with a copy provided by the publisher.
The farming simulator genre has solidified itself as a fantastic way to pass the time. Often these cozy games have a top down perspective and a pixelated graphics style, but there are some games that set themselves apart from that mould. Ova Magica is one of those farming simulators that is beautifully designed in a full 3D environment. While it's still in early access, there are nods to beloved farming games like Slime Rancher and Stardew Valley to roleplaying games like Pokemon Let's Go or Sun Haven. After watching the development process over the last year and a half and then playing it over the last couple of weeks, I can honestly say that I adore this game.
Gameplay
One of the first things to note about Ova Magica are the familiar inspirations from Slime Rancher, Stardew Valley, Sun Haven, Palia, Animal Crossing, and Pokemon games. Part of the reason I wanted to play this game is because of my love of several of the aforementioned titles. But what really sold me was the Slime Rancher inspiration. Each blob has unique traits that fit within the categories of storm, magma, and forest. The blobs share similar graphical traits to Slime Rancher models, but regardless of that, they are useful in many ways. Blobs are not merely combat companions when battling other townsfolk, but their abilities help you with farming tasks too! How you use your blobs is up to you, but consider breeding them to gain handy abilities while exploring a charming place like Clover Town.
One of the best features that Ova Magica has that no other game in the genre has (that I can think of) is a magical storage box. Scattered throughout Clover Town are storage boxes that you can use to access items located on your farm. You never have to worry about leaving important quest items on the farm again! What's even more of a bonus is the direction signs act as a teleport which are often located next to the boxes. Goodbye movement restriction and panic, hello freedom!
Apart from the blob mechanic, there are other familiar features present in Ova Magica. There is farming, mining, bug catching, fishing, and cooking. With respect to farming, unlike other simulator games where you are given a gardening plot of land, you define your gardening location. Designing the farming system around a per crop placement as opposed to a block crop placement allows you to decorate and arrange things to your liking.
The mining is another aspect that I enjoy about Ova Magica. Each time you enter the mines, you have the option to enlist a helper who's blob will be integral to your survival of the random battles. Being able to bring in some of the townsfolk to help you get through the mines, is certainly unique to this game. Another aspect of the mining I enjoy is the fact that the levels are randomly generated and pretty! It is not a standard run of the mill dark cave with mining nodes and stone, the expedition levels feel more like you stumbled into a beautiful landscape that has cool looking trees along with some mining nodes. You get there by using a portal which you must activate with an item, and you can get out of the expeditions with a return wand. Personally, I do hope that more farming simulators use Ova Magica as inspiration to shake up the genre.
There are other elements like romanceable characters and working for the newspaper to conduct a census of the citizens, which are aspects found in games like My Time at Portia and My Time at Sandrock. Each feature in the game ticks off the boxes for required elements in the farming simulator and cozy game genres. They allow players to kick back and relax as they enjoy running around Clover Town with reckless abandon. While doing so, be sure to chat with all of the diverse characters that are found within Ova Magica.
All of that said, the game does have some pain points. New players will note that several features are not available in the early access build of the game. It may detract players from being invested in the game, not because it isn't cute or well optimized, but because there is a lack of features in this build. Despite that, Ova Magica will see more content as it progresses through the early access stages. So, while it may not be ready yet, it has a lot of potential to dominate in the genre.
UI and Graphics
Like with other games of this type, I play on a controller. This is important because that tells me how well the UI can be maneuvered and understood. Ova Magica is incredibly well done which encompasses everything from object placement to daily tasks to combat design. The UI is not clunky or oversaturated with too much information either. There is just enough present to make it accessible and comprehensible, which is something I appreciate in a video game. Nothing is more irritating than having a game you really enjoy that has a terrible UI. Trust me.
When you're chopping down trees or mining rocks, it is easy for other objects to obfuscate the dropped items. However, Ova Magica outlines the player if they are performing any of these actions where you can't see yourself. While I think about it, there was no time in which the camera panning would phase through a wall nor the ground, so that is a positive point as well. It's too easy to have a fantastic game where the graphics are not quite right. This one hasn't done any of that which is fantastic.
However, there are a couple of minor gripes that can easily be added to the game later on. The first of the issues is the lack of buying products in bulk. You have to buy your seeds individually, which may be irritating down the line. Related to that, the only place you can sell items is at your farm. This cannot be done at any of the stores, much to my disappointment.
Secondly, the magic storage box is a fantastic feature that I would love to have in other cozy games. That said, if an item is on a different page than the one you're looking at, it will not deposit it in the box. Similarly, if the page you're on is full, the page will not change to add the new item. You have to manually switch pages to be able to deposit items.
As for the graphics of the game, it is smoother than silk. Not only are the characters and the blobs well animated, but each one is unique. Also, graphically I love the inclusion of different skin tones or styles that do not require being pigeonholed into a gender type. You can even create a character that has a hijab, too! And honestly, we need more games with diverse character customization.
