A Pinch of Magic | Game Review | Sweet & Spicy

A Pinch of Magic | Game Review

Posted on October 9, 2023 by RJ Mercy Leave a comment

A Pinch of Magic is a wholesome and cute game that felt entirely too short with the amount of world-building that took place. This game was constructed for a game jam – a challenge for developers to create a game within a certain short period of time – so it is understandable that there wasn’t enough snaccs to go with our cup of joe.

☆ Game Name: A Pinch of Magic
☆ Developer: Crystal Game Works
☆ Publisher: Crystal Game Works
☆ Platforms: PC (Steam, Itch.io)
☆ Price: Free
☆ More Info: Itch.io Game Page

Note: This game is not rated, but reviewer would suggest a E10+ based on the ESRB system.

Ratings

Sweet 3/5: Romance isn’t the focal point of the game.

Spicy 0/5: Character building is more important than making out in *A Pinch of Magic*.

CD 3/5: The highlight of this game is the MC having TWO sprites with a cute design.

Story 2/5: Great world building for the very short game, but unbalanced routes bring this score lower.

Premise

Play as Varsha as you try to revive your grandparent’s store, avoid scrutiny by the authorities, and find love—all in one summer.
– Itch.io Store Page

The premise for A Pinch of Magic seemed much more magical than I felt the game delivered on. Now, don’t get me wrong, we are a witch and so are our grandparents, but besides making drinks that are a bit more special than the average cup of coffee, we don’t really get to see much magic or spellwork.

I’m not entirely disappointed with this, there are some cool nods to it such as causing a little trouble in-game, or recalling how much it fractured our MC’s family; but overall, I feel that avoiding the magical authorities was not something that had time to be made into an issue. Though, I also have to admit that I didn’t finish one of the routes, so it’s possible this was a bigger issue further into that route’s story.

I did, however, enjoy the common route and the themes happening there. MC goes back to the small town where their grandparents live to help their grandmother with their coffee shop. It has a lot of feeling in the first few scenes, and it has some lovely world building to set up for the story and romance that, ultimately, took a backseat.

Characters

A Pinch of Magic has two love interests, one male and one female. That being said, I was not a fan of the male LI at all, and didn’t manage to even finish his route.

There is no route order to A Pinch of Magic. You just start the game and pick answers that are in line with the character you want to romance. The stories are unbalanced, and the male LI has a longer, more involved story than the female LI, so I feel that if you want the most from this free game, you should play Mikhail’s route. If, like me, he isn’t your thing, Kiana is fine to play as your first, or only playthrough.

Main Character (MC)

☆ Name: Varsha (Blank at start of game)
☆ Pronouns: She/her, He/Him, They/Them (Selectable)
☆ Appearance: Feminine or Masculine presenting (Selectable)

My favorite part about A Pinch of Magic was the option to pick pronouns AND one of TWO different sprites. Our MC for this free game lets you mix and match pronouns with sprite, so you can pick a femme presenting NB MC, a butch (masculine) woman, or stay in the binary and pick she/her with the feminine model. This option was so amazing and it made me feel so seen.

The sprite is a full-sized sprite that appears on the screen any time MC is in the picture. It might be a bit more difficult for self-inserters, seeing as how the MC is not customizable, but it allows those that like to watch a story unfold get to see the characters interact.

MC is also pretty fleshed out in the personality department with little room to change how they react or interact. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I really loved Varsha and would love to hang out with them in real life. You get a lot of their thoughts throughout the game, and get to see how they motivate themselves even when things don’t work out the way they imagined. They really drove the story, which was a nice change from MCs that let the LIs take the lead.

Kiana (Female LI)

☆ Name: Kiana
☆ Pronouns: She/Her
☆ Tropes: Environmental Destruction
☆ Dynamic with MC: Childhood Friend

Kiana is the first notable character you meet – meaning she has a sprite. I love her design, and while I found her a bit soft spoken and entirely too gentle for her own good, I really enjoyed the short, short, short route I played starring her.

Her part of the story revolves around her own conflict, that being pollution and the effects on the environment. During this, you’re still helping at the coffee shop, but it almost becomes a backdrop for Kiana’s struggles while you try to help her deal and overcome them.

It’s probably because Kiana’s conflict encompasses much more than just herself – literally the world depends on limiting our impact on the environment. It was a large moral to try to put into a small route, and I felt it wasn’t really done justice, nor was the romance prominent enough to make up for it.

Mikhail (Male LI)

☆ Name: Mikhail
☆ Pronouns: He/Him
☆ Tropes: Money and Clout
☆ Dynamic with MC: Antagonistic to Lovers

I just did not vibe with Mikhail. While I love some tsundere characters, Mikhail is an aggressive tsundere and it was too much for me. On top of that, MC fell into an antagonistic relationship with him, meaning the two were constantly bickering, and I get uncomfortable watching people fight. Everyone has their squicks and, congratulations, you just learned one of mine. Haha.

Mikhail comes from money, and he flashes his privilege at MC several times. ~~I wish he was flashing something else but…~~ I only managed to play a quarter of the route before I skipped through the rest to get the achievement and CG. However, it was very clear that his route was MUCH longer than Kiana’s, and I might have missed out on some good story and character development.

Story

Like most game jams, the plot is pretty simple and straightforward – there simply isn’t enough time to construct a sprawling story with many branches in the time allotted for a game jam. And honestly, I don’t think that’s a problem. Sometimes I’m looking for a straightforward slice of life game, with a little coffee and magic, and that’s exactly what I got with A Pinch of Magic.

You start out the game getting off the bus in the small town your grandparents live in, getting the rundown of the history of the town and where your character stands in the midst of it, while you make your way towards the coffee shop. I really enjoyed the way the story unfolded without a massive dumping of info, yet enough information that I had no questions left unanswered.

That being said, the ‘all out there’ approach leaves nothing to come back to. While that is understandable due to time constraints of constructing the game during a game jam session (usually 60 days or less, from start to finish), there is little to no replayability. Most choices give you only the slightest differences in story before meeting again, and when I went back to check out the other answers, I didn’t feel like I gained anything other than reading the other option.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed my time playing A Pinch of Magic, and the lack of commitment it required. It was a nice change of pace from the longer, multiweek long playthroughs I tend to participate in. While I didn’t complete the entire game, I still came away from it with fond thoughts.

Not to mention that it is FREE. Have I said that already? Make a note. You can play this game and decide for yourself if it’s your thing without paying anything. But if you like it, drop some money the creator’s way, if you can.

I wouldn’t call it a cozy game, as there is a general sadness to it, but it isn’t angsty and there are no real life-threatening moments. I suppose I’d call it a non-threatening game, with some humor and deep thoughts on nostalgia and the future.

You’ll like A Pinch of Magic if you like: MCs with sprites; pronoun options; romancing men or women; fighting with a LI; saving the world in the most minor way possible.