With broomstick in hand and my witch’s hat on, I finally got to play the magical Mika and the Witch’s Mountain. Having been a fan of the developers, Chibig, for quite some time I was excited to jump into this cosy mail delivering game.

Mike and the Witch’s Mountain is a fun, chilled game where exploring every nook and cranny of the island world has its rewards. From delivering alien plants for research to rescuing lost baby ostriches, this game is a unique world.

*A froggy chair, you know that this is a cosy game!*

Was I left with an overwhelmingly positive feeling after my final package was delivered? I would say I had a fun time but it felt a bit rushed. You meet so many wonderful characters, yet you only have short interactions with them. Then, without much fanfare, you blink and the four hour main story is over, leaving little to do once you have completed it.

So is Mika and the Witch’s Mountain worth your time?

A Young Witch and Her New Beginnings

You begin the game by saying goodbye to your mother and heading off to a magical school for witches. Mika is excited about all that she is going to learn and has everything she needs to succeed. After a long journey to the top of Mount Gaun she finally meets her teacher Mistress Olagari. Let’s just say she is a scary old witch and I would not want her as my mentor.

*Mistress Olagari is not very welcoming, shoving Mika off the mountain.*

Suddenly, after a frosty reception, Olagari pushes Mika off the top of the mountain. As she falls and hits the ground, her trusty broomstick is snapped in half and Mika has no way of getting back to the top. With tears in her eyes, she meets a friendly lady called Allegra who is willing to help her fix her broom. To do this Mika must earn money. So she sets off to work in the local town as the new delivery person.

Mika’s Delivery Service

You meet a man named Greff, who hires you to complete deliveries around the island. You pick up packages with your broomstick and fly around the vibrant mountains dropping them off to the residents. Each quest is marked on a map, which is locked behind the pause menu. A small mini map in the corner would have improved the ease of travel around the world.

By flying these packages to the residents I learnt more about these character’s lives. It was endearing to hear how important the parcel was to them. Often, after I gave them their package they would give me a quest in return. This created a sense of community and connection. I wish these stories were more fleshed out. They were short. I found it hard to care about some of their heartfelt thoughts.

Every time I completed a delivery I received a grade based on the quality of my service. Every package had a “health metre”, the more you bumped it against objects the more damaged it became. If you completely destroyed it you would have to start the delivery again. The aim was to get a green stamp on Mika’s delivery card. The more green you had the more money you earned towards upgrading your broomstick.

Islanders make delivery requests.

This was a cool idea, however, I felt like it didn’t really matter. I hit packages on rocks, soaked them in water, took my time and I was still able to get a green stamp. Only twice, forcibly through the story, did I get a yellow and red stamp. I understand that this is a cosy game but if this mechanic was more fully realised it would have added a certain thrill to delivering parcels.

Soaring Through the Skies

There is something wonderful about soaring through the skies on a magic broomstick. The wind sweeping through your hair, the sun shining down and the world passing you by. I really felt this as I flew seamlessly around Mount Gaun delivering packages. I initially wanted to explore every inch of this island ecosystem.

Mika Zooming around on her broomstick.

There was always something catching my eye. An ancient ruin, wind gusts or just something shiny in the distance. When I flew toward these places, I always found something interesting. As you upgrade your broomstick you can fly faster, higher and ride wind gusts to discover different parts of the world. There are luscious green landscapes with cute little bunnies running around, bustling towns, ostrich farms and even a mine.

I loved the sense of exploration the devs created here. Again, as is the theme throughout this review, I just wanted more! The world is quite small once you have flown around it a few times. It would have been great to see more areas added because once I had done the loop a few times I knew exactly where everything was and that sense to explore slowly disappeared.

A Lost Propety Side Gig

The exploration lent itself to completing the many side quests in the game. Along with the main story, on your travels you would find lost objects. You could pick these up and read a clue about them. I liked this idea as I tried to figure out who the object belonged to.