I also noticed that the area transitions are almost seamless. If you blink, you'll miss the changeover from one location to the next without any loading time to stop you.
Finally, I really love the chibi art style of Ova Magica because it is graphically a great departure from some of the other farming simulators on the market. What can I say? The game is cute. It's good to have cute things once in a while.
Exploration and Combat
Unfortunately, the game has a distinct lack of exploration at this stage of early access. It appears as though there will be another area we can explore in the future, but right now you can wander around your farm, the town, and the train station. Aside from that, I do know that there will be more buildings added in future. This is based on the fact that there are several blocked off plots of land in Clover Town. These could be housing plots or perhaps additional shops. Maybe they could be player housing if ever there is a multiplayer mode added. Who knows?
I also secretly hope that the train station could take us to new places to explore or to battle or both! The potential is there. But for now, the only place that is on the map under a fog of war is a large area on the west side of Clover Town. I have no idea what that area will have and what challenges await us, but I'm excited for its unveiling.
Now, as for the combat system, I really like it. You see, aside from blobs being used to assist in farming tasks, you have the ability to battle other townsfolk similar to Pokemon. And like other popular monster catching games, this is done through a turn-based combat system. With options of fighting, using an item, defending, or retreating, you can win the battle with some strategic planning. The turn order is displayed as a bar at the bottom of the screen that shows all of the blobs action time. Using it to plan out your next action is integral to the success or failure of the battle. What is neat about the battle mechanic is it's used in seasonal events too! For example, the fall spooky event has you running through a maze where smaller blobs can attack you. If you make it through them to the final area, you can take on the final blob. If you are successful in defeating this enormous blob, you will gain tickets to buy seasonal recipes that you can use to spice up your farm.
Now, to be more specific about the combat, it is simple to grasp, but will become more interesting as you fight larger or harder blobs. At my painfully low level, I attempted to take on the large creature at the end of the fall seasonal maze. That was a mistake. Don't go in there without leveling. (Just to be clear, I evaded all the smaller mobs beforehand.) Anyways, there are three phases to a turn in Ova Magica. The beginning of the bar is the recover phase. If you've just executed an action, you will end up in the recover phase. The next phase is the command phase. As the blob images move across the bar, the one on the right will be the first in the turn order. While all of you will be able to determine what action you will take, the execution won't occur until the final phase which is called the cast phase. Should another blob be further in the line, you may want to defend yourself because any damage you take will knock you back in the turn order. With multiple blobs performing actions, it can get messy. However, visually it will be relatively easy to tell which blob is up next.
An important thing to note is that the combat aspect of the game is integral to Ova Magica's core gameplay loop. This is true not only for participation in the blob tournaments, but the mining and fishing mini game too! While the mines aren't traditional in its visual presentation, there are blobs that will attack you when you get too close. If you want to be successful in completing the expeditions or the seasonal events like the aforementioned one, you will need to level up your blobs. And it wouldn't hurt to breed them either, so that you have more abilities. As an aside, I much prefer a combat mini game for activities than a bunch of random QTE's, that's for sure! Besides, the combat gives you reason to use all the food that you've cooked back at the farm! That, my friends, is what we call brilliant.
Pros and Cons
To recap the good and the bad points about Ova Magica, it has many more positives than negatives, which is a great way to leave a wonderful first impression.
Good Points:- Diversity in character creation
- Freedom to customize your farm layout
- Easy to get into and play
- Entertaining character interactions
- Beautiful graphics and seamless transitions between areas
- Different interpretation of mining within a farming simulation game
- Easy to understand combat system
- Blob breeding creates fun and cute results
- Can teleport to notable town locations through the direction signs
- Magical Storage Access everywhere!
- A daily health wheel
- And plenty more!
Underwhelming Points:
- No ability to sell at vendors, only on the farm
- No autostacking of multiple items in the magic storage box
- If a page is full in the magic storage box, you have to manually switch pages to deposit items
- Unable to buy seeds in bulk
- The balance between possibility of combat versus successfully hooking fish is a little off-kilter
- Not enough area to explore at this time
Final Thoughts
Although Ova Magica is yet another cozy farming simulator / RPG in the list, it has enough innovation in the genre to stand on its own and I'm here for it. The game is not only beautiful but fun! There's always something to do, whether that's chasing after meteors of copper that fall from the sky, breeding your blobs, or romancing characters. It will have you hooked in no time. Besides, it's hard not to love this game, as I suspected would be the case when I first saw images on social media. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good relaxing game, especially if it has Slime Rancher inspiration. All I need now is for more elements to be available, and this game will knock the socks off cozy players feet. You see, I'm not surprised that this is the case, I'm over the moon about Ova Magica! You might be too, so what are you waiting for?
Score: 9 out of 10
