I’ve reviewed a fair share of survival crafting games in the last few months. Games set in Aztec mythology, Greek mythology, and even Spanish exploration myth. While these games all lacked a familiar setting, they did have a few similarities: the gameplay, which focussed on building structures, gathering resources, sustainable farming and crafting, etc., and a heavy theme on conquering either the wilderness or your neighbors, building a vast settlement and becoming a ruler of an untamed world.
Of all these games, Reka, the newest one to come across my desk, is without a doubt the most unique.
Reka is a crafting/gathering game (I would drop the “survival” from the genre title entirely in this case) that sees you playing as the titular Reka, a young witch venturing out into the Slavic wilderness to discover herself and her powers. Said discovery comes from the teachings of Baba Jaja, the witch of myth herself, who helps what she calls a “River Kitten” learn to be a witch and even provides her with her own walking chicken-legged house.
Yes, the game’s biggest marketing point—and what you likely noticed before anything else—is that Reka allows you to build on and ride your own walking, chicken-legged house. If you think this feature alone is cool enough to get you to play the game, you’re not alone. It was enough to sell me on Reka right away.
The house functions basically as a portable plot of land that can be lifted up and placed almost anywhere. This plot can be freely built on, whether on the ground or not, and also functions as a method of transportation either around the map or into new regions.
Not only is the whole walking house bit really cool and delves into some of my favorite folklore, but it’s also an incredibly practical tool in a crafting/gathering game. You never have to worry about building multiple bases or venturing too far from your base because you can literally just take your base with you as you go. The game also generously offers you a way to teleport back to your hut anytime, taking practically all of the inconvenience out of gathering and exploring.
A game that only allows you to build in a minimal space, such as your hut area, needs to allow for some very precise buildable placement, and Reka, thankfully, knows this very well. The game features what is probably my new favorite building system in any game, allowing you to rotate and snap pieces together and very precisely drag furniture and other objects along surfaces to get that perfect placement you’re looking for. I could honestly play a full game of just Reka sandbox mode and build the ultimate towering hut.
Reka is a mildly story-driven open-world crafting game outside the game’s incredibly unique housing system.
The game’s main objective is to learn how to become a witch from Baba Jaga (which I believe is the Polish spelling of the more familiar name Baba Yaga) and, of course, restore your chicken hut to glory, befitting a pair of witches. It’s sort of like a cottage core road trip, with you traveling from region to region, picking up quests here and there, and mostly just gathering resources to upgrade your house, craft items, and, of course, engage in some witchcraft and homecare.
As Baba Jaga herself says, soup is often more important to witches than rituals. The game has plenty of your favorite farming sim stuff to do, from animal handling to cooking, and of course, weaves in witchy activities alongside.
Not since the Witcher series has a game immersed me so much in Slavic folklore, with Reka being a special treat thanks to its uniquely faithful interpretation of these myths and legends.
It’s hard to imagine a game that makes you feel more like an actual, honest-to-good witch, and that cottage-corse interpretation of the genre alone makes it stand out from so many other games. You’re not here to conquer your neighbors or bend the wilderness to your whim; such things, in fact, feel beneath you as you complete ancient rituals and earn the favor of forest spirits.
Reka is still in early access, but I already like so much of it. If you are big into witchcraft or the cottage core vibe, this game was literally made for you, and I struggle to think of a reason you wouldn’t enjoy it.
If I could request anything be added to the game, I would ask, above all else, for a multiplayer mode to be included (and maybe my sandbox idea from earlier). While I’m not totally sure how said mode would work with the game’s story, I can only imagine Reka as a game would be all the more enjoyable with friends.
While I personally don’t see this as a downside, I should mention that the game does not allow you to make a male character, or at the very least not a traditionally male-presenting character, via the character creation. Honestly, I think this fits with the narrative and vibes the game is going for, but I can see the game’s audience requesting a little more freedom in character creation before the game goes live.
All in all, Reka is a fantastic new addition to the survival craft/farming sim genre, with an incredibly unique setting and great original mechanics. It stands out with its themes and gameplay and is a great title worth checking out, even in its early access state.
Pros:
- Incredibly unique setting and themes
- Fun mechanics and great QoL changes on genre gameplay
- Chicken House
Cons:
- A lack of multiplayer and somewhat restrictive character creation
Comments