Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity.
– Hippocrates
Dear readers, I have a problem, and that problem is life sims. See, I enjoy them in moderation. I like being able to sit down and enjoy meeting the people of the town, exploring the surroundings, harvesting, fishing, and all the casual things you do in this genre. They’re the kind of game that I can’t dive into one after the other, though. I need time to come down from living in one world before I start another. My problem: I have had no less than four life sims dropped in my lap within the last month. Hours upon hours of gameplay potential. It’s far too much. So, since it’s been out the longest, let’s talk about Potion Permit.
Unlike most of the other life sims I’ve played, like Stardew Valley, Potion Permit is not a farming sim. It’s a medical sim. Instead of inheriting a farm, you inherit a decrepit medical office and run-down alchemy lab. Your new job is to diagnose the health problems of the townsfolk and use your potioncrafting skills to heal them.
A Not So Warm Welcome
You, player, are the new chemist on Moonbury Island. Fresh faced and eager to prove yourself, you move from the capital to the sleepy little town on the mayor’s request. His daughter is sick, and their local witch doctor isn’t able to heal her. They’ve all but given up hope. Everyone will be so thrilled you’re here to save the day now, right?
Except, evidently, you’re not the first big city chemist in town. The previous owner of your clinic messed up bad. Localized extinction event bad, and now everyone is giving you the side-eye. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you to earn their trust and heal their wounds, both literally and metaphorically. But it’s okay, you’re not alone. You’ve got your trusty dog beside you all the way! He’s a very good boy. Be sure to pet him and feed him once a day, and in return, he’ll eventually dig up treasures and help you find people around town.
A Simple Life in Moonbury
Potion Permit’s gameplay loop is simple. In the morning, you’ll be alerted if you have a medical emergency on your hands by a short siren and a flashing light on your HUD. Diagnose the issue with a variety of minigames, then solve tetris puzzles with your ingredients to concoct the proper cure. If you’re short on supplies, explore outside of town with your trusty tools to get wood, stone, and most importantly, materials for making potions.
Once your patients are cured and you’re all set on materials, be social in town. There’s several shops for upgrades, a job board for quests, and part-time jobs for extra income. The nice thing about the shops is, as long as it’s open, the shopkeeper doesn’t have to be there. You can buy anything you need at the cash register. Everyone is free to wander. If you need to find someone, your loyal dog’s magnificent sniffer will lead you right to whoever you’re looking for.
In most potion-based games, you need to have specific ingredients to make specific potions. Throw them in a pot, let cook, boom, potion. Not so in Potion Permit. In the early game, the potions can use almost any ingredient. The materials that go into potions are one of four elemental types (yes, you can probably guess them). Each material has a different block shape. To make the potion, you fill in the potion’s unique shape with whatever materials fit. Early game, you can use any element, but later potions are more limited. You also have a limited number of materials depending on the quality of your cauldron. It’s quite a puzzle to figure out the best ingredients for saving space.
As for harvesting, I was worried about how difficult it would be to get materials without a farm. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that everything refreshes after a day’s rest. The plants you’ve found appear on the minimap, so you can find your way back to anything you need quickly. Add in a quick and easy fast travel system, and you have a game that respects your time and energy, in game and out. After playing for a while, you’ll eventually unlock grow boxes that let you grow some materials at home. It’s not a full fledged farm, but it makes life a little easier.
It’s a Date
The relationship mechanic doesn’t bring much new to the table from other life sims. At the most basic level, talking to people and giving them gifts improves your friendship. Unlike other games of the genre, though, you can’t gift any old stone from the ground. People on Moonbury Island only accept Moon Cloves, a rare treasure traded when helping others. You’ll earn a bunch of these in the hospital, while occasional side quests will also give them as rewards. Hand them over for a big boost in friendship.
Once you max out a level, you’ll either get a cutscene the next morning or a notice will be posted on the town board directing you to where you can complete a quest to proceed to the next tier. Some people just have cutscenes that give you a deeper look into their lives, while others have special requests you have to complete first.
And, of course, as with every life sim with relationships, there’s dating. Potion Permit includes a variety of romanceable characters with no limitations based on your character’s gender. Date girls, date boys, it doesn’t matter. With the high quality of the character sprites, you may find yourself struggling to pick just one. Me, I’m aiming to spite-date the witch doctor. Oh no, you don’t like me because I took your job? We’ll see about that, pal.
Final Thoughts
Potion Permit had a bit of a rough start when it came out in September 2022. Reviews were mixed, complaining about the repetition and grinding. With some time and care from the development team, though, it seems to have grown into a game that people generally enjoy. There doesn’t seem to be a story driving your actions, but there are enough side quests to keep you occupied for a while, especially with friendship quests. Upgrades for tools and your shop take a lot of money and materials. There’s no calendars or change of seasons. After a few hours, I can certainly see how it could grow tiresome eventually, but for now, I’m enjoying myself.
Thank you to PQube and Mass Hive Media for providing us with a copy of Potion Permit for this review.
PIXEL PERFECT
Recommended
Maggie Maxwell spends most of her days buried in her fiction writing, only coming up for air to dive into the escapism of video games, cartoons, or movies. She can usually be found on Twitter as @wanderingquille and @MaxNChachi or streaming on Twitch with her husband, also as MaxNChachi.
