, low-pressure gameplay loop -Encourages experimentation and discovery Cons: -Can feel repetitive or slow over time -Lack of structured narrative or story progression -Limited customer interaction variety If you've ever dreamed of being a mysterious figure in a quiet forest cottage, crafting potions and solving problems with plants and bubbling brews, Potion Craft is exactly the fantasy you're looking for—no combat, no prophecies, just pure, medieval chemistry. Rating: 8/10

Only 5 Hours In and Already Hooked! I started Potion Craft expecting a casual, cozy game to fill some downtime—but a few game sessions later, I was fully immersed in the art of alchemy. From the tactile satisfaction of grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle to the strategic navigation of the alchemy map, every aspect feels thoughtfully designed. The hand-drawn visuals and ambient sounds create a relaxing atmosphere, making it easy to lose track of time while experimenting with new potions. Even the haggling mini-game adds a fun layer of challenge. If you're a fan of games like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing and enjoy a blend of creativity and strategy, Potion Craft is a must-try.

if you truly try to do all achievements it becomes anything but cozy i started my save before the 2.0 update and continued playing with improved quality of life it was suuuper necessary suffering game mode? yOU MEAN I HAVEN'T BEEN SUFFERING TRYING TO MAKE THE PHILOSOPHER'S SALT ALREADY ON NORMAL DIFFICULTY?! + i agree with the others repetitive gameplay that can become a real chore and the ui/chatbox design BEGS for deeper and more immersive quest lines thay never come :[ maybe playing on steam deck just increased the difficulty as the game is not controller optimised for it at all, but every time i needed to move the potion a millimeter to align it with the recipe line i just didn't breathe for a good 10 seconds as the spoon is sooo sensitive to the (to me available) touchscreen controls wish there was a big and small spoon (heh) option, because if you plan simpler paths ahead and need to stir it takes too long and when you need real small adjustments when you're done it becomes too rough and inaccurate the assisting lines should have more length and opacity as well, if you don't allow accuracy adjustments in the accessibility settings personally id like to grind multiple ingredients at once, e.g. when you know the path towards the charm potion takes four of *ingredient*— just removes some of the unnecessary repetition maybe also a rain potion or a trader that allows you some automations the expanded enchanted garden is great, but watering and fertilising everything by hand every day (especially as the potion making has many useful shortcuts which make the trading feel a lot shorter than the time spent on maintaining the garden) yeah... not the greatest or maybe an upgraded watering can that speeds up the watering time per plant/increases the area watered a little? i also feel like there should be an option to either buy multiple alchemy station upgrades immediately without reputation/shop limits or the ability to idk send levitation mail to the guy and access his shop for recipe pages and upgrades all the time if you're unlucky and are off by a couple hundred coins, because you impulsively bought new seeds... yeah have fun playing another five or something days until he visits you again also the reputation system needs to be less binary having some of the truly evil customers visit you even with good reputation (the vampire, witch etc. are too comically mellow/not as seriously threatening as other npcs) would hit a lot more and be interesting completely missed the reputation concept at first and just served everyone that landed me at 94~100 good reputation without even trying always wondered when a cool necromancer would show up and ask me for the suitable potion... especially if some moral dilemma's only distinguishing dialogue changes are "hey, i want to help my horse win a race with a speed potion :)" vs. "i want to sabotage the other horses by giving them slowness potions >:(" like bruh, you're both cheating... tldr, overall good game easy to get hooked when afflicted with autism but even with autism it can get painfully grindy and i had no fun doing the last few required potion paths... guess 3.0 is gonna go crazyyy

---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☑ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☑ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☑ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☑ Old Fashioned ☐ Workable ☐ Big ☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☐ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☑ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☑ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☑ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☐ Worth the price ☑ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☑ Never heard of ☐ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ 7 / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☑ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☐ 10

It starts well but the ideas run out, the progression slows and the core mechanics become very grindy. Beyond the early-game it doesn't feel finished. I found I slowly had less and less fun until I quit.

