Songs of Glimmerwick, a new top-down RPG from Eastshade Studios, creators of the painting game Eastshade, is now available. The game casts players in the role of a student at a magic school, where spells are cast through musical performance.
The core magic system involves playing music on a flute via an Ocarina of Time-style minigame, requiring players to hit notes on their keyboard. These musical spells can affect the environment, such as making gardening tools operate autonomously, causing fish to leap into nets, or clearing paths through dense undergrowth. The game is designed as a non-combat experience, focusing on exploration and spellcasting rather than traditional combat encounters.
Players will also engage in potion-brewing, which necessitates collecting various ingredients found on the game's autumnal island. Exploration will take players through diverse areas like a university garden filled with beehives and sunflowers, and a central village featuring waterways. The art style has been described as reminiscent of a pop-up book viewed by torchlight, with moving elements like cloud shadows adding visual interest. The game features a fully voice-acted script and an orchestral score.
Songs of Glimmerwick differentiates itself from other magic school narratives by emphasizing a relaxed pace. The demo explicitly informs players that they do not need to worry about time constraints, despite the presence of daily lessons and errands. The developers have shared generous devlogs discussing the game's budget and the creative decisions that led from their previous game, Eastshade, to this new top-down RPG.