The Witch's Bakery gives me all the fuzzy feelings of eating a fresh croissant on a warm spring morning

Few things are more healing than biting into a buttery, flaky croissant fresh out of the oven and sipping on a coffee while the warm sun hits your face. It's a feeling I've been sorely missing in these dark and gloomy winter months, but it's one that The Witch's Bