Primal Seed has announced Mandrake, a cozy simulation RPG with a magical twist, launching in Early Access on PC via Steam. This title invites you to tend magical gardens, explore a folklore-rich world, and unravel the secrets of a small British village. It has that fantasy RPG vibe of Mirthwood mixed with Perennial Order’s strange creatures, but less grotesque.
You play as a sorcerer from a forbidden line of horticultural mages, returning to your family’s abandoned castle in Chandley village. Here, gardening isn’t ordinary: you’ll grow everyday plants like runner beans and turnips alongside mystical ones like thunder-calling taran. Your goal is to restore the castle’s tangled grounds by placing garden beds, decorations, and cozy spots, nurturing both mundane and magical plants from seed to harvest.
The game’s open world is alive with uncanny spirits and old powers in which you’ll also meet a cast of various villagers, each with their own stories. Evening activities include reading ancient books by candlelight, cooking new recipes, or drinking tea with the god in your chimney. However, the world follows the Covenant of the Hearth: lights go out at night, and the Mara, otherworldly beings, rule the darkness.