I've been loosely following the development of witch shop sim Potionomics (not to be confused with Potion Craft), for a long time—over four years, apparently. It's been "coming soon-ish" for long enough to stretch that definition, but now at last it's coming soon-ish for real. With a new trailer that shows us a cross-section of the brewing, haggling, and management involved in running a successful potion shop, Potionomics has also conjured up an autumn 2022 release window.
I've long been hoping that shop management sims would get their own massive heyday, and Potionomics certainly looks like it might supply my demand. Casual life simmers (and deep cut Recettear fans) will recognize the setup: Sylvia the witch inherits a potion shop from a dearly departed family member and she's stuck reinvigorating the place to drag herself out of debt.
To pull it off, Sylvia spends time using different ingredients to brew new types of potions, decorates her shop, supplies local adventurers in return for spoils, and haggles with customers.
The haggling bit is where things appear to get strategic. It's handled as a turn-based card battle between Sylvia and her customers where her deck is made up of sales tactics like "Reel 'Em In" and "Elevator Pitch" or "Shock Factor". They're all skills (cards) that she's collected from the other shopkeepers and adventurers around town as she becomes better friends with them.
What originally caught my eye about Potionomics was all the care being put into so many animations for its 3D characters. I'm glad to see it still looks super colorful, bouncy, and full of lovable locals. I do enjoy a good sim either way, but a charming cast goes a long way in my recipe book.
Potionomics hasn't set a specific grand opening date yet, but is planning to launch this autumn. You can find and wishlist it over on Steam until then.
