Wylde Flowers
A witch discovers her powers and a new community.
Studio Drydock’s 2022 game Wylde Flowers is a farm life sim where the player character is a witch discovering her powers and community. It launched on macOS for Apple Arcade in February 2022, then on Windows and Nintendo Switch that September. Critics gave it positive reviews. A prequel, Wylde Society, is in development, focusing on Vivian Wylde running a boarding house.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Studio Drydock
- Platforms
- macOS
- Windows
- Nintendo Switch
- Released
- macOS
- February 18, 2022
- Windows, Switch
- September 20, 2022
- Genre
- Farm life sim
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
In Wylde Flowers, you play as a young woman fated to become a witch while exploring a farming life simulator. A set storyline leads you to meet townsfolk, uncovering local secrets and conflicts. There is no combat. You can build friendships and romances with several characters of different genders. The length of each in-game day is adjustable, letting you set your own pace.
Plot
The game begins with Tara visiting her ailing grandmother Hazel on the island Fairhaven to help care for her and work at the farm. Tara meets the townsfolk at the request of mayor Otto and learns Hazel is a community pillar. She is introduced to Hazel's coven of witches, who conceal their identities with robes and masks, and is invited to join through initiation rituals. A mysterious witch named Raven seeks access to the coven's grove. Otto suspects witches among them, and Hazel dies of old age. After the farm is restored, rancher Marty moves in, and Tara meets meteorologist Giva. She discovers a hidden realm called Ravenwood Hollow with four magical beings. Tara learns the witches' identities—some townsfolk—and their leader is her childhood friend Lina. With fellow witch Violet, Tara steals pastor Cameron's notebook while disguised as a cat, learning his beliefs about witches. They steal a keystone from town hall to access the Gloaming, searching for Violet's missing mother Gloria. These actions alert Otto. They unintentionally release wraiths, evil spirits that cause havoc and possess people. Tara uses spells to extort the wraiths to clear names. She sabotages Giva's drone to prevent discovery of the coven. The witches recruit jeweler Francis to deal with a wraith, and he joins. Townsfolk learn Otto's ulterior motives, but he is forced by Raven. When young Juliet goes missing, Tara finds her captive in the coven; the witches free her and reveal their secret to Juliet and her mother Sophia. It is revealed that Raven trapped Juliet to open the gateway to the Gloaming.
Reception
Metacritic rated the PC and Switch versions as receiving generally favorable reviews. Adventure Gamers noted a strong narrative core but stressed that character customization is limited to clothing and hair styling. WellPlayed described the game as welcoming from the start, with a fully voice-acted, diverse, and interesting cast. Digitally Downloaded praised the game but found purchasing multiple animals tedious. Prima Games observed a slow start that ramps to a good pace, and noted the formulaic design benefits newcomers but may disappoint veterans. Wylde Flowers was an honoree for Action and Adventure Games and Best Game Design at the 2023 Webby Awards, and was nominated for Best User Experience. It won Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game at the Gayming Awards, and won AGDA's Excellence in Ongoing Games. In 2022, it won Apple's Arcade Game of the Year and a design award.
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