It’s a life simulation, really, dressed up as a potion making game.

Oh, and they have daily rhythms you’ll have to adapt to and work around.

It all takes time.

A bright and cartoony image, of a spiky haired young character looking at the camera, with a fluffy white dog beside them. The character holds a potion bottle and has a bag full of scrolls and other goodies. In the background is a white house shaped a bit like a bottle. It is the characters' house and laboratory.

Potion Permit preview

The game unfolds mechanically in a very similar way, introducing new ideas slowly.

But the core idea is resource-gathering and crafting.

But crafting works slightly differently.

Cover image for YouTube video

When you eventually unlock your cauldron, you’ll find a Tetris-like puzzle game that governs potion making.

It’s a nice approach.

I button-matched to diagnose a patient’s problem, as you do.

A pixel art town in the evening. Three small character sound outside a rounded house, the windows of which are glowing an inviting yellow.

Nevertheless, it held my attention for a few minutes.

This is how Potion Permit seems to go, then: slowly.

Because it assumes you’re here for the long haul, it takes time to introduce things to you.

A Tetris-like potion-making mini-game, where a shape is outlined in the cauldron and you have to fill it using ingredient-shapes, pulled from a backpack on the left.

This is the digital equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate: all warm cuddles and sugary sweet cheeriness.

There’s no hurry.

The outline of a character and a small box where some arrows are floating past. It’s a rhythm action mini-game, and not a very good one at that.