In order to progress through Magical Delicacy's story and meet new characters, get new recipes, and open up more of Grat for exploration, you're going to need to cook and make as many deliveries as possible. As you'll discover early on, though, a l?o?t of the recipes you can cook require an oven.

Magical Delicacy throws you in at the deep end with a kitche?n you can customize with a handful of tools and a few deliveries to make. All you'll have to work with at the start is a Pot, though you can add a Cutting Board and Mortar and Pestle pretty quickly. Each tool a??llows you to make even more recipes, but the one you'll keep seeing as a requirement is the oven, which requires you to complete a few tasks first.

How to unlock the oven in Magical Delicacy

To unlock the oven in Magical Delicacy, you need to progress the game's story to a certain point. Then, you can purchase the oven from Star's For??ge close to Flora's Workshop, allowing you to place it in the kitchen and finally begin cooking up a storm.

However, there's a little more to this than just progressing the story, because Magical Delicay's story is intrinsically linked to the deliveries you must make. First, you need to complete the Sweetness for a Princess delivery, which re??quires you to bring a sweet dessert to Princess Adelaide in the main square. I used Marzipan for this, and it worked a treat.

Co??mpleting this delivery will net you the Bridge Pass, which will now let you walk across the bridge to the right of the main square and see more of Grat. I won't spoil the story elements, but you must fall off the bridge to meet someone to progress the story if you're a??fter the oven.

Once you're across the bridg??e, you need to speak to everyone you encounter. One tall character called Vinita is essential. Her sister is a herbali??st, and she asks you to cook something made using herbs from her sister's shop.

Keep ex?ploring this side of Grat until you meet the character you found under the bridge. If you need a tip, then try climbing higher and higher. After you've found this character and exhausted their dialogue, you can retu??rn to Star's Forge.

Finally, once you enter Star's Forge, you'll see them speaking to ?Vinita's sister. Wait for the conversation to be over, and then speak to Star to purchase your shiny new oven for 155 Beads. You can now take this back to Flora's Workshop, place it, and use the oven to create new recipes and even Baked versions of?? some ingredients to unlock yet more recipes.

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We've all cooked up a storm in slice-of-life farming games like Stardew Valley, survival MMOs, and the occasional Zelda game. Rarely are those systems that complex, though, and they're almost never linked to your overall progression in the story or character's growth. In Magical Delicacy, cooking is at?? the heart of every aspect of gameplay, and it feels all the cozier for it.

Magical Delicacy (PC [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Skaule
Publisher: Whitethorn Games
Released: July 16, 2024, 2024
MSRP: TBC

In Magical Delicacy, you play as Flora. She's a young witch who has traveled to the harbor town of Grat to advance her understanding and mastery of magic in a place where witches were always rumored to have thrived. When she arrives, it's a different story. Everyone expects Flora to already know her craft, and only a?? few seem to have any knowledge of witches.

Still, the settlement seems keen for Flora to help as many people as possible by cooking up a storm and delivering a lot of food, and a few magical potions, where required. She's left to fend for herself after being bamboozled into buying a small shop in the middle of Grat, where she knows absolutely ??no one.

The intro is brisk, but gives yo??u all the information you need to get moving. Despite having a decent story that'll suck you in with its mystery and intrigue, the game is quite fast-paced. The core gameplay mechanic revolves?? around meeting new residents of Grat, chatting with them to get a request for food, and then delivering that food.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple. Flora must learn new recipes by finding them around Grat or purchasing them with curren?cy earned from deliveries. Ingredients must also be foraged from around Grat, purchased, or grown at Flora's shop.

Even when you've got every ingredient you need, there's a wide array of cook??ing equipment you can upgrade Flora's kitchen, allowing you to cook increasingly advanced recipes. One?? of the first tools you'll unlock is the oven, which requires you to make a few deliveries and meet some interesting characters before you're even close to getting it.

The cooking system itself is nice and meaty. I spent a good few minutes working out what ingredients to use with each, staring at my pot or oven to ensure I got the best result. Ingredients are split into set types, such as herbs, mushrooms, and ground, and each recipe requires a bit of certain types. There are also staple? ingredients, such as Rock Salt, that must be used in some of the food you'll cook up.

