Welcome to Songs of Glimmerwick. Here, dear reader, we arrive at the Etchery School of Magic and Melody, we pick up a flute and start learning that music is the foundation of magic. It’s a magical world where songs become spells. With our growing collection of melodies, we can, for example, raise the ground to reach places that were previously out of reach, summon rain for our garden, communicate with trees, enchant tools and discover plenty of other uses for our musical abilities. It’s a lovely idea that’s done in a wonderfully cozy way. All the game is interested in is letting us live in its world and wash away our stress by letting us learn new songs. And what songs they are!
The songs introduce rhythm-game mechanics into the mix. We play the correct notes in sequence, and better performances can make our spells more effective while, at the same time, reducing their mana cost. Once a song has been learned, we can cast it without going through the musical performance again. We appreciated that the rhythm sections don’t get in the way of the everyday gameplay. We like having the two systems separated because it’s far more interesting that way. Learning a new spell feels more involved. On the other hand, using something we’ve already mastered remains quick and convenient. However, as we progress through the game, we noticed that music becomes less involved in our ordinary actions. We get why the systems are the way they are; we just wish there could have been more music-centered mechanics.
Life at the Etchery
The school gives the game its identity, with classes, professors, fellow students, clubs and events filling our calendar. We attend lessons and learn new abilities. Little by little, we become familiar with the people around us, while the seasons give the year a natural sense of progression. The game is also refreshingly relaxed about time. Important events and certain periods of the day don’t push us toward bedtime. On the contrary, they allow and even encourage us to wander around and get things done without staring at a clock every few minutes, provided we have enough mana, that is.
There is plenty waiting outside the school too. Gardening, for example, became one of our regular activities. Some songs helped us prepare soil, summon rain and eventually automate some of the work. We can’t remember how many afternoons we spent growing seasonal crops, gathering ingredients and using what we collected for crafting and potions. Nothing too complex mind you and you can do other things while the garden takes care of itself. Fishing, on the other hand, also has its own musical twist, but we want you to discover that for yourself. Meanwhile, we’d also encourage you to dive for shells, explore forests, join expeditions, take part in school activities or simply enjoy and breathe in all the wonders that the devs created for you.
In that mesmerising coziness, potion-making serves up a different kind of minigame and asks you to get ingredients into the correct cauldrons within a time limit. It successfully adds a little more hands-on interaction to crafting and gives the ingredients we grow and gather another purpose. The different activities rarely feel completely isolated because they keep getting intertwined with quests and progression.
A world built around songs
The more we explore, the bigger our collection of songs gets. The new abilities we gain can change the way we move through the island, interact with the environment and reach places we couldn’t access before. In true metroidvania fashion, we can return to an area after learning a new song and reveal a path or interaction that wasn’t available during our first visit. It’s done in a way that gives us a pleasant sense of progression without filling the game with traditional combat encounters.
The seasons that we mentioned earlier are here to help Glimmerwick feel like a real place too. Depending on the season, crops, activities, events and the environment will change throughout the year. The school calendar, on the other hand, encourages us to keep moving forward. You’re never forced to do anything, and you have absolute control over how you spend an afternoon. You can wander through the forest, stop to collect something useful, bump into a character and end up following their story. This happened to us often. We’d go on a journey for one thing and then start doing something totally different. Distractions like these are little, but they play a big part in the overall vibes and gameplay.
Surprising as it sounds, friendships are more important than romance here and, even more surprisingly, we preferred it that way. We like how individual characters have their own stories and routines, how they move around, attend their own activities and have lives outside of whatever quest we happen to be following. We feel this helps make the school and surrounding areas feel considerably more natural.
Magic without combat
When it comes to our songs, it’s important to note that they aren’t weapons and there are no enemies waiting around every corner. We improve our skills, learn new songs and explore. We complete quests and use our abilities to solve problems. Just like any other aspect, we enjoyed this approach because we love it when games give magic a different purpose. A spell that makes it rain or raises a patch of ground can be more useful than a fireball here because Glimmerwick is built around exploration and everyday activities. The quests are highly interesting and complex and they give memorable insight into the lore. A lot of though has been put into every single one and at no point did we feel like were doing straightforward errands. But, we do feel that learning a song through the rhythm system can have a similar, slight limitation. Please don’t get us wrong. It’s a fun way to introduce a new ability, but once we’ve learned it, casting becomes a standard ability selection. The idea is still charming, but we would have liked to see that musical side of magic become more deeply involved throughout the game and not just in those initial steps of acquiring a new ability.
Songs of Glimmerwick is at its best when we take things in stride and enjoy the little things around us by exploring however we feel like it. We would have loved to see the musical side of magic remain more involved throughout the whole adventure, but the idea is still wonderfully charming. Learning songs and then watching the seasons change while we explore and interact with the world and its inhabitants was the highlight of our experience.
Our score: 9/10
Developer: Eastshade Studios
Publisher: Eastshade Studios
Genre: Adventure, RPG, Life Sim
Platform: PC
Release Date: September 30, 2026
Price: $24.99
Players: Single-player
Playtime: Around 25–50 hours
Engine: Unity
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