REKA Review Summary

A beautiful Slavic folklore atmosphere with fun hut decoration, but constant bugs, quest-blocking glitches, and poor performance spoil the experience.

Rich Slavic folklore atmosphere: Reviewers frequently highlight the game's deep Slavic folklore atmosphere, including mythology, pagan gods, and authentic cultural elements.

Hut decoration is fun: Building and decorating the chicken hut and general hut is a frequently mentioned fun activity that players enjoy creatively.

Game is lovely and cozy: Players consistently praise the game as lovely, cute, charming, beautiful, and cozy with gorgeous visuals.

Witchy Baba Yaga theme loved: Many players love the witchy, cozy vibes and enjoy the Baba Yaga theme, including quests and crafting as a witch apprentice.

Beautiful graphics and atmosphere: Both the graphics and overall atmosphere are consistently praised as beautiful, gorgeous, and immersive.

Constant bugs and glitches: Many reviews describe the game as buggy, glitchy, and riddled with issues, with some calling it a 'bug riddled mess'. These bugs range from minor annoyances to problems that make the game hard to play at times.

Bugged quests block progress: Many reviewers report quests that are buggy, broken, or fail to progress, requiring save/reload or becoming completely stuck. About one in three quests are affected, with specific issues like Baba Jaga milestone progression failing and quest goals out of map bounds.

Missing language support: Players report missing Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese translations, limiting accessibility for non-English speakers. This is a barrier for a global audience.

Poor performance and low FPS: Players with mid-range to high-end GPUs (RTX 3070, RTX 4060, Ryzen 5 3600) report only 30-40 FPS on medium to low settings. This indicates serious optimization issues across a range of hardware.

Unstable FPS on medium settings: Even on medium graphics settings, the game delivers only 30-40 FPS, which is below acceptable smoothness for many players. This is a common complaint across different hardware configurations.

Building and decorating hut: Players frequently mention building and decorating a hut on chicken legs, a central feature. This activity is described as both core gameplay and a creative outlet.

Apprentice witch of Baba Yaga: The player role is consistently identified as an apprentice witch learning from Baba Yaga. This narrative hook is a key selling point and frames the player's progression.

Procedurally generated maps: Map generation with villages, forests, and bridges is noted as a feature. Players enjoy the randomized exploration and varied environments this system provides.

Slavic mythology setting: The Slavic mythology and dark fantasy setting is highly praised. Players appreciate the authentic cultural theme, including Baba Yaga's lore and Slavic folklore elements.

Magic and crafting systems: Players mention learning talismans, curses, potion brewing, and crafting as engaging mechanics. These systems add depth to the witch role-playing experience.

Low FPS on various settings: The game struggles to maintain acceptable frame rates, with many players reporting 30-40 FPS on low or medium settings. Even high-end hardware fails to achieve smooth performance.

General optimization needed: Many players report that the game requires significant optimization, with frequent mentions of poor performance and high system load. This is the most common complaint across multiple clusters.

Lag and stuttering issues: Players experience persistent lag and stuttering, often described as constant or worsening over time. This affects gameplay across various hardware configurations.

Low settings don't help: Reducing graphics settings to minimum does not significantly improve performance, indicating poor optimization or CPU-bound issues. This frustrates players with lower-end hardware.

Crashes and hard reboots: The game crashes frequently, sometimes requiring a hard reboot, and some issues from a year ago remain unfixed. This makes the game unplayable for some.

Bugs and optimization issues: Many reviewers report game-breaking bugs, lag, and poor optimization that make the game unenjoyable in its current Early Access state. They advise waiting for fixes before purchasing.

Wait for full release: A common sentiment is to avoid playing now and wait until the game is fully released or receives major patches. Reviewers say the game shows promise but is not ready yet.

Cozy and relaxing gameplay: Fans of cozy, slow-paced, exploration, building, and decoration games find the experience relaxing and enjoyable. The game is praised for its calming atmosphere.

Not recommended currently: Many users explicitly state they cannot recommend the game in its present state due to bugs, lack of content, or performance problems. They often add that it could be good later.

Witchy and mythic aesthetic: Players who love witchy themes, Slavic folklore, dark fantasy, and magical forest settings highly recommend the game for its unique aesthetic and story potential.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 8.0h.

Story completion: 2.0h.

Session length: 3.0h.

The game starts with engaging first few hours, but after the tutorial and initial zones, repetitive quests and bugs lead to a noticeable drop in enjoyment.

Friction: game-breaking bugs; repetitive quests; poor optimization / lag; unclear gathering mechanics; missing NPCs; weak quest journal.

Unlock drivers: unlocking crow gathering ability; completing tutorial; learning building mechanics; progressing through introductory story quests.

Cozy Witch Enthusiast: Slow-paced exploration, crafting, and decorating, often following quests at their own pace. Motivation: Immersive witchy atmosphere and satisfying creative expression through building and decorating. Stance: buy.

Bug-Weary Skeptic: Attempts to explore and build but is interrupted by bugs and performance drops, leading to frustration and abandonment. Motivation: The core concept and aesthetic, but held back by technical issues that prevent enjoyment. Stance: no buy.

Patient Early Access Optimist: Plays occasionally, checks for updates, and is willing to wait for full release before fully committing. Motivation: Belief in the game's potential and desire to support development despite current flaws. Stance: sale.

All three Windows VRAM cohorts report significant performance issues, including crashes, frame drops, and poor optimization. The game is generally not recommended on these configurations.

Windows <8GB VRAM: negative. Players report memory leaks, crashes requiring hard reboots, lag, and overheating; the game is frequently not recommended for mid-range GPUs.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: negative. Performance remains rough with frequent frame drops and stuttering; optimization issues persist even a year after launch.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: negative. Severe frame drops from 80 to 19 FPS on high settings and poor optimization make the game unplayable even on top-tier hardware.

Steam Deck: The game shows mixed Steam Deck performance. Significant frame rate instability and controller difficulties are common, while some users report smooth out-of-box play. The verification status is misleading as many experience notable friction.

Linux and Proton: The game shows mixed Linux/Proton compatibility via Steam Deck reports. Some users find it playable out of the box, while others experience significant frame rate instability or feel it is poorly optimized. No Proton tweaks or launch options are mentioned. Overall, the game works but with performance caveats on Linux/Steam Deck.

Character ability trees: A player proposed adding character and ability trees with magic specialties and morality choices, which would deepen the role-playing and customization aspects of the game.

Mounts for travel: A player suggested adding mounts for faster travel, which would improve movement efficiency and exploration.

Full price discontent: A player expressed feeling that they bought a demo or incomplete game at full price, indicating dissatisfaction with the game's value proposition.

Multiplayer mode suggestion: A player suggested adding a multiplayer mode to the game. This is a common feature request that could enhance replayability and social interaction.

Portuguese language support: A player requested the addition of Portuguese language support to make the game more accessible to Portuguese-speaking audiences.