POTION SHOP SIMULATOR REVIEW: A GREAT CO-OP GAME THAT FORGOT TO FINISH COOKING
Ever wondered what would happen if you graduated from Wizard University, opened a charming little potion shop, but then realized the business plan was written on a napkin and half the equipment was still on backorder? That’s Potion Shop Simulator, a game with a heart of gold and a body that feels like it’s still in Early Access.
The Magic of Brewing (and Basic Math)
Let's start with what this game gets absolutely right: the potion making. This isn't some soulless click-and-craft bullshit where you just select a recipe from a list. You have to actually use your brain. The game gives you ingredients and a cauldron and basically says, "Figure it out, dumbass." I found myself taking notes like a mad scientist, scribbling down ratios and experimenting with different elements to discover new recipes. It’s a genuinely engaging puzzle that makes every new discovery feel like a real achievement. When you finally nail that perfect, high-potency elixir, you feel like a genius.
Grab Your Friends, Lose Your Minds
Playing this game solo is like trying to run a restaurant by yourself during the dinner rush—technically possible, but deeply miserable. But with friends? It's a symphony of beautiful, hilarious chaos. This is where the game truly shines. You have one friend out in the field, foraging for herbs and getting chased by something probably. You have another frantically trying to brew a strength potion before the town guard gets impatient. Meanwhile, you're at the front counter, haggling with a goblin over the price of a healing draught. It transforms from a repetitive chore into a fantastic team-based scramble that will have your whole crew laughing and yelling.
The "Full Release" in Question
Here's the rub. The game says it's a full release, but it has all the hallmarks of an Early Access title that's at least six months away from being done. The content just isn't there. You'll run out of things to do after about ten or fifteen hours. The story is a generic and utterly forgettable fetch-quest-a-thon, and the gameplay loop of gather-brew-sell gets stale faster than old bread. It's a great foundation, but they built the first floor of a really nice house and then just started selling tickets for the whole mansion. For a game that asks for a premium price tag, it feels shockingly empty.
The Bug in the Cauldron
This unfinished feeling is cemented by the bugs. The multiplayer quest log, in particular, is a nightmare. It desyncs constantly, showing quests you can't do, hiding ones you need to, and generally making cooperative progression a headache. I've had precious, hard-earned potions clip through reality and vanish forever. I've seen friends freeze on the spot and become ghostly statues for the rest of the session. It's the kind of jank you forgive in a beta that costs five bucks, but it's a lot harder to swallow in what's being sold as a finished product.
The Verdict
Potion Shop Simulator is a brilliant idea wrapped in a half-finished package. The core mechanics are smart, the co-op gameplay is fantastic, and the cozy atmosphere is on point. But it's hamstrung by a severe lack of content and a swarm of bugs. If you have a few friends and you can grab this thing on a deep sale, you'll have a fantastic weekend with it. But if you're a solo player or you're expecting a deep, polished, and feature-complete game for your money, you're going to be rightfully pissed off. This potion just needed more time in the cauldron.
Score: 6.2/10 - A nice co-op game that should have been labeled Early Access.
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.