Fun and cute. The NPCs' have fun stories. Gardening and exploreing new potions is so fun and calming. Recommendedrecommend for casual gamers'.

Excellent little puzzle game. Great artwork and nice little minigames. Very good pacing too, it introduces new things right when you've gotten on top of everything else.

I think this game has a great premise. I really love the artstyle, the sound design and the economy gameplay. Helping merchants with their requests, the reputation system (as minimal as it is on your overall game) and the customers themselves? Great stuff. However, there are a couple of glaring things that lkead me to believe I'm sinking time into this game for no reason: 1.) The navigation style in this game loses charm very, very quickly. At first, navigating through the usage of unique ingredients? Cool, great. Very manageable whenever everything is fairly close. However, I think it gets mucked up by the lack of renewable traversal items in a timely manner. From what I understand, crystals can be regrown in a crystal portion of the garden. Cool! This might make things [b]slightly[/b] easier since the game encourages you to make renewable recipes. But making renewable recipes out of items you can't 'renew' is a recipe for disaster, literally. Especially when traversal is so punishing, it's tough. Moving across the map and not knowing where you'll end up, wasting the very same ingredients you need to fulfill customer orders? It feels like it pads time. Even then, I wouldn't mind it if it wasn't so punishing in the first place. It hurts to travel any farther beyond the first couple layers, and if it hurts to do one of the [b]main[/b] gameplay, then.. why am I playing? 2.) New things in this game do not come at a decent pace and they dry up quickly due to this. Plants offer varying degrees of straightforward direction. Mushrooms offer wacky movement. Crystals offer teleportation. Great things when used in tandem, but different mushrooms and crystals are offered far earlier than you getting the opportunity to make them a renewable resource. Which goes against the desire to make it a recipe since you have a finite amount. I ran into issues where I needed to redo navigation to a potion I've already created just to adjust for what was renewable. I felt like I was being funneled into a gameplay style of 'well, I don't want to retrace my steps to get to this potion. Let me try to be as efficient as possible with my renewable resources so I can draw up a real recipe on the first try.' I don't care for this because buying materials from merchants felt like a waste of gold. The 'story' of the game is to get the Philosopher's Salt, after all. I need a lot of gold for that. Seeds are a gold sink I can rely on since the game insists on everything being limited and my ingredients being wasted on traversal. But buying non-renewable plants? No. I'd never do it. I need gold to advance the plot. I can't spend it on traversal items that won't even feed into a recipe. It goes against what the game itself wants: get gold, buy alchemy machine parts, recipes, enchanted papers and set yourself up for success. And yet the game also wants me to spend so much gold on items I can't renew? It got to the point where I despised when merchants that didn't sell seeds made me upset. On top of that, when the merchant I finally needed came, I wouldn't have the gold and I'd have to wait. It became a waiting game: do I save the gold in case they came tomorrow and pass up on these seeds? Do I pass on the seeds and hope that the alchemy vendor comes in? That's a bad decision to make. The way I'd have personally solved this? A separate screen to the left of your shop interior. An exterior that spread out into a series of merchants either represented by houses, signs or a listing. Then you can interact with these merchants. Get exclamation marks if they want potions, but make all of them accessible at any given time. Let the player decide what they want at any given time. Put the power in their hands so they can play the game they like. Maybe it'd make the drip feed less agonizing. ... In conclusion, this game is a delicious premise with a poor execution in traversal. I'd say I would play again if it got updated, but reading other reviews makes me see that the developers may have walked away from anything substantial. It's a shame because I can see the potential in this game, but perhaps this traversal is too baked in. It's very telling that I made it farther than 70% of players. Because it feels like Chapter V is about the point where it goes from charming to a waste of time.

endlessly addicting gameplay. wonderful artstyle. just needs a handful of tweaks to keep the gameplay loop consistent and fresh

Relaxing, Charming, Stylised, Easy to get lost in. . . The music is a little sharp and jarring in your ears for extended periods, I've considered turned it off, or at least lowering the volume, if i could. (haven't tried yet) the discovery system for learning new potions is neat, but is very demanding on your resources. The bartering system is fun, but the timing required for some of it is a very unforgiving and if you can't handle QTE's, bartering is going to be a bigger pain for you than you'd want it to be. (kinda wish there was more accessibility in that field / tho haven't dug too deep there) another gripe is that a lot of 'necessary encounters' with NPC's that're supposed to further advance the story are hidden behind a RNG spawner system. You might not see them for a while. And maybe you will but lack the necessary funds to advance. READING IS IMPORTANT, don't skim stuff.

