Ever have the itch to just pack up all your belongings, hop into a chicken-footed cottage and roam the countryside? Just me? Well, if you’re like me and wish for a simpler life of helping others with your witchcraft, then might I recommend REKA?

Oh yeah – you’re a witch in this scenario too.

REKA is being brought to us by the team over at Berlin-based Emberstorm Entertainment. Publishing for this title is handled by both Fireshrine Games and Shochiku Games. Initially announced back at the Future of Play Direct 2023, REKA is coming out of early access on October 26th.

When I was initially approached to take a peek at this title for Gamer Social Club, I was intrigued. It’s crafting…but that is not the sole focus of the game? And there’s witches. Also, I am an absolute sucker for games that lean into folklore. And when I first saw the trailer to REKA, I thought to myself “Oh, Baba Jaga is a part of this game? Interesting…”

OK, enough about me – let’s talk about REKA.

Disclaimer: I’ll be using the game’s spelling of Baba Jaga throughout my review. This iteration stems from the Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Croatian spellings of “Baba Yaga”. Pronounces the same, but I’m sticking with the spelling from Emberstorm.

The World & The Story

The World

REKA takes place amidst the various small villages and settlements scattered across the woodlands of Eastern Europe. While we’re not given a specific time, I would hazard a guess that this takes place some time between the 1500 and 1600’s. I’m taking some wild leaps in logic, but basing it off the technology that is present in the game.

The actual environments of REKA’s world are captivating in the sense that while it’s beautiful, there is always a somber air to the surroundings. While you do get some occasional sunlight throughout your travels, the world itself is gray and dark at times. Fitting for a game about witchcraft.

The world itself, while somewhat remote, does have people in it! The various townsfolk in each settlement hold varying views of witches. Some see them as simple healers and guardians against evil spirits. Others, however, see them as bringers of curses and blight and all things evil. This, itself, is a key facet of the gameplay within REKA. Do you play the good witch and protect others? Or do you lean into the darker sides of witchcraft?

The Story

The story of REKA focuses on the titular character, Reka. I know, I know – another game where the title is the main character. However, when the journey focuses on Reka’s growth as a witch, I don’t see this as a bad thing.

The game starts with, as many games do, character customization. However, never fear, as there is an absolute glut of customization options to find in the wider world to make your Reka unique. So if you’re not satisfied with the starter items, there are plenty more to find.

Once we have crafted our avatar, we’re given a brief tutorial. And I mean brief. It’ll focus on movement mechanics and using our lamp (one of our various tools we pick up in the game). Once done, we venture forth from the fog into the wider world of the game.

Upon arriving in a small town called Kopnik, we’re warned of a strange old woman that lurks in the forest. Yes – she’s probably a witch, but it’s never right to assume.

Yes, I guess you could say that this is a slight spoiler, but this is the aforementioned Baba Jaga. And she’ll be taking us under her veritable wing to teach us the various ways of witchcraft. We even got a cute little pet name: River Kitten.

And that, my friends, is where I will stop with the story components of the game. I don’t want to spoil those who really want to get immersed in this world. Rest assured, it was a beautiful story and dabbled in so many themes. Themes around life, death, protection, and finding the balance in all things around us.

The Gameplay

There is a lot to cover when it comes to the gameplay goodies in REKA. We’ll touch on as many as possible!

Main Quests & Side Quests

The “quest lines” in REKA are split into two categories. The primary category is the Main Quest, which is following the tutelage of Baba Jaga and the various tasks she has set before Reka to improve her witchcraft.

The Side Quests that you pick up from townsfolk in each region will be the majority of what Reka will spend her time doing. Every village will have residents asking for your assistance, as a practitioner of witchcraft. Or just as someone willing to lend a helping hand. The Side Quests can range from helping a family stock their pantry with food for winter, to assisting woodland critters with ailments, and all the way to helping lost spirits leave this mortal coil.

Many of the Side Quests, at times, will offer Reka a choice. Essentially, these can be boiled down to a “good” and “bad” choice. For example, early in the game, you are approached by a villager who seeks to curse another villager. Reka is given a choice. She can follow the wishes of the villager and lay a curse on another, or refuse her request. I nearly always chose the “good” option, as I tended to view Reka as a more peaceful and kind witch,. A witch who was more concerned with earth than with the humans who inhabit it.

Baba Jaga’s Hut & Customization

Once you have “awakened” Baba Jaga’s trademark “cottage with legs” location, you’ll also unlock the ability to “Build”. Now, this is where the crafting fanatics will really get a chance to sink their teeth into things. I’ll be honest – this facet of the game is not integral to you finishing the game itself. It’s more for aesthetics to a certain extent. Yes, there will be certain things that you have to build. But there’s no “penalty” for a “function over form” build – which is exactly what I did.

Not only can you build to your heart’s content, but there are an absolute bevy of custom items that can be placed into your home – candles, furniture, garden beds, shelves, books, and so, so, so much more.

Baba Jaga’s hut serves not only as your ‘home base” when it comes to your witchcraft, but it’s also your mode of transportation from region to region! But you’ll have to be certain to feed both Baba Jaga and the hut as you travel. Why? Because the roads are long and treacherous. And in some cases, non-existent.

Crafting Mechanics Galore!