Ingredients can be ground and processed in other ways before they're cooked for more complex recipes, but everything must be discovered organically. For example, I purchased some wheat?? because I knew I needed flour, and things clicked when I purchased a Mortar and Pestle for Flora's shop. This allowed me to grind the wheat to make the flour to craft the dessert that had been requested.

Magical Delicacy isn't just about delivering food to make people happy, though. Over the course of the story, and by making more deliveries, Flora will unlock recipes for potions that can unlock paths and abilities to explore more of Grat, access new ingredients, and incre?ase her abilities as a magical culinary creator.

You'll feel how the developer was inspired by 2D platformers and Metroidvanias through the gameplay as you advance and unlock new areas of the stunning environment. But the game is also about slowing down a??nd taking it easy. Grat is packed with benches for Flora to sit and chill out on, pulling back the camera so you can fully admire the pixel art environments and listen to the cozy soundtrack playing away in the background.

I played Magical Delicacy for hours and hours, but it never felt like a chore. The game's natural sense?? of progression and regular deliveries are a satisfying reward for the work you put in, and even waiting for the day/night cycle to pass by as you enjoy t??he sounds of the harbor town has a point, because you're waiting for ingredients to grow or characters to move around.

The controls are precise, and only a few tricky platforming sections require you to push your muscle memory to the limit, though they're not essential to the main?? story and only unlock cosmetics. Outside of a single graphical issue where the moon follow??ed close behind Flora's head on one screen, I didn't have any issues.

Magical Delicacy is a joy to play and a relaxing experience that, despite h??aving a grind you must work through, fee??ls no more stressful than looking at a cookbook and working out how to prepare and then make the meal you want.

It's one of those games that will live in your head even while you're not playing it, as you think about what characters have requested and how you can mee?t their needs. ?There's something to learn in every session with it, be it a new use for an ingredient or a revelation in the story that you've been holding out for.

Take a few jumping puzzles from a 2D platformer, a pinch of progression from a Metroidvania, the story of a gorgeous indie title, lashings of pixel art, a dollop of relaxing tunes, mix well, and bake until you can see the personality rising out of it. If that sounds tempting, that's Magical Delicacy for you.

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The cooking-themed platformer and Metroidvania title Magical Delicacy is now available for almost everybody to download and play. The game is out now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S via Steam and Xbox Game Pass, but it won't be out on Nintendo Switch until August 15, 2024.

Magical Delicacy will have a 10% launch discount until July 23, 2024, and not only do we have a new trailer to celebrate the launch, but there's a special edition for those who want a little more from it. The game stars Flora, a young witch who moves to a harbor town to complete her training and find herself. You'll help her realize her full potential as she sets up shop cooking potions and delivering them all around the local area to help the people who live there. You may even unlock l??o??ng-forgotten secrets surrounding the town.

Deliver magic everywhere you go

What I love about Magical Delicacy is how it feels so much like a video game rendition of Kiki's Delivery Service. Flora is doing just what Kiki did in the Studio Ghibli movie: moving to somewhere?? completely unknown as part of a tradition, hoping to hone her skills and find herself. Maybe even find a place to call home.?

The game brings the story to life with a gorgeous pixel art style. In addition to the coming-of-age story, it introduces cozy farmi??ng and slice-of-life mechanics that allow you to work through that story at your own pace.

You'll find a lot to enjoy if you love platforms and Metroidvanias, but th??e game is unique in its own ways, too. Potions you discover as you meet new townsfolk and try to find the recipe they're ??after to solve their problems can also open new paths in the environment.

Flora's kitchen will also be upgraded over time to help you create new and more complex potions. The cooking side of the game is surprisingly in-depth and will feel like you're using real recipes at home before too long. The blend of gameplay mechanics shou?l?d keep things interesting right up until the final moments of your time with this lovely little town.

The only downside to the game's launch is that Switch players have to wait an extra month before they can play it. Unfortunately, the Treat Edition of the game only comes with a PC code, but you can ??still pl??ay it on a portable platform if you have access to a Steam Deck or other PC handheld.

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Magical Delicacy ?blends some of the best parts of 2D action platformers and Metroidvanias to create something altogether new. It's the type of game that would work perfectly on a handheld pla??tform like the Switch and maybe even the Steam Deck.