I can spend hours in this game. Everything is so cosy and the design is fantastic.

Great game with fun and innovative gameplay.

It does a lot with a simple system. Can feel a tad bit repetitive and grindy at times, but I feel that comes with the territory and people who are more accustomed to the genre won't have any issue with it. The art is stunning, the gameplay and mechanics of the alchemy map are as fun as they are fluid, and I find making unique potion affects very creative and interesting. The npc merchants are interesting and simple, and it does feel like you develop a bit of a bond with them over the course of play. It's an amazing game, and I 100% recommend it to anyone who wants a low-stakes, calm shopkeeping game with surprisingly deep and complex potionmaking.

very fun, very repetitive (which is good in this case), but also has you exploring new recipes everyday. I recommend it to anyone who wants a game with easy to understand mechanics, aesthetically pleasing looks, lovely music, a very fulfilling goal system, and raking in all that gold :D Another highlight of mine is the merchants as well, and a few of the minor npc characters. Play if you want a fun chill game :)

It is fun, has an cool art style, and has got to be one of the coolest games I've played.

- cozy, zen - indie gem, great buy - joy of dsicovering and understanding mechanics - slight grind - if you level smart, late game's off balance and easy - "Do you have a potion that I can rub on a certain body part to enlarge it?"

Delightful game with plenty of potential. Would recommend for a rainy day binge play.

Never judge a book by it's cover. It seems like a boring, medieval, tons of reading, repetitive game, but no. It's somehow addicting. The way you make the potions is very interesting. The only problem is that for some people it can get tedious at times. 7/10

There are many things I like about this game for me to play it and recommend it to others. The art is unique, and I quite like the game mechanics as well. It's a calm game, and I appreciate that fact. However, One of the only things I've found to be a problem is mapping out a long distance path in the potion crafting map. Often when I'm trying to make a potion with multiple effects, instead of going from effect to effect, mapping out my distance each time, I will map out one long distance, and pick up the effects as I go. Every other time, this plan goes well, and I reach my goal without much hassle, but there are times when I will add an effect to the potion, and the path I made gets moved. This happened with my most recent potion, with failed because the path moved too much into the way of a barrier. This concern may not affect you as you play the game depending on if you play like I do or not. There are still many pros that would outweigh any cons, so I definitely recommend you play Potion Craft.

Really cool and interactive single player game. You get to be a cool Alchemist! Make cool rocks, and salts! Get to mixing those mushrooms!

there's something so addicting about this game, the skill leveling never feels stagnant and it makes it very fun to just keep going

Surprisingly relaxing once you get into it. Had lots of fun customising my potions. Allows a fair bit of creativity. The potion crafting mechanics are clever.

Great, cozy, beautiful, satisfying game. Looking forward to new updates.

When I began, it took me a good 45 minutes to figure out how to Haggle and how to manage store reputation. Once it clicked in my mind, I was flying! I began upgrading in the blink of an eye, and now I know that there is more than just Water based potions to craft! Absolute blew my lil mind. Would 100% recommend. Especially in this trying trying time.

A very relaxing game ! I'm such a nerd for magical witchy stuff and this game delivered perfectly !! The "Alchemy Map" mechanic is very creative ! And the character desings and general art style is captivating !! I highly recommend it !!

Comfy puzzle game with relaxing graphics and no time limits or really any railroading. Will probably give you around 20 hours total of playtime to complete. However, after beating the game I don't see much in the way of replayability.