Cooking

Cooking is fairly simple in REKA. Place a few ingredients in front of your oven and the “cooking” will begin. You’ll learn various recipes throughout the game. But there does seem to be an element of “plug-and-play” when it comes to cooking. Specific case scenario: there was a dish I needed to make later in the game, but didn’t have a recipe. Trial and error got me to where I needed!

Pro Tip: An oven without wood will not cook, so be sure and keep some firewood stocked!

Gardening

Any witch worth her salt is well versed in various flowers and herbs. REKA does not neglect this in the slightest and allows the player to grow various flowers, herbs, and vegetables in planters constructed in your home.

Your various seeds will need to be watered regularly, so be sure and keep your watering can full. Once your plants have reached maturity, you’ll have a choice. You can either harvest the fresh produce/plants right then and there. Or you can allow the plant to wither. Why would you do this? Seeds! Because let me tell you – seeds are rare in this world. To the point that the only individual who sells them is the random wood spirit and his cat-drawn cart. No – I am not joking.

Potions & Spell Binding

The final form of crafting in REKA – potions and spell binding. Potions are…potions that will alleviate certain symptoms to the afflicted individual. Spell Binding is much more involved, but is a key component to assisting spirits move on from this world, as you’ll need things like Ritual Candles for these ceremonies.

I’ll be frank – you end up gaining the ability to craft these items so late in the game that I didn’t spend too much time dabbling in them.

The Good

Beautiful Story & Homage to Eastern European Folklore

REKA’s story was absolutely beautiful and really was able to highlight the understanding of who/what Baba Jaga is in relation to the peoples of Eastern Europe. It not only speaks to the growth of a person, but how one must always acknowledge the balance of all things, both living and dead.

I also learned a decent amount about general Slavic folklore as a whole, as well as the concepts of what witchcraft was viewed as in these cultures (whether you…believe in it or not, I’ll leave that to you). And as I noted earlier, it all culminated in a very bittersweet ending that forced me to wrestle with certain questions and ideas.

Intuitive Crafting System

The crafting system in REKA was very intuitive, as far as understanding why certain items were needed for recipes and how to go about getting them. It also allowed for some levels of trial-and-error when it came to crafting, especially with regards to cooking (as someone who dabbles in cooking, experimentation is the name of the game).

That being said, it never felt like it became overwhelming (if you have played Minecraft, you know what I’m on about). You always were able to plan out, with relative ease, what you needed to craft and how you would go about doing so.

Relaxing Music

I love a game that doesn’t spend endless amounts of time cramming in music. REKA falls right into that vein of games that I love where there is some music, but at other times, it’s just Reka and the world around her. The slosh of your feet through water. The window through the trees. The birds calling to one another. It’s a magical feeling in games and puts my head in the right place for the gameplay.

A GLUT of Customization Options

Sadly, reviewing games at times means I don’t always have the luxury of spending 10+ hours getting my home just right. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be spending some more time with REKA to customize and build my home to the exact specifications that I want.

That being said, if you love a good session of building a cozy witch house, then I cannot recommend this one enough.

The Bad

Fussy Building Mechanics

While it wasn’t the worst that I have ever put my hands on, the building mechanics in REKA can get a smidge fussy at times. I would need easily several more hands to count the number of times I inadvertently removed something from my home because of a misclick combo’ed with a wrong angle.

However, I will specify that I played REKA with a controller, so that is definitely something that could have been feeding into those hiccups. Your mileage may vary, but I would be willing to guess that mouse-and-keyboard would have been a smoother experience (at least when it comes to building).

Repetitive Side Quests

It’s the bane of any game where there are Side Quests. After a while, you see a different face, but nearly an identical dialogue of what they need help with, with maybe some slight variations. Once you hit a certain point in REKA, the Side Quests become rinse-and-repeat iterations of the same few core side quests.

What’s a shame about this is that there were some Side Quests that taught some of the key game mechanics to Reka…that we never saw again. Earlier, I mentioned speaking with woodland creatures to assist in curing them of ailments. After that initial region where we learned about speaking with animals and potions, that quest never appeared again for me. Which is kind of a shame, if I’m being honest, especially as these required a little more work on Reka’s end.

The Forgotten Spirit of the Forest

This is a more nitpicky point, but early in the game, we are introduced by Baba Jaga to Leshy. Leshy is the “embodiment” of the spirit of the forest and has a serious bone to pick with loggers who cut down the trees of the land and never replace them.

Leshy grants Reka the ability to harvest trees, once she has “proven” that she is different from the loggers of the land. However, it comes with a condition – we must always ensure there is a balance of what is taken and what is given back. This is done with magically imbued seeds that will sprout new trees to the land, which can only be harvested from certain areas.

However, once I used up the seeds that I had I never found an area to replenish in all the various places we went. For all the time we spent helping Leshy, it kind of felt like this was tossed aside the moment we finished in that region.

The Overall

REKA is not a game that is going to shatter the very fabric of gaming as we know it. But you know what? That’s OK, because I still loved what I played and it provided such a unique view into a world of folklore that I was very unfamiliar with. The bittersweet story of Baba Jaga and Reka, coupled with some truly “deeper than it looks” customization to your home, will give a little something for everyone.

REKA is available for puchase on PC (Steam) today.

Gamer Social Club was provided an early-access code for the purposes of this review. This review was played on PlayStation 5.