Leading up to its release, Magical Delicacy has been confirmed for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. It's a game that I believe is perfect for handheld mode on the Switch, but I also realize that not everyone has that console. That's why it would be nice if the game were Steam Deck compatible, so more people could?? enjoy it while getting comfy and cozy in the evening instead of strictly at a desk.

Is Magical Delicacy Steam Deck compatible?

Yes, developer Skaule has confirmed that Magical Delicacy will be Steam Deck compatible from day one. A few fans reported having success running the demo soon after June's various game showcases, so I reached out for confirmation. That's how I know you, and I will be ??able to load this deliciously delightful game on our Steam Decks at launch.

In Magical Delicacy, you play a young witch who h??as moved to a new town t??o train her skills by helping out the locals. As you meet more and more people around the town and help them through food or your flair for magic, you'll unlock more and more of the location and uncover the town's past and those who helped build its history.

The gameplay revolves around 2D platforming and ingredient gathering. You'll unlock more recipes as you progress and ??must upgrade your kitchen to ensure you can cook everything required by the townsfolk. The game allows you to create a completely custom kitchen while still maintaining that sense of progression that will be key to making you want to push through to see the story to the end.

It's hard to deny that the Switch is the ideal place to play 2D platformers and Metroidvanias when games like Animal Well and Metroid Dread run so well on it. I'm a huge fan of Valve's Steam Deck because it allows other similar games to run in a handheld format even when the developer hasn't released its game for Nintendo's hybrid console.??

Magical Delicacy combines the thrill of progression from Metroidvianias and action from 2D platformers with the cozy themes of cooking and building a place to call home in a scary and new place. I can't imagine playing it in any way other than handhel??d mode, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

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Publisher Whitethorn Games has revealed when fans can get their hungry hands on Skaule's upcoming main course of a Metroidvania-lite, Magical Delicacy. The game will be availa??ble on July 16, offering a new, wholesome twist on the ??genre.

In just over a month, you'll be able to get cooking with Magical Delicacy on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S from day one. You can even get the game on Xbox Game Pass the same day, meaning there are plenty of places you can settle down to consume its meaty gameplay. The story reminds me very much of Kiki's Delivery Service as protagonist Flora, a young witch, arrives in the town of Grat to develop her magical skills. As we all know, though, training as a witch is never straig??htforward, and Grat has several mysteries to get caught up in and a colorful cast of characters to meet.

Players will collect recipes and ingredients, build their dream kitchen, and serve the local townsfolk in Magical Delicacy

While we don't know how Flora comes to Grat, once there, she settles down and sets up shop to deliver potions and home-cooked meals to the local townsfolk. Magical Delicacy is a Metroidvania-lite, borrowing some elements from the genre, such as unlocking tools for gradual progression, while using others, such as 2D platforming and NP??C relationships, to help build out the overarching story and linear questline.

The core gameplay revolves around cooking and gathering ingredients. S?ome can be purchased, while others must be foraged from around Grat. As you progress, you'll unlock new potions and recipes that will open up new areas of the town and access to new townsfolk. Some of these recipes will require kitchen upgrades, but you'll get to build it as you play until it feels like your ideal countryside cot??tage cooking area.

Magical Delicacy's cooking system isn't a simple one-button affair. It's pretty complex and allows for experimentation as you figure out what to cook for every individual you meet. As you move through the story, new ingredients, processes, and recipes only make it more in-depth, but based on the trai??ler, it seems to replicate cooking in the kitchen fairly well.

Whitethorn Games boasts that, much like a good soup, there's more to Grat than meets the eye. While cooking and serving the townsfolk is one objective, you'll lose yourself in others, including meeting ancient figures of legend or old masters of their craft who have long been forgotten. It sounds to me like Flora will help modern-day townsfolk understand more about Grat's past in a similar way to how you did in Spirittea.

What I believe is special about Magical Delicacy is that it takes what is often the heart of a family's day, sitting around a table together to talk about their day and share a meal, and turns it into an entire game. Flora may cook multiple meals, but it's the co??oking that brings the townsfolk out of their shells and helps you, as the player, understand and appreciate Grat. Just like in real life, food can help you integrate with a small community because it's a great leveler. After all, everyone's got to eat.

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