Where to get it

Steam

2022 · Business simulation · Indie

Potionomics

Potionomics is a game about the business of brewing and selling magical potions. Sylvia, a penniless young witch, must save her shop from the clutches of a debt collector, but she can’t do it alone. With the help of fellow merchants, fledgling adventurers, and an overbearing owl, Sylvia will master the art of potion brewing and the nuance of salesmanship to rescue her shop. After using magical ingredients to brew up a bevy of potent wares, the budding entrepreneur will wheel and deal to make sales with a colorful cast of fickle customers, all while tackling fierce competition and an ever-changing economy.

Released: 17 October 2022
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Business simulation Indie Role-playing Simulation Strategy
Developers: —
Publishers: Xseed Games
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric Side view
Themes: Fantasy Business
Age ratings: ESRB E10+
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, German, Japanese, Korean
Time to beat: 21hmain story31hwith extras43hcompletionist

About

Potionomics is a simulation video game developed by Voracious Games and published by Xseed Games. It combines aspects of business sim, life sim and dating sim. It was released on October 17, 2022, for Windows. The game was well received by critics, who commended its complex gameplay and its graphical style, but were disappointed at its lack of any voice acting.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Potionomics is a simulation video game. Set in a fantasy universe, it revolves around a witch named Sylvia who inherits her uncle's potion shop, along with debt she must pay off. To do this, she trains for a potion competition that will repay the debt, while running the potion shop for money, ingredients, and to prevent the shop from being repossessed. The game incorporates elements of dating simulators, as the player can build relationships with other vendors, deck building games as the player plays a minigame to bargain with customers over the prices of potions, and business simulation, as the player must manage their shop.

The game is turn-based; each day is divided into six time units, which the player can use to run their shop or perform other actions. The game's actions primarily revolve around brewing and selling potions. The player can take actions to obtain ingredients for potions, either from merchants or from heroes. Ingredients are then used to brew potions based on a system of balancing ratios of components of ingredients, called magimins.

Development

Potionomics was initially released on October 17, 2022, for Windows.

On October 22, 2024, a console edition for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch, titled Potionomics: Masterwork Edition was released, accompanied by an update that introduced more difficulties, gamemodes and voice acting.

Reception

Potionomics received an aggregate score of 80/100 from Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reception.

Tom Sykes of PC Gamer rated it 87/100 points, particularly commending its card-based haggling battles as "light, brisk, yet packed with charm", but calling its potion-brewing "exhausting". He compared the game's dating aspects to Persona, calling the game's other vendors "expressively animated" and their dialog "comfortably tropey". However, he expressed dislike of the game's lack of voice acting in comparison to its graphics, saying that he felt like he was "playing on mute". Overall, he described the game as "extremely cohesive" despite its "seemingly disparate" parts, saying it was unique for combining the various genres together.