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Whimel Academy offers a soft and peaceful way to study magic while making a few friends along the way. With a release date of 9th October 2024, you can expect a softer spooky season this year if you decide to pick up this title from Steam. I had the pleasure of playing the game early and having the opportunity to share my thoughts in this Whimel Academy review.

This famous magic school opens its doors to budding witches and wizards (and mages!), offering a range of subjects to keep you busy for the next six years. From the moment you finish your registration, you’ll be able to start building your character’s knowledge, meet new friends, and maybe even find romance along the way. But it’s not all spellcasting and socialising — you’ll need to manage your time carefully, balancing classes, hobbies, and part-time jobs to make the most of your student life.

Story – A Relaxing Way to Learn Magic

You start by choosing your preferred names (formal and nickname), title, pronouns, and which winged cat you’d like as your dorm companion. You also get to name your cat, of course! I went with the winged black cat, and anyone who has read my Copycat review will know exactly why.

Once you’ve got your character sorted, you’re free to explore Whimel Academy’s beautifully crafted world. The game lets you specialise in different magical tracks, so you can follow whichever path suits your wizarding style, whether that’s healing, herbology, or animal care (among others!).

Each choice you make feels personal, guiding your journey towards one of over 30 possible endings. Your decisions shape not just your studies, but also your future, giving the game loads of replay value. You’re not locked into one path either; you can mix and match your skills and see where they lead.

Getting to Know Your Classmates

One of the things I enjoyed most about the story was the freedom. You can romance any classmate, regardless of pronouns or gender, so the game doesn’t limit your character’s relationships. There’s something refreshingly inclusive about that. And the best part? There’s no risk of death – either for you, the NPCs, or, thank goodness, your adorable dorm cat. It’s a soft and safe world where even your toughest day involves nothing more stressful than managing your time between spells, studies, and maybe a part-time job at the school library. Honestly, that might be enough for some reading my Whimel Academy review, but we’re obviously going to keep going!

I also appreciated how the game handled friendships. It takes a while to build relationships with your classmates, which makes those connections feel more meaningful when they finally blossom. No one becomes your best friend overnight, and I loved the realism of that. Whimel Academy isn’t about rushing through, it’s about savouring the little moments — be it a shared study session or a quiet walk around the grounds.

Without any spoilers, not everything is all rainbows and sunshine, either. The characters have depth to them. Passions, pasts, things they keep hidden. You’ll learn more about each person as you interact with them – just like you would in real life.

There’s also a little hint of colour magic used in the game’s story, which I greatly enjoyed seeing.

Gameplay – Your Days Are Short, But Relaxing

Though it’s marketed as a time management game, players should be aware that this is a bit of a misnomer. It’s not as serious as it seems, and you aren’t tracked or timed. You manage every day in five sections of playable time, each lasting a few seconds to a couple of minutes. Although, it’s not the time you have to pay much attention to. Instead, you should be planning which activities are most important to you each day.

Plan Your days Carefully

My advice for those reading my Whimel Academy review is to prioritise. Classes are held in the morning and the afternoon, so they should always be your first and third activity if you want to attend them. However, if the classroom has a portrait, there’s a classmate there that you can talk to. They won’t be there if you take the class instead of talking to them, so you’ll need to decide what’s more important to you.

I found myself checking the map for portraits at the time of each part of the day. You can complete activities in the Morning, Noon, Afternoon, Evening, and Night. There’s also Late Night, but you can only go to bed then. Instead of thinking about the day in terms of the time it takes to complete it, think about what five things you want to accomplish each day.

Though the days are short, there are plenty of them. You get to play all seven days of the week for four full weeks. Four weeks is the in-game time for a year, and you have six of those.

After the first couple of weeks, I primarily focused on meeting my classmates and unlocking the rest of the map. All the NPCs have such unique personalities, and I can see other players vibing with some and not others. My personal favourites were bookworm Theo and cryptic Lumi. I also spent a lot of time with Ida and Daisy, but I primarily avoided Cyrus because of their personality.

I would have liked to have seen teachers as well as classmates, to give the world a more finished appearance. It’s a bit odd having classes with no visible teacher.

Issues with Energy and Gold

I find it difficult to bring up the negative parts of games, and that’s no different here in my Whimel Academy review. But, the most unpleasant thing in the game for me was how often I ran out of energy. Each activity costs between nine and 11 energy points on average, and you usually regain just 20 points from sleeping. That’s barely enough for three activities the next day. It felt very similar to my personal lifestyle where I live with various illnesses and constantly lack the spoons to do things. I didn’t enjoy the reminder.

