If you dream of a magical Stardew Valley, Harry Potter style, a new indie game should particularly catch your attention. However, it takes a while to come out, but for good reason.
This year, Stardew Valley celebrates its 10th anniversary. That’s as much time as the development of a future competitor who wants to offer a cozy experience as rich as ConcernedApe’s game in a Harry Potter-style universe. A whole decade is a long time to wait for players. But when we see how the king in this area has been refined since 2016, we say to ourselves that the Chucklefish studio team is doing everything possible to offer such a convincing game, as it explains itself.
This Stardew Valley-like takes its time for the magic to happen
First called Spellbrook, what we now call WitchBrook is finally approaching its release after a decade of development. Journalist Marie Dealessandri was able to speak with Donna Orlowski, director of operations at Chucklefish for 13 years, discussing with her the reasons for this long production time and the various postponements experienced by this project which is eyeing the Stardew Valley market.
The market is precisely one of the subjects that concerns the small British team at Chucklefish. Its 18 current members are well aware that there is “ a package of [jeu de] life simulation now “. The success of Stardew Valley, even if it did not initiate the genre, obviously has nothing to do with it. THE cosy farming sim have been flowering wildly in recent years. This is why it is essential to ensure that WitchBrook “ will not just be an experience like so many others “, explains Orlowski, also adding:
The most important thing in developing this game was ensuring that the final product would meet not only our expectations, but also those of an audience who has already received so much.
Donna Orlowski, pour Knowledge.
It took a while to get there, but Chucklefish is finally there. But it will not have been without turmoil. Orlowski recalls that as the team entered full development in 2019, it distanced itself from narratives that presented the game as ” a mix between Harry Potter and Stardew Valley ”, and this, for good reason: “ offer something unique “. It was therefore necessary to rethink WitchBrook’s proposal to accentuate the simulation aspect in particular. Unsurprisingly, “ this is what caused the delay “. But the game will certainly be worth it:
We hope that when players enter this universe, they will never want to leave.
Donna Orlowski, pour Knowledge.
Where and when to play WitchBrook?
Even though Chucklefish wants to avoid comparisons to Stardew Valley, the community will certainly be watching for WitchBrook’s release. But for now, the game does not yet have a fixed release date, other than thehorizon 2026. It should arrive on PC, Xbox One, Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. The studio has not yet made an announcement on the PlayStation side.
Source : Knowledge.
