A goblin has cursed the mill, the ferry operator will not work without a blueberry pastry, and the only known cure may be hidden in the mountains. Unfortunately, the route north is sealed by an enormous tree root.
That leaves plenty to do while the solution takes shape. A classmate at the Etchery has created a potion that reverses plant growth, but its recipe needs a flower that has not yet bloomed in the garden. While those seeds grow, there is fishing to learn, a tabletop campaign to organise and, somewhere in the background, a class that may eventually require attendance.
This is the pleasantly tangled routine of Songs of Glimmerwick, a farming and exploration game set at a musical magic school. You arrive on the island by boat with no particular plan, only to discover that your name is already on the student register. A friendly flute-maker provides your instrument, while the nearby villagers supply a uniform and school equipment. It is an unusually generous welcome to higher education.
The game comes from the developer of Eastshade, which I loved very, very dearly back in 2019. That earlier game drew me in immediately with its intimate island setting and emphasis on noticing every corner of its world. Glimmerwick takes a different route: its appeal comes from attending a strange, sleepy university where magic is made through music.
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The magic system is built around short rhythm exercises. Playing a spell’s pattern well enough unlocks it for regular use, so you do not need to repeat the entire chart whenever you cast. A stronger performance improves the spell’s effect, giving the musical challenges a purpose beyond simply learning the notes.
Brewing potions uses a separate ingredient-sorting activity, with more accurate work producing better results. Fishing is rhythm-based too, and each fish appears to have its own melody. It is one of the more enjoyable fishing minigames in the game, largely because every catch feels musically distinct.
Many early songs help with practical work. The hoe, pickaxe and axe can be enchanted to clear tasks around the garden while you concentrate on planting. Later abilities may also have a role in investigating the mysterious magical landmarks scattered around the campus. The Etchery initially feels surprisingly modest for a premier school of magic, although its visible grounds suggest there is more to the institution than first appears.
A relaxed school year
Songs of Glimmerwick is in no hurry. Whole days can pass without a major event, leaving space for gardening, fishing and other farming-sim activities. The central plot still moves forward as the calendar advances, and it hints at bigger themes involving religious zealotry, strict doctrines and the question of who should make decisions for an entire community.
The player character is customisable and deliberately neutral, which makes it easy to use them as a personal avatar. That choice also obscures an intriguing backstory: they escaped a fundamentalist society at considerable cost, then arrived at the kind of open, expressive world they had been searching for. I would prefer to learn more about this person without treating their history as simply my own.
The supporting cast makes a less immediate impression. The distant camera helps show off the beautiful fantasy landscape, but it also makes characters difficult to identify, particularly when so many wear similar school uniforms. One memorable exception is a fish-like character living on land for the first extended period of their life and displaying tremendous enthusiasm for kimchi. My roommate is harder to warm to after blowing up the fireplace on day one and expecting me to fix it.
Each day offers a loose framework rather than a strict timetable. A letter may announce a class, or it may not. Between lessons, there can be social appointments and work in the campus garden, which begins in a sorry state and gradually improves as new spells become available. My crops have included basil, marjoram and several flowers, while cranberries grow in the pond. Some produce is sold, but much of it becomes potion material for the steady stream of requests from students and townsfolk.
The clock pauses when a lesson is due, ensuring that exploration never makes you late for class. The world also continues to develop without demanding that you follow a particular routine. One morning, the school corridors may be covered in cryptic pamphlets urging everyone to burn the forest. Whether you have been gardening, shopping, exploring, socialising or sleeping makes no difference to those events.
There are no oversized quest markers hovering over every character. Conversations may reveal useful information, lead to a favour or amount to nothing more than a chat. The classes and main story appear to follow a set path, but the rest of the experience depends heavily on where you go and who you choose to approach. That freedom recalls the quiet discovery of Eastshade.
Discovery without a checklist
The opening situation described above was not presented to me as a sequence of mandatory objectives. I pieced it together by talking with residents, inspecting shops, testing ways past a disagreeable sentient bush south of town and experimenting with the systems. The classmate’s plant-reversing potion belongs to the main storyline, but the mill, ferry and mountain problems emerged naturally from exploration.
There was no tutorial pointing me towards each discovery, and no countdown forcing an immediate solution. I could have ignored those threads and spent the day fishing. That design may mean different players prioritise completely different activities, and it may leave some content undiscovered.
It is not yet clear whether reaching the end of the school year can happen before every part of the world has been experienced. Even so, the absence of constant arrows, alerts and reminders makes the game’s smaller details feel less like chores. I am content to cultivate the garden, practise flute spells and check the town or fishing spots when the day allows.
That unhurried approach suits a character who has escaped a rigid society and arrived at a magical school alone. Songs of Glimmerwick is at its best when it lets you wander through the forest, collect mushrooms, play music and decide what matters today. Players looking to compare different home gaming setups can also explore RETROCADE’s Arcade Machine Buying Guide, browse compact bartop arcades or consider a virtual pinball machine.
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