Dig into Magical Delicacy, a delicious Metroidvania-lite, when it’s served next month

Publisher Whitethorn Games has revealed when fans can get their hungry hands on Skaule’s upcoming main course of a Metroidvania-lite, Magical Delicacy. The game will be available on July 16, offering a new, wholesome twist on the genre.

In just over a month, you’ll be able to get cooking with Magical Delicacy on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S from day one. You can even get the game on Xbox Game Pass the same day, meaning there are plenty of places you can settle down to consume its meaty gameplay. The story reminds me very much of Kiki’s Delivery Service as protagonist Flora, a young witch, arrives in the town of Grat to develop her magical skills. As we all know, though, training as a witch is never straightforward, and Grat has several mysteries to get caught up in and a colorful cast of characters to meet.

Players will collect recipes and ingredients, build their dream kitchen, and serve the local townsfolk in Magical Delicacy

While we don’t know how Flora comes to Grat, once there, she settles down and sets up shop to deliver potions and home-cooked meals to the local townsfolk. Magical Delicacy is a Metroidvania-lite, borrowing some elements from the genre, such as unlocking tools for gradual progression, while using others, such as 2D platforming and NPC relationships, to help build out the overarching story and linear questline.

The core gameplay revolves around cooking and gathering ingredients. Some can be purchased, while others must be foraged from around Grat. As you progress, you’ll unlock new potions and recipes that will open up new areas of the town and access to new townsfolk. Some of these recipes will require kitchen upgrades, but you’ll get to build it as you play until it feels like your ideal countryside cottage cooking area.

Magical Delicacy‘s cooking system isn’t a simple one-button affair. It’s pretty complex and allows for experimentation as you figure out what to cook for every individual you meet. As you move through the story, new ingredients, processes, and recipes only make it more in-depth, but based on the trailer, it seems to replicate cooking in the kitchen fairly well.

Whitethorn Games boasts that, much like a good soup, there’s more to Grat than meets the eye. While cooking and serving the townsfolk is one objective, you’ll lose yourself in others, including meeting ancient figures of legend or old masters of their craft who have long been forgotten. It sounds to me like Flora will help modern-day townsfolk understand more about Grat’s past in a similar way to how you did in Spirittea.

What I believe is special about Magical Delicacy is that it takes what is often the heart of a family’s day, sitting around a table together to talk about their day and share a meal, and turns it into an entire game. Flora may cook multiple meals, but it’s the cooking that brings the townsfolk out of their shells and helps you, as the player, understand and appreciate Grat. Just like in real life, food can help you integrate with a small community because it’s a great leveler. After all, everyone’s got to eat.