Game: Magical Bakery
Genre: Action, Simulation, Adventure, Training
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam and Epic (Windows), Xbox X/S and PS5)
Developer | Publisher: SUPERLUMEN | SOEDESCO
Age Rating: US Everyone | EU 3+
Price: US $29.99 | UK £26.99 | EU € 29,99
Release Date: November 7th, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to SOEDESCO.
Magical Bakery is a cooking, time-management simulation with a touch of magic mixed in. Set in a bakery rather than a cake shop, Magical Bakery has a calmer, relaxing vibe, like Lemon Cake, rather than the frantic, all hands on deck-of Overcooked!
Will Magical Bakery be the icing on the cake, or will it all just crumble?
Why at This Magical Bakery?
Prior to starting any cooking in Magical Bakery, you create your character. You select a name and pronoun, as well as a voice. There is a small selection of faces and eye colours, a few hairstyles with different colours, 6 skin tones (including green – hopefully, no reflection on my cooking!), four outfits and four hats, which aren’t necessarily matching. However, being a Magical Bakery you get a choice of 10 wand styles, the wand aids your culinary skills and time in the bakery.
You learn that you are a trainee magical baker who needs mentoring in a Magical Bakery to complete the practical exams, and that honour has been given to Baba. Surprisingly, you are Baba’s first trainee, and as she will retire soon, you will also be her last.
Once a week, Ludovar will appear to assess the 3 dishes which form part of the exams. If successful, then Ludovar will increase your rank. If not, just try again the following week.
There is an intriguing background story in the Magical Bakery, and there is clear tension between Baba and Ludovar. Will we ever find out where their rivalry started? Who else will visit the bakery?
The Daily Routine in the Magical Bakery
From Monday to Saturday, you have sole responsibility for baking the breads and cakes and serving the customers. This generally means rushing between the shop and bakery to fulfill orders. Sunday is exam day, and then rest!
Every day, you select some dishes to showcase, increasing their demand before opening the shop. The shop is open between 8 am and 6 pm, although it can be closed earlier if required. Some customers will dine-in at tables, others will use the take away service at the counter. Customers will have a think time and then be ready to give their order. Although there is a time limit for how long the customer will wait, there is no penalty for them leaving without being served. At the end of the day, customers who have ordered will remain, but those thinking or browsing will leave the shop. Tables can be cleared away with the wave of your wand.
Recipes are selected at the baking tray, with some needing to be cooked in the oven after mixing. Initially, you will need to discover the recipes by picking and mixing the right combination of ingredients. Each rank gives access to new ingredients, which are generally more expensive to buy, but they make more expensive products to sell. After your first week, you will have access to elementals, who provide a sprinkle of magic to help soothe your customers.
You receive a summary report at the end of each day. The money earned and spent can be misleading as it doesn’t take account of existing coins, so it does not show available funds. It’s also a good opportunity to check on the dishes required for the end-of-week exam.
The Magical Bakery Traders
Every morning, Shen visits the shop to sell and buy ingredients. One of the great benefits of this merchant is that he buys and sells at the same price. He also installs a telephone service, where emergency stock can be ordered during the day, although this is at a slightly inflated price.
Once the shop closes at 6 p.m., it jumps to 8 p.m. when Amber arrives. Amber is the local blacksmith and Baba’s friend. There is a really good balance between the cost of ingredients, the selling price of the goods, and the charges for upgrading. Generally, I was able to purchase an upgrade after just one day of running the bakery.
Some upgrades are really beneficial, like the extra counter surfaces, which enable goods to be made in advance of the day. Others, like the mirror to change your appearance, aren’t really necessary to begin with. Then there are the ones, like the extra spaces on the specials menu, which seem to make more work for you but do increase the sell price.
In addition to trading with Shen and Amber, this is also an opportunity to talk. These conversations are interesting and give a wonderful insight into the world of Caeluria and the depth of their characters. Both traders will remain in the shop until you move to the next stage, so you can shop multiple times if needed.
Gameplay
The controls are straightforward, and there are tutorials for discovering something new. These can also be found in the options menu. Magical Bakery plays well in both docked and handheld modes, although there is no touchscreen functionality.
Saving is automatic at various points during the day. There are three slots, and you can copy your current game to another slot if required.
In addition to language and sound options, Magical Bakery has several accessibility options. There are three options related to colour blindness and the ability to have a larger HUD. You can also remove the option of burning or spoiling the food and have help with creating and using magic sprinkles.
The shop is open for 6 minutes; however, as the clock stops while using the baking tray and sprinkles, a day will take longer to play. You can spend as long as needed setting up the bakery before and after the shop is open. I spent about 17 hours preparing, cooking, cleaning, and upgrading in order to complete all my exams.
Conclusion
Magical Bakery is a cooking-themed, time-management simulation with more than a spoonful of magic sprinkled about. It has some different elements from other games in the same genre and an intriguing background story that makes you want to cook more just to find out what it’s all about.
There is a good balance between buying, selling, and upgrading in Magical Bakery, which means progressing doesn’t feel like a grind. Various options allow for a stress-free experience if necessary.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 
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