Welcome to my Ova Magica first impressions. We were not given a review code for this title.
Ova Magica is a cute, wholesome blend of the GameCube era Harvest Moon mixed with essence of Pokemon Diamond/Pearl remake. It’s creature collecting, breeding, and battling with a slice of life/farming sim on the side. I spent 50+ hours in Ova Magica Early Access so far (playing through approximately 2 in-game “years”); here are my first impressions and thoughts.
Stop: This is not a review! I don’t think it’s fair to review ‘early access’ versions of a game, so I endeavour to provide my thoughts and impressions + give a recommendations to buy now or wait for updates.
Ova Magica starts as many farming sims do: a city-dweller moves to a small, rural town to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life. Inheriting a plot of land and a tent on the outskirts of quaint, colorful Clover Town, the player can raise and battle rotund creature called Blobs, fill their fields with useful crops, build barns and other structures around town, harvest resources like herbs and ore, and befriend the locals. With a fully customizable character and a choice between three elemental Blobs to start you off, you can kickstart Ova Magica’s story with your own personal flair for each new save file.
The game has all of the elements I have come to expect from a cozy farming/life simulation game. You can expand and build upon your farm, decorating your house and filling your yard with useful makers for cooking, smelting, and more. You can pick and choose from a selection of seasonal crops and tend them from seed to harvest. You can enjoy festivals with an assortment of cutscenes, unique dialogue and events, and minigames. And, of course, you can meet-n-greet a series of NPC villagers and follow their unique storylines through the highs and lows of Clover Town life.
To compare Ova Magica to traditional farming sims does the game a disservice. It reminds me more of Moonstone Island and Ooblets—a dash of farming to support what is mostly a creature collection and battler game. And I love it. Pokemon is one of my favorite franchises of all times and seeing the creature collector genre pop off lately has been an unexpected and welcome surprise.
Ova Magica has its own take on the genre: “Blobs” can be hatched from eggs, used in turn-based combat with a unique action bar mechanic, and leveraged for their special abilities to help out on your farm. The Turtle Blob can water your crops; the Bomb Blob can unlock new areas by removing debris; Cow, Chicken, Pig and Sheep Blobs produce milk, eggs, meat, and wool daily. And, most importantly, your Blobs can protect you while harvesting resources out in the wilderness, where untamed Blobs are ready to attack.
Like most farming/life sim-type games, the NPCs are the heart and soul of the story. You’ll meet and spend time with Opal—the medical assistant fretting over her exam to become a fully-fledged doctor; Lazuli—a sick young girl who longs to see the world and write about it; Flint—the uber-popular Blob rancher with a killer work-ethic; Ruby and Jade—twins who are each carving out their own diverging paths in life as they grow up.
None of the characters’ full storylines are available yet in Early Access but you can advance most to level 2 or 3 and get a taste for where their arc is taking them.
You can also experience a year’s worth of seasons, festivals, and special events—like meteor showers and new amenity openings. The festivals strike the perfect balance of being reasonably compact and yet still a ton of fun. You’ll recognize some of the farming sim classics—like a town-wide potluck and winter gift exchange—but most of them are new and totally fresh: A Halloween-themed collectathon sprinkled with Blob battles; mini-games galore at the spring fair that spit out arcade-style prize tickets according to your score; a who’s-behind-the-curtain guessing game for a romantic holiday; and a rhythm game concert where the better you perform results in more roses being thrown from the crowd.
I’m really picky about my farming sim festivals. I hate ones that are too convoluted—but also dislike ones that feel too empty. I can confidently say that Ova Magica has some of the best festivals in the genre right now. They were a total pleasure to participate in and most of them let you trade winnings for a list of prizes so there is a reason to keep coming back year after year.
The game, in this early state, suffers from some serious resource scarcity pretty early on. This could be attributed to balancing issues pre-Early Access feedback or just an attempt to draw out the experience while the game is still light on content. Either way, it didn’t give me too much pause. I really don’t mind a bit of a grind—blanket nest built, mocktail poured, Love Island on in the background—so I dumped double-digit hours into foraging ore, sand, and stone and levelling up my Blobs. And I’m not even mad about it!
According to the Ova Magica dev’s roadmap, incoming content includes more NPC heart events released in waves, new cave and sewer areas, more Blobs and Blob Worlds, romance and marriage, game balancing, outfits and accessories, house upgrades, and more “[redacted/secret]” content that I can’t wait to see in action.
Overall, there is tons to love about Ova Magica—even in its Early Release state. It’s a game I am proud to support pre-full release, as I think the developer has really stumbled into something special. I can’t wait to try the finished game and I look forward to development milestones along the way!
I heartily recommend buying Ova Magica Early Access and giving it a try. There is already more than enough content to get your money’s worth.