Available on: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox
Played on: PlayStation 5

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain is an irresistibly charming delivery adventure inspired by Studio Ghibli animation. The nonviolent platformer features fun gliding controls and a mini-open world to explore as our young heroine becomes an aerial courier.

Read on for our review of Mika and the Witch’s Mountain!

Mika’s Delivery Service

Young girl Mika is an inspiring witch who arrives at the top of Mount Gaun to begin her tutelage. Unfortunately, her first task is to pick herself back up after getting thrown off said mountain, resulting in a broken broom and a determined resolve.

Thankfully she doesn’t have to wait long to defy gravity, thanks to the charming (and some not-so-charming) residents of Orilla Town.

The residents are lovingly created with hand-drawn artwork, and feature fun dialogue and animated fonts. Their personality drips through despite the lack of voice acting.

After meeting some cute and friendly faces, Mika quickly gets a job as a courier to pay for her mended broom. No walking needed! Mika can load up her broom with items and deliver them around the island.

Through deliveries, Mika establishes relationships and helps others, such as a fisher and his aging father, a son who wants to follow in his mother’s footsteps, or a depressed artist in need of inspiration. I was impressed by the quality and brevity of writing, and I looked forward to meeting new people and returning to favorites as the story progressed.

Defying Gravity

Hopping onto the broom is a simple button press. Despite the purposefully sluggish and slow starter broom, I loved how easy and intuitive the flying feels, though “gliding” is a more appropriate description.

The island is relatively tiny, with a windmill, ranch, seaside town, factory, and hills, all dominated by the central mountain. Getting to the top of the mountain is the goal, but Mika can only reach the top by completing deliveries and upgrading to stronger brooms.

Riding air currents allows Mika to gain height throughout her travels, or speed through certain areas. By the end ofthe story, I had the island’s layout memorized, and could quickly zip around for deliveries, or search for collectables.

Most delivery games are timer-based, but that’s rarely the case here (and the few timed deliveries are super easy). Instead, most of Mika’s deliveries have their own damage rating. I have to be careful not to bump into walls at high speed too many times (or dip into the water), or have to start the delivery over for the best rating.

My biggest complaint is it’s quite short; I completed the main story and all the extra deliveries in under five hours. Though I could spend several more hours hunting down all the collectibles that unlock additional costumes and charms. More content is coming in a major post-launch patch in the form of “Zelda-like dungeons”. Not having enough to do after unlocking the final broom is a major bummer, and hopefully the patch will add some suitably expansive content.

The Rating

Mika and the Witch’s Broom is rated E for Everyone. All ages who are comfortable with 3D platforming controls can play, though reading is required to enjoy the story and characters. There’s no violence whatsoever.

The Takeaway

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain left me wanting a lot more, which is good and bad. It’s a great at what it does: simple flying and gliding controls, a nice little island to explore, and a wonderful art style. But the final act of the story is resolved way too quickly. I would’ve loved more challenging deliveries and more places to explore in this optimistic world.


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This article was written by

Eric has been writing for over nine years with bylines at Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer, Tabletop Gaming magazine, and more covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on his YouTube channel. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.