Hi there, Xbox Wire readers — I hope you’re hungry! Today, we at Whitethorn Games are serving up some tasty tips to help you on your own journey of becoming a full-fledged witch one magical dish at a time in Magical Delicacy — a Metroidvania-lite-meets-cooking-game available now on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass.
In Magical Delicacy, you’ll step into the shoes of Flora, a young witch who journeys to the adventurer town of Grat in order to grow her magical skills. While there, she takes up the task of delivering food and potions, cooked with the power of magic, to deliver to hungry townsfolk. As she explores the beautiful harbor town, she’ll meet all kinds of interesting townsfolk, from mysterious travelers and forgotten legends to masters of their craft, each with their own fascinating stories and particular culinary tastes. It’s up to Flora to craft the perfect dish in her customizable kitchen to satisfy their discerning palates, using ingredients she forages around the town, grows in her garden, or purchases from shops.
This might sound like a tall order for a young witch, but we’ve put together a mise en place of tips to help you get through even the most troublesome requests!
Explore Every Nook and Cranny
The first thing anyone does when they move to a new town is explore it — and Flora is no different! As Magical Delicacy draws inspiration from classic Metroidvanias, you’ll explore and complete quests to fulfill orders, and you’ll be able to gain access to new areas, including some special secrets. Each area has new townsfolk to meet, new forgeable items to harvest, and new shops offering a variety of goods, so be sure to search each area thoroughly!
Talk to Townsfolk
The best part of a new town is meeting new people and making new friends! Take some time to introduce yourself to any of the colorful characters that make up Grat’s community — they may have a new recipe, new ingredient, or helpful information to share. Fostering good relationships is also important, so be sure to revisit your newfound friends occasionally, as they may have more to share later on.
Visit the Shops Frequently
Since Grat is quite a bustling town, you’ll discover many quaint shops and vendors as you discover more areas. Each shop in Magical Delicacy sells something helpful, such as the blacksmith who can create new kitchen appliances to bring some variety to your food preparations, the map maker who can help you keep track of the new places you’ve uncovered, and many others. Be sure to flip through the different categories of tabs when purchasing items — you never know what hidden gems each store has in stock!
And speaking of stock, what happens if the store doesn’t have enough of what you need when you get there? Luckily, stores resupply their wares every day, so simply visit them the next day to find that much-needed item back on the shelves.
Forage for Ingredients
Running short on beads to exchange for goods? There are plenty of ingredients you can get for free! From mushrooms to berries to exotic plants, foraging around town will uncover a variety of tasty edible goods that can be added to your ever-growing list of recipes. And if you run out, you just need to wait a little while for them to grow back. Make sure to check each area frequently because some forageables grow less frequently than others — a return visit to an area could unearth a yummy item you may have missed.
When in Doubt, Experiment
Any good cook knows that sometimes preparing a cutting-edge dish requires some trial and error, so don’t be afraid to experiment in the kitchen! Each recipe in Magical Delicacy is customizable, so while some dishes might have specific ingredients that they require (Mushroom Noodles just wouldn’t be Mushroom Noodles without the mushrooms, after all), you are allowed — in fact encouraged — to improvise with different ingredients that fit the tastes of your customers. Did you receive an order from a customer who doesn’t like spice but only have a hot pepper to use in your dish? No problem — you can add additional ingredients with different flavor profiles that outweigh the spiciness and will take the edge off the heat. Try out different combinations to your heart’s content — the worst that can happen is you get to cook again.
Accessibility as the Main Ingredient
We at Whitethorn want to make sure as many players can enjoy our games as possible — a value shared by Magical Delicacy’s developer, sKaule, who has made sure there are multiple accessibility settings — located in the settings menu — to accommodate a variety of players’ needs. Some of these include:
- Easy platforming options that deactivate disappearing platforms
- High contrast options, including character outline toggle and the ability to darken the background for increased visibility
- A variety of dialogue options, including effects toggle options, dialogue autoplay options, and a selection of fonts to choose from
- Control rebinding for keyboard, mouse, and gamepads
- Button hold and quick-time event toggles
You can also play Magical Delicacy in English, French, German, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. We hope these tips help you prepare for your own cooking adventure in Magical Delicacy. Be sure to pick it up on Xbox today and discover even more secrets to be found in its witchy world. Enjoy your visit to Grat!
Magical Delicacy
Whitethorn Games
$24.99
PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass
Play the young witch Flora and discover a bustling town in this Metroidvania-inspired wholesome cooking game. Cook meals and potions in your customized kitchen by carefully selecting the right ingredients. Navigate the town in casual platforming to meet the townsfolk, take up their orders, and learn about this world of magic.
Flora travels to a distant town to fulfill her dream of becoming a proper witch. She opens up shop in Grat, a harbor town built upon cliffs, where adventurers settled to chart an unexplored island full of mystery. As she engages in the town’s thriving economy, she stumbles upon two members of opposing covens. The witch Cassia and the magus Tauno have a lot to teach Flora, but they also know how to use her in their dispute about magical beings.
