For the first time in my life, I’m in love… with a video game.
My relationships with MarioKart and Star Wars Episode I: Racer (the podracing game) for the N64 were decades ago and were never truly fulfilling. I don’t think it was those games’ fault. After all, I was young. But after nearly 200 hours of gameplay over two saves and about four weeks, I can officially say that there is a video game that has captured my heart and that I want to spend the rest of my life with. It’s called Wylde Flowers.
Wylde Flowers, from indie developer Studio Drydock, seems to have been designed for me, specifically, and for any woman in her 20s or 30s who loves cozy storytelling, small-town romance, and whimsical witchery. And whose entire personality is books. If the 1992 animated Beauty and the Beast was the formative text of your childhood, I think you’ll love Wylde Flowers.
You play as Tara Wylde, a young woman who moves to the tiny island town of Fairhaven to help her grandmother with the family farm. But a day or two into your farming life, you see some mysterious figures in the woods at night. When you ask Gramma what’s going on, she invites you to the town’s coven of witches where you learn that you’re a witch, too!
As you complete your early farming and witchy tasks (like growing green beans for your neighbor, or writing your first incantation), you’re also getting to know Fairhaven’s eclectic cast of characters. There are twenty-two when you first begin, and a few more arrive throughout the gameplay. Seven of those characters are also potential romantic partners, and getting to know them can lead to dates, relationships, and even marriage. (As of January 31st , 2024, there is an eighth romanceable character joining the town.)
If you’re familiar with other cozy farming sim games, like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, I’d say Wylde Flowers hits some similar notes. But what sets Wylde Flowers apart for me is the art style, which I find adorable, and of course the magic. There’s an overarching storyline for your first four seasons in Fairhaven that involves evil witches, werewolves, fairies, and goblins, and requires your mastery of potions and incantations to resolve.
I actually could do without the farming and mining and fishing, if I’m being honest–is there a cozy game that’s not about farming? Let me know if you know of one. But I don’t mind them too much, especially because they let you get to the witch stuff, the romance, and building relationships with the other residents of Fairhaven.
I think all of these elements–the small town vibe, the witchy magic, and the cozy romance–coalesce perfectly in Wylde Flowers. These also happen to be the key elements of a book sub genre I’ve observed growing in popularity and proliferation in recent years, what I like to call the “witchy romcom.” Think The Ex Hex by Erin Stirling, Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare, or Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross (all of which are the first installments in witchy romcom series). And this was what really made Wylde Flowers click for me, the realization that, “oh, it’s like these books I love, but in video game form.”
Because I think the creators of Wylde Flowers must be book lovers. There are so many narrative elements in the story that I personally haven’t seen in a lot of media beyond books. (Maybe they’re in other video games, I wouldn’t know.) A key character in Tara’s story (and my husband), Westley, owns a bookstore that plays an important role as well. And there are references to favorite fairytales and fantasy stories throughout the magic training tasks and cutscenes. I’d really just like to join a bookclub with the employees of Studio Drydock, and I have some ideas of books we could read.
Here I've collected nine (Why nine? Because Instagram allows 10 images in a carousel post and I need one of those for the cover) books that I think most fans of Wylde Flowers will love. Or alternatively, if you love any of these books but you’re unfamiliar with Wylde Flowers, you should definitely try it out. A few of these titles fall into that “witchy contemporary small town romcom” genre I’m so fond of, but I’ve tried to extend past that a bit as well. There is a middle grade book and two YA books on here, two books that are historically-set, and one that is set in a high fantasy world, but still has a light and playful tone.
And, as with all books I read and recommend, I’ve tried to include a diversity of ethnicities and identities in the authors and characters of these books. As we all know, most if not all publishing genres are not as inclusive as they should be. But on this list, as in Wylde Flowers, hopefully almost everyone can find some meaningful representation.
But I doubt Westley would stock any of these in his store.
(Scroll to the bottom for a bulleted list.)
The first book I immediately have to recommend is Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, the 1985 middle grade novel that was the inspiration for the classic Miyazaki film of the same title. This sweet story follows 13-year-old witch Kiki who takes up residence in a small town with her talking black cat and helps the villagers through various misadventures. It is the epitome of cozy.
The next two I have are not so cozy, but do feature some wonderful friendship storylines. The YA urban fantasy novels Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (which is the first in a trilogy) both have unique takes on what it means to be a witch. Both also have queer Latinx/Latine main characters and explore identity and acceptance in ways that I think will resonate with Wylde Flowers fans.
These next three books are all adult fantasy romance novels, what I would call witchy romcoms; two have contemporary settings and one is set in a high fantasy world. I think the best way to describe them would be to tell you what they would be in drink form. Sangu Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a cup of hot tea on a cold day. Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper is an extra espresso shot in your dark chocolate mocha latte. And the second high fantasy romcom by Kimberly Lemming, That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf, is a PBR and a JELL-O shot in the best way possible. All three are part of series, so if you love them there’s plenty more of these worlds to explore.
I’m also including two historical fantasy novels that aren’t as witchy per se, but both do have fairies and lots of magic. A Regency Romance whose story hinges on the magic built into the world, Half A Soul by Olivia Atwater I think will appeal to you if you love Pride and Prejudice or Bridgerton, or other romances set in that time period. And Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is maybe the only book on my list that Westley WOULD stock in his store, because it’s written as the account of a woman who is studying and documenting fairies in 19th century England and Scandinavia. Also, the character’s last name is Wilde–it’s spelled differently, but maybe there’s some relation there?
And finally, any list of cozy, witchy books would not be complete without Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, the basis for the iconic film (which was shot in the small island town of Coupeville, in my home state of Washington, that’s not unlike Fairhaven–I’ve been there!). The novel does read a bit differently from the vibe of the movie, so if you love the film prepare for a tonal shift. But I still think it’s well worth reading. Hoffman has also recently written three more books in the same world.
Here’s the full list:
Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
As I was planning and writing this post, I saw the announcement that there is a new update to the game coming out January 31st. I anticipate that I will be spending a lot of time playing when that happens (as if I haven’t been doing that already), so I had to get this completed and published before then. Wylde Flowers is a wonderful world to escape into for awhile, just like all of these books. Enjoy!