When witches are surprisingly human

Developer: DeconstructeamPublisher: Devolver DigitalReleased: August 16, 2023

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is a gorgeous pixel art style visual novel that, quite frankly, went beyond my expectations. I'm the type who sits and reads every bit of text in a game (it’s both a gift and a curse), but the idea of visual novels generally doesn’t appeal to me. I enjoy a bit of a journey in between all of that reading. But the idea of witches and demonic entities who existed before the beginning of time? Where do I sign up?! However what I thought would be an adventure in magic and spells and fantasy…indeed turned out to be just that, but also so much more than that. It was surprisingly human.

You play as Fortuna, a witch who has the power of fortune telling through the use of her tarot cards, and she is remarkably accurate in her predictions. So when the cards show her about the impending downfall of the coven, there is a panic and fallout that leads to her being exiled to live alone on an asteroid for 1000 years, even having her tarot cards stripped away. But after a mere 200 years she’s tired of living alone and has summoned the behemoth Ábramar to help her out of her circumstances. And with his help, she is able to craft a new tarot-like deck to tell the fortunes of those who come to seek her advice.

It is this deck building mechanic that really helped make this game truly engaging. Fortuna imbues the cards with characteristics that you design and you use the cards to read into the past and present of those who seek her guidance. In addition to your organization of the elements on the cards themselves, the game provides you options to choose the exact fortune that fits the story that you are crafting as you play the game.

In regards to the deck building, it allows you to feel as if your decisions really and truly matter for how the story unfolds. However I would like to point out, when I played the game a second time around, there were some choices that were the same or very similar to the choices I was given the first time, so there are definitely some elements that are more the illusion of choice than actual choice. For example, when you get a chance to read into Ábramar’s fortune, the readings I encountered in both games were very similar despite the cards I chose being made with completely different elements. But, that makes sense being that certain dialogue is needed to continue progressing the story in the proper direction.

As you move through your adventure, there are many characters to meet, mostly witches, which have unique and interesting character designs that seem to reflect their role within the coven. For instance the character Jasmine has a bright and earthy style that matches her role within the botanical arts while Dahlia, a fierce warrior, is decked out entirely in red, with a strong build and a sword in hair, as any good warrior should. The friendship between the three is a guiding force for the game. Jasmine’s vibe is firm but gentle while Dahlia is strong but compassionate and you can see easily why Fortuna has grown close to both of them, as all three have a deep love and connection for the sisterhood.

Each character feels fully fleshed out with their own interesting backstory and personality, with each interaction feeling fresh and never stale. The overall storyline actually took me by surprise, delving deeper and becoming more emotionally resonant than I assumed it would be. Granted you can be more or less compassionate with the characters but, if you’re like me, as you peel back the layers of the game and the more it all starts to come together, it’s hard not to connect with at least one character. It started to lean away from focusing heavily on the “cosmic” aspect towards the themes of “sisterhood.” By the end, I found myself pretty invested in the outcome and really, really hoping that the decisions I made along the way were the “right” ones for the characters involved.

The game is a pixel art style with the bulk of the game being set in Fortuna’s home where you point and click to move her to various areas. Her character model in home is small and highly pixelated, as are the models of all of the witch’s familiars. In contrast, the character portraits are highly detailed and well crafted. The portraits are expressive and they change to reflect the tone of how they feel in the moment. It makes them feel more alive and easier to become immersed in the game world. For instance Ábramar can go being calm and intense to laughing almost menacingly.

In between all of the story building and fortune telling, Fortuna can expand her mind by studying more about the divination arts or reading stories, which also allow for some decision making along the way. A choices matter story within a choices matter game to break things up and keep things interesting…brilliant. Also, although much of the game is set in Fortuna’s home, there are opportunities to get off of the asteroid and into other spaces that reveal more about the characters and expand the universe of the game world.

In regards to the music, it changes with each character you interact with and I must say the music is really a strong point of the game. The lofi soundtrack is relaxing and, for me, helped me stay engaged with the game for the approximately 8 hours it took me to complete it. It could have easily becoming boring or a slog to read through all of the dialogue or make the cards but the music made for a nice atmosphere.

If you are looking for a mellow game with an engaging storyline that allows you to flex your creative muscles while you make decisions that determine the sisterhood’s fate, then The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is the one for you. The gorgeous pixel art style, chill music, engaging storyline, colorful characters, and creativity in deck building will appeal to both visual novel fans as well as those who enjoy a more interactive adventure.

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