Reka: A Cozy Witch Game with Shadows
In this oddly cozy witch game, the sunlight seems perpetually stuck in early dawn or dusk within the forest. The shadows grow too long at night, and the air is too chill. The distant bleating of goats and the murmurs of shivering people haunt the air with each exhale.
This forest lives.
But so do the people in it.
Key points about Reka – A Cozy Witch Game:
At-a-Glance 1-5 star Review of Reka
Keep in mind: I don’t expect this score to stay at this level, especially since it’s obvious it’s early access. I will probably revisit this and update the score once it’s official.
- Graphics and Art Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Voice Acting: ⭐
- Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Story: ⭐⭐
- Concept: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Controls: ⭐⭐
- Building Process: ⭐
- Cooking Process: ⭐⭐⭐
- Main Quests: ⭐
- Side Quests: ⭐⭐
Cozy Witch Game Reka: Neither Dark nor Light.
In the misty forests of the early access game Reka, you play an orphaned child thrust into the wilds of a very earth-like forest. Supposedly alone, you hear the tale of an old, wise woman. Something about the stories, some good, some sinister—stirs something within you. While you inquire about this mysterious elder in the woods, you lend your hand to the villagers to help them with daily chores. A pumpkin patch needs harvesting before the frost sets in. A baby goat, too wiley for its own good, jumps a fence and plays too close to a well. It is simple hand work that you do, yet it helps immensely before the threat of a long, cold, dark winter settles in.
You find out more and more about the old woman in the woods as you help villagers and they warm up to you, until someone finally directs you to a seemingly cozy cottage. It looks like a simple weather-worn triangle against a blue sky and grey-green pines. You hear the chickens clucking joyfully in the front yard and find the lands around the cottage rich with planting.
You’ve found the old woman.
Or…did she find you?
The Unexpected: Baba Jaga and Cozy Games. Together? Together.
While watching teaser trailers and peeking at screenshots of this game on Steam reveals this spoiler the moment you lay eyes on it—the two concepts were still unexpected to me. And somehow, Reka, this cozy witch game, balances this effortlessly.
You find—are called to find?—discover the Old Woman in the forest is none other than Baba Yaga herself. And she needs your help. The character (Baba Yaga/Baba Jaga/Yaga, and many other names), or one of three sisters sharing the same name, has her roots in Slavic Folklore. While the game’s interpretation of the mythical figure hints playfully and occasionally ominously at her somewhat darker nature (y’know, frying up children and eating them), she does not fly in a wooden mortar in this game. She walks on two legs and has a stooped-with-age spine.
Her head may be lowered by her years, but those things on her face appear glued-on or grown bone spikes. And yet, this creature from mythos seems surprised to realize she needs you. And she is further surprised by your skill, which she immediately recognizes as beneficial to her. However, our cozy game Baba Yaga did not foresee a tiny detail that made a minor derailment in her plans.
Building a Baba Yaga Cozy Witch Game Mystery?
She needs you to help her finish a very important ritual and spell. As you help her out, it soon becomes clear who this ‘mysterious’ lady in the woods is as she reveals her name and the purpose of the spell. The ritual or spell works, but she quickly realizes this power only responds to you now. With unsurprising slyness, she offers you mutual shelter as the two of you are without homes, with the bonus of teaching you all she knows.
And, as she teaches you, you just so happen to be able to build your home, craft furniture for it, decorate with crafted and gifted furniture, cook meals, make candles and—well. I assume a lot more is coming.
Thing is about Reka, is that it felt very early access.
Hello? Is There Anybody Out There? Nod if You Can Hear Me?
This unique (to me) cozy witch game with the most unexpected Baba Jaga casualness is glaringly not yet finished. Emberstone Entertainment’s game has built the foundation (see what I did there? Eh? Ehhhhhh?) for a fantastic game for those who want to explore Slavic-inspired settings with a casual, cozy twist of crafting, helping, and decorating. However, as of my purchase date of the game, the main quest is unfinished and abruptly short.
As I read reviews and searched further, many affirmed that after a certain point, the main quest just stopped, but the game will allow you to explore further now that you have your house. You can break through the mists to journey to other areas, but the maps are randomly generated, and the only quests that await you are small villager tasks, exploring the forest around you, and crafting. I am interested in the main storyline and where it goes, so for me, that meant I enjoyed this cozy witch game for the time I played—it just wasn’t enough to keep me playing for longer than a few hours.
Controls: I Can Only Call Them Finicky Right Now
I could have used my 8bitDo PC controller, but that didn’t feel right, so I switched quickly to the keyboard. While movement and general interactions were easy, building and attempting to place anything so far in Reka is…finicky. You have a visual guide of the piece before you as you select it before you build, but that flickers in and out or disappears. It also behaves very glitchy whenever you try to fit pieces together. This creates home pieces that go in every direction but the one correct direction.
The building and decorating aspect could be fun when it worked, but it wasn’t exactly a cozy vibe.
Is Reka, The Baba Yaga Cozy Game Worth It and Recommended?
Yes, but with an essential sticky side note. If you prefer a cozy game with a solid main quest, Reka is not ready to give that to you. I would enthusiastically suggest adding it to your wishlist and following it so you can return to this game and see what has changed as it nears its release. If you do not mind a game advertised as early access actually be, well, exactly what it advertises itself as–and you want to help an indie studio, then yes. If you can afford it and do not mind waiting as the game improves, it’s worth tinkering with.
I recommend keeping a close eye on Reka. It’s a beautifully different, cozy witch game with ambiguous vibes. It has a fantastic concept that I hope gets released with the developer’s vision and the story they want to tell. 1
1. All game reviews on this website reflect the author’s opinions and can differ from yours. You’re always encouraged to seek out gameplay videos and research to form your opinion on the best games for you and your budget.
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