*Where are those dastardly twins this time?*

For example, there were three lost kites around the island. I had to find all three of them and return them to these awful twins. They kept playing in different parts of the island so I had to try to find them each time. After the third time, you learn that they are lonely and miss spending time with their dad. I ended up feeling sorry for them even though they were mean to me to begin with.

*So many unique residents live on Mount Gaun asking for favours*

The side quests added some longevity to the game; I mostly found quests naturally as I was exploring and was able to complete them in my initial playthrough. At the end of the game, the world opens up for you to complete any side quests and explore without limits. Having already done this, I didn’t feel the need to jump back into the world. I have heard that the team is going to be adding more content in the future.

The Many Residents of Mount Gaun

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain nailed the character designs. Having played the devs other games like Summer in Mara, you can tell they have taken inspiration from there. I liked the bright, vibrant designs and the anime influence. Mika was well animated and I really liked that throughout the game you could customise her look.

*You have to look your best when delivering parcels*.

I did enjoy some of the throwbacks to Summer in Mara as the main character Koa made an appearance in the game. Other characters, such as Braam who makes the ice cream, are influenced by the universe as well. I found discovering the different characters and their link to the island really charming.

*Koa from Summer in Mara makes a cameo appearance in the game*.

Do you remember that feeling of receiving a letter in the mail back in the day? Well, this interconnected community reminded me about the importance of maintaining relationships with loved ones. After each delivery, the characters would tell Mika the story behind the package. I heard about important mementos, a mother worried about her son, and an artist that had lost inspiration. It made me realise that each delivery in this game was more than just a simple Amazon package.

Mika’s Sights and Sounds From the Skies Above

For me, it is important for exploration games to not only run well but to also look visually pleasing. Flying through a world like this requires assets to load in quickly and for the framerate to be smooth. I loved the vibrancy of this world, everything popped. The colours were so bright and the world felt so alive it truly added to the atmosphere of this game. The cutscenes were a joy too with beautiful anime style animation. I could seriously watch a whole series in this style.

*The anime art style in the cutscenes is just gorgeous*.

Though some of it looked a bit off; some of the shadows that were cast on characters created funny looking beards! Also, the draw distance was a bit weird as objects in the distance either had a low resolution or would load in quite late. An example of this was when I was flying higher up the mountain, a vertical wind tunnel didn’t load until I was basically in it. This frustratingly caused me to miss it a few times. Another thing, the frame rate when playing on my ROG Ally was a bit choppy especially when turning the camera or new parts of the island were loading in.

The world feels alive, come here little bunny.

Soundtrack and Audio

The music was relaxing yet a bit forgettable. Some of the tunes were borrowed from Chibigs other games which made me wonder if music was important to the dev team here. The ambient sounds were nice with wind rustling throughout and the sounds of wildlife in the background.

When it came to the characters, they all spoke in “ums” and “ahs” and were not voice-acted. The overall sound design in Mika and the Witch’s Mountain didn’t leave any strong impression on me.

Does Mika and The Witch’s Mountain Deliver?

There was plenty to like about Mika and the Witch’s Mountain. It is a cosy, package delivery game with a vibrant world to explore. The delivery mechanic could have been more fully realised adding some challenge and thrill. With lots of characters to interact with, it would have been great to build a closer connection with them. The short adventure left me wanting more as there is definitely a world waiting to be explored here.

*There is a great world waiting to be explored, but I wanted more!*

I was excited to play this witchy package delivery game and was hoping for them to lean more into Mika’s magical abilities. The flying broomstick and the constant reminder that you needed to get back to “witch school” were the only real magical references. There were no black cats in sight!

Overall, if you are looking for a cute, cosy delivery style game you might get some fun from Mika and the Witch’s Mountain. Although it wasn’t the complete package I’d hoped for, I think the team at Chibig delivered a fine game.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is releasing on PC and Nintendo Switch for $30 AUD on August 21st. Release on other platforms will be sometime later this year. There is a demo you can download now on Steam.

Quest Daily Scores Mika and the Witch’s Mountain:

7/10

A review copy of Mika and the Witch’s Mountain was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.