Upcoming cozy Hogwarts Legacy rival is a full Witcher experience with magical romance options
The upcoming Harry Potter series reboot is setting up a magical end to the year, full of charms in both manners of the word.
With hours of extra content to pad out the Philosopher's Stone storyline, the rebooted series will dive much deeper into what life is really like studying in a bewitched castle full of equally ethereally gifted companions.
One of the biggest elements that this added time will be able to explore is romance options, as we will finally be able to see the chemistry between Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, and Draco and Pansy build up through the next seven years.
Yet if you can't wait that long to be rewarded with flourishing relationship arcs, that's where Witchbrook comes in.
The upcoming magical life sim that is being dubbed as 'Hogwarts Legacy meets Stardew Valley' has now taken a leaf out of The Witcher playbook to add an abundance of relationships that players will have to actively maintain.
Steam's upcoming sim Witchbrook reveals 11 romance options
Touted as one of our best upcoming cozy games releasing this year, Witchbrook is inspired by the magical realms of Harry Potter and plunges players into a Hogsmeade-like village where co-op players can coexist inside a truly beautiful, cozy village with a magic school, cute cafes, and farmlike responsibilities.
"The town of Mossport is a living, breathing world, teeming with life, even when you’re not looking! From townsfolk with intricate and unique daily routines, to community events that mark the changing of the seasons," the Steam description reads.
"Just like you, your coven, teachers, and the townsfolk all lead busy lives! Every character has their own unique schedule, whether they’re working in one of Mossport’s many businesses, having a drink at the pub, cramming for their next exam in the college library or joining in with the festivities at the seasonal events"
But the best part of Witchbrook is forming relationships and going on dates.
The game offers 11 romanceable characters, but you really need to pay attention to your potential partners for them to fall in love with your sim character.
The characters can be interacted with whether you want to woo them or not, often coming with a quest available as an ice-breaker, so there are no awkward pickup lines needed.
But with 'over 200' places for dates and chit-chat in the Witchbrook universe, the developers have made it clear that you need to be actively conversing and listening at these get-togethers to be able to progress the relationship. If you're simply tapping away to move past the chatter stage, you'll be left quickly disappointed, as your date will get fed up and leave.
With choices that will impact your love life at every turn, it quickly gives Stardew Valley a run for its money.
Of course, there are so many quests and features to get to grips with when the game releases in full later this year, but Witchbrook is the closest thing that we might ever get to opening that Hogwarts invitation and boarding the train.