Oof, as a cozy-game enjoyer, I thought I would love the game. The game doesn't really do a good job at teaching you things, I understand the game is going for "explore on your own, succeed with trial and error!" vibes. But oof, too much trial and error for my taste. Lots of potions requested by customers in the early stage requires ingredients that you can't grow yet, and you gotta waste so many ingredients to find the potion you're looking for. Played over 3 hours, feels a bit like a chore. If you like experiments, you might like the game.

Amazing game with a lot of interesting content, best to get in a bundle since their other games are also amazing - especially Strange horticulture which follows a similar storyline.

Amazing and Fun game! I love the entire lay out, crafting different potions with different ingredients, effects, and strengths. The skill point tree is incredibly useful and the multiple areas to grow the ingredients. The customers are so funny if you pay attention to their stories but if you just want to speed through you totally can do that too with the saved recipes! 1000001/10 crafting relaxing game!

Super fun game, maybe not so intuitive so if you're confused just look for some help. Love expanding my garden and talking to people!

If you enjoy a mapping logic puzzle and seeing what kind of bang you can get for a buck with haggling. This is a game that is easily for you. It is super simple and not time dependent. Map exploration. Daily tasks, customer interfacing you get to decide good guy or bad guy really determines your game play. nice chill peaceful

This game is so chill, you can sit back and enjoy the playthrough without timers and without any stress

Relaxing and simple, challenging but not frustrating. Just a calm game to play in idle times. Love it.

Beautiful art style. Ok Gameplay. Bit of a chore sim at times but I do like those kinds of games. Achievements can be tedious but I wouldnt say there not enjoyable.

The mechanism of this game is just really cool. It can seem a little overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a unique exploration/simulation game.

This game is so relaxing, fun, and the grind is actually sooooo enjoyable! I love this game and it's satisfying mechanics so much and would love to see more from the developers like this. 10/10 game, would recommend anyone play for a good time.

I really liked this game in the beginning, it’s fun, interesting and very unique. However, this game definitely is not suitable for impatient people, this game needs so much concentration & patience to master. After completing [b]Philosopher's Stone[/b] for like [b]13 to 14 hours[/b], I already feel tired through this game, but we still need to grind for [b]Philosopher's Salt recipe[/b] and craft it for [b]over 10 days in game / 2-3 hours in real life[/b] to complete all achievements. It’s so boring and not fun in late game. But I still highly recommend this game after completing all achievements because it definitely gives you fun and enjoyment for a long time. I gonna try suffering difficult after... I guess

It takes a little bit of time to get the ball rolling. Afterwards its fun and addictive

great game, but i dont think its worth the full game price, i think if you get it on sale for 10 bucks its a great deal, it has a lot of content, customization and 'exploration', anyway a great bravo to the devs for making such a great game

Good game! There were only a couple of times where it felt tedious, and they were short lived. If you like this type of game, this is one of the best!

Really great game honestly my newest addiction love the multitude of shenanigans i can come up with just playing this

Dev, venom and poison aren't the same thing. Overall, it's pretty fun game. Just was surprised by difficult curve on water base potion.

Very chill, enjoyable game. Would love to see future releases with more story maybe, but the core gameplay is surprisingly entertaining. My main advice is invest in recipe paper and record everything, because exploring the "map" gets old otherwise.

Wake up babe they made running a shop and making potions extremely fun. Very cute and clever game. 10/10 would brew again.

Fiddling around with the potion creator is so fun! I also like all the easter eggs of different characters being customers.

This game is wonderfull. Going att your own pace. putting together all sorts of things and figuring out how things work on the way. very much enjoy this laydow game. absolutly recomend it for one who is looking for a stressfree game that can suck you in for hours.

I loved the vibes and the art style. A perfect game if you want something to fuel the witch in a cottage vibes. Fun to figure out what the villagers are requesting as well. Overall I give this game 9/10.

Such an amazing game. After playing for days straight, I took a break. Yet when I had returned, an update had arrived making the game somehow even better then it had been before. I am once again hooked. Would love to see more of a story outside of the game itself but otherwise would not change a thing