Ways to regain energy are by eating, playing with your cat, or sleeping. You can also go to sleep earlier if you’re not planning on doing anything else that day. If you do that, you’ll get an extra five points of energy per time slot. For example, going to bed at Night rather than Late Night will give you 25 points instead of 20.

I also didn’t like how much I got paid for doing the various part-time jobs around the campus, considering that they take up an entire portion of the day. That said, I suppose it’s realistic when you look at the prices of some items. But books cost 20 gold, while most jobs pay 3-4 gold… So it would take an entire day of work to pay for one book.

Audio and Visuals – The Softest Game I’ve Ever Played

Back to positivity, let’s talk about the audio and visuals for this Whimel Academy review. Whimel Academy plays like a visual novel, rather than a full RPG game or life sim. Most of your interactions will involve an NPC talking to you and you select a response on your screen. Responses vary – some require you to have a skill at a certain level. There’s always a neutral response that doesn’t rely on your skill levels, though.

You can get to every location from the map – which is just the layout of the school and surrounding areas. The world is small, but the visuals are beautiful. The audio is very calming, and I could honestly see myself falling asleep to it.

Audio – Crackling Fires and Other White Noise

It’s hard to describe the audio in words, honestly. It’s mostly soft, piano music, with the occasional bit of white noise thrown in. My favourite place to go is the Library, which has the best music in the game. It’s so calming, and you can hear the light crackle of a fireplace mixed in with the piano that’s playing.

There’s no location in Whimel Academy that has particularly obtrusive music. It’s just that the Library has the quietest music, and I’m drawn to that kind of atmosphere. Reading in the Library with Theo was one of my favourite activities in the demo of Whimel Academy. That didn’t change when I got a chance to play the full game.

Every location in the school has music that really suits the theme. As another example, the Astronomy Tower has music that builds as it plays. There’s a kind of eerie vibe to it that makes you stop and listen. It’s captivating, really.

Visuals – A Beautific Style That’s Easy on Your Eyes

One thing I really struggle with in games is the visuals. I prefer darker visuals because I have sensitive eyes. But I struggle to see games that are too dark and end up having to up the brightness on my laptop. As someone who almost exclusively uses a dimmer on their screens, I hate doing that.

The art style and design of Whimel Academy is such an important thing for me to cover in this Whimel Academy review. The colour palette is muted, full of hazy purples and pinks, forest greens, and plenty of blues and browns. It’s easy on the eyes, and easy on the heart.

A game with a similar style is Witchy Life Story, though I would say that Whimel Academy is more minimalistic. Witchy Life Story has a lot of different items in its scenes, which can make it hard for some to concentrate on the main feature. Whimel Academy essentially has a series of cute areas that act as a background for your tasks. The backgrounds are all whimsical and beautiful, but clicking to start a task creates a pop-up and fades the background out. The activity pop-ups all match the decor of the room, and I really like this restrained style.

The character designs match the design of the game, too. They fit in perfectly with the art style, seamlessly fitting into every scene.

I also love the market’s design. It’s small, but I think I prefer that in a game like this. Whimel Academy didn’t need a huge, sprawling shopping area. A few quaint shops is perfect for this game.

Verdict

Whimel Academy delivers exactly what it promises: a cosy, slow-paced magical experience with just enough decision-making to keep you invested. It’s a game that understands its audience — players looking for something relaxing, inclusive, and full of heart.

From the beautifully designed world to the peaceful music, it’s a place where you can escape from the stress of daily life and immerse yourself in a soft, wholesome fantasy. The friendships and romances feel natural, and the game’s replayability makes each playthrough feel like a new adventure. It’s certainly one of the best witchy games of 2024 (though it wasn’t out when I wrote that!).

That said, the energy system could use some tweaking. Constantly running out of energy breaks the flow of the game and can take away from the enjoyment. Similarly, the low pay from part-time jobs makes it feel like you’re grinding for basic items, which doesn’t fit the game’s otherwise laid-back tone. These are small frustrations, though, in what is an otherwise delightful game.

If you’re after something gentle for the spooky season, Whimel Academy will charm its way into your heart. It’s not about thrilling gameplay or intense drama, but a calm, magical journey that encourages you to savour the little moments. I’ll definitely be going back to explore more of the magical paths and relationships the game has to offer! It’s an 8.5/10 from me for my Whimel Academy review.

If you’re looking for other cosy games, may I suggest a quick look at Megan’s piece on 10 upcoming cosy games in late 2024, or my list of cosy games you can play on Netflix UK?

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