Mika and the Witch’s Mountain – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed and published by Chibig in collaboration with Nukefist, Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is a colourful adventure about an aspiring witch who becomes a courier for a small island. As Mika the young witch, fly around the island of Mont Gaun, exploring the different environments and interacting with the residents. This title is available for Nintendo Switch and Steam, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Chibig for providing the copy of Mika and the Witch’s Mountain used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note that this title is part of the Mara franchise of games, which I have covered Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara previously, which you can find (HERE).

Story – apprentice witch Mika has journeyed to Mont Gaun, with aspirations of learning under Mistress Olagari who lives at the top of the mountain. But before she knows it, Mika is sent back down by the Witch, breaking her Broom in the process. After this, she encounters Allegra, who performs some basic repairs on the broom. However, it won’t get her back up the mountain, so she sets out on a quest to earn enough for a broom to take her back to the summit.

Gameplay – Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is a fantastical adventure, where the player must complete delivery based objectives across Mount Gaun. To achieve this, the player gets a job with the local delivery company, taking packages to the different residents while also exploring the island. Mika can fly across the island, crossing the beaches and open ocean, soaring through the air in a mini open world full of secrets to discover.

When starting off the delivery job, players will learn the various ins and outs of being a magical courier, with some easy jobs to get the player started. Mika is given a delivery card and map, allowing her to track her jobs for the day. The first few jobs will treat the player how to effectively perform delivery duties. Mika will also be rated based on her performance, with a green smile for good, a yellow middle face for okay and a red frown for bad.

This rating can be affected in several ways depending on the package, with three different conditions that can apply. These conditions are as follows;

• Fragile – great care must be taken with these packages, as they will take damage if Mika drops the package or she hits the environment. The package will be damaged and the delivery will fail.
• Keep Dry – travelling over water can be risky with this type of package as it will be damaged if it gets wet, rendering the package destroyed if it makes too much contact with the water.
• Time Limit – take the package to the recipient as fast as possible, as it will be ruined if the timer expires. This applies to ice cream that is ordered in the village.

If a package is damaged beyond recovery, the delivery can be cancelled and the package will magically return to the spawn point. This allows players to try deliveries as many times as they want, giving players the chance to get their jobs done perfectly. When the delivery is completed, another job may be given by the first recipient, progressing the story with each delivery. When interacting with the different characters, more details will be revealed about them and the island.

As Mika performs her deliveries, the player will learn how to navigate the island, letting them explore as they take items to each of the locations. Once all of the deliveries on a card are complete, the day will be over, then Mika will be provided with a wage based on her performance. She is given coins for green stamps on her card, but she doesn’t receive payment for yellow or red. Then she can complete the current day.

As the days pass, Mika will earn money and get upgrades to her broom, allowing for more of the island to be explored, including the ability to ride air currents and carry more items. These upgrades are important for progression, as areas will be inaccessible without them. This progression system feels natural, as the areas of the island will open up over time, the environments become more varied adding more depth over time.

Deliveries aren’t the only thing that Mika can do, with a mini collectathon added into the game. This requires the player to locate little statues of the companion Napopo from the Mara games, which will be scattered throughout the island. These statues can be collected by simply going near them and pressing a button, with many of them hidden in plain sight. The statues can be used as a currency to unlock special cosmetic items for Mika.

There will also be instances where players must make a decision, with a relatively simple yes or no decision that can be made. These interactions could impact the story, but I will leave that for players to discover for themselves. Once the main story has been completed, the game doesn’t end there, as the player will return to the game for a post-game adventure. Special characters and secrets can be uncovered during this part of the experience.

Last to discuss is the side content for this adventure. There are special side quests that can be accomplished for this release, which will be discovered by interacting with items that flash. These include special deliveries like returning kites, as well as special gems and totems that can be found on the island. The gems can activate special areas of the map, with the totems providing special effects for Mika’s broom that can be equipped.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – the control system for Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is nice and intuitive, with easy to understand controls that expand over time. The flight controls work very well, with all of the movements flowing smoothly as Mika soars through the skies of Mont Gaun. All of the controls are smooth and responsive, working well with the Pro controller and Joy-cons. It is very comfortable to play in handheld mode, without any issues during play.

Difficulty – there is not a great deal of difficulty with this release, as the challenge comes from the player and if they want to rush deliveries or be a perfectionist. There is no real failure state that I encountered during my time playing, as the deliveries can be reset freely. This allows for a calm and relaxed style of play, giving the overall experience a cosy feel as there is little jeopardy but great satisfaction to attain. This is a game that everyone can enjoy.

Presentation – visually the game is beautiful, with wonderful portrait art, animated sequences and stylised models used for characters/environments. This gives the world a vibrant feel to it, that is welcoming and inviting to players, further enhancing the overall atmosphere. The sound really builds on the visuals, with wonderful melodies that fit their areas. Voice acting is limited and it works for this game. There are some graphical and audio blips but they don’t impact the experience.

Final Thoughts – after playing Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara, I was excited to get my hands on this title, as I very much enjoyed my time with the previous game. That said, I was not disappointed when I sat down to take on this adventure, the characters are charming, the world is vibrant and the story pulls me right in. There were some minor frustrations on my part when learning to fly, but after a while everything just fell into place. All of this while reminding me of the Studio Ghibli Classic, Kiki’s Delivery service.

This is a wonderful adventure that I feel everyone can enjoy, so I have no issue making a recommendation for this title. There were some minor inconsistencies with the sound, as well as the odd graphical blip here and there when flying over the ocean. However, those little flaws did not impact or compromise the overall experience. This is a very well-polished title that runs wonderfully on the Nintendo Switch system. It may not be the longest experience, but It is worth every second spent with it.

In the end, I give Mika and the Witch’s Mountain a final score of 5/5. This is a fantastic adventure, with a story and characters that brought the world of Mont Gaun to life, with a gameplay loop that is satisfying and so much fun to experiment with. If you want to check out this game for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to Steam version (HERE)