Ritual of Raven Impressions
No slump and nothing sticky about the sophomore creation from Spellgarden Games
Author’s Note: As I was writing this, I realized I had forgotten to take screenshots of the demo, so all credit goes to Spellgarden for any images!
Sticky Business was one of my favorite cozy games in 2023. It had everything. You could create stickers. You could get all whimsical with packaging. You connected with people. You had the option to turn off the day timer so you could work at your pace. I spent hours playing the base game and its subsequent DLC entries. The art was charming and extremely clever in telling a story about building a community and reaching people through this Etsy-esque shop.
I don’t know why I was surprised to hear they had a second game in the pipeline last year. (But I was. Maybe it was just a knee-jerk reaction to all the studio closures and layoffs plaguing the industry.) They introduced Ritual of Raven in August of last year with an adorable trailer, as I’ve linked below:
All the hallmarks of what we’ve come to expect from Spellgarden. Vibrant color. Charming music. Witchy vibes.
(Ok, so not that last item. Enter Ritual of Raven!)
And now, a demo! When you start the game initially, you get to create your character. You pick out colors and styles for a hat, hair, glasses, and other clothes, and finally, a name, pronouns, and a voice. Then, the game really begins, as your character is thrown out of a portal, ending up somewhere that is decidedly NOT “on campus.” Instead, you’ve seemingly swapped places with Flufferstoop, the beloved familiar of a witch named Sage.
You’re excited that magic is real. Sage offers to teach you the ways of the magical world to send you home and get her familiar back. Of course, you’ll need to do a little farming to get some of the items you’ll need to make magic, which is where Ritual of Raven differs from other farming games. Sage introduces you to Constructs, which do manual farming labor for you.
With tarot cards, you can enchant the Constructs to do all your farming: plant seeds, water, harvest, and more. At the beginning of the demo, I wasn’t sold on this mechanic, but after spending a few hours in the game, it really grew on me. What helped it grow on me was that this wasn’t just used to plant your crops but to solve different puzzles around the nearby village to get more tarot cards to add to your repertoire.
I can see where this would frustrate people, though. On the surface, it seems extreme in terms of micro-managing, but once I understood how to stack instructions and tasks, it was a real game-changer.
(From the Women-Led Games Game Awards Edition in December ‘24)
As for the story offered in Ritual of Raven? I can’t wait to explore more of the world. Sage briefly takes you under your wing until you can conjure your own familiar, and a new portal opens. After sensing Flufferstoop through the portal, Sage leaves you to your own devices, claiming your new Raven familiar can help teach you how to be a witch.
The writing is funny, with some great dialogue and fun character designs. No two characters were exactly alike, which was great. Being a demo, there were plenty of areas that I could see but not quite reach, raising my excitement for the game’s full release this year! (TBA for Steam and Nintendo Switch; demo still available on Steam at time of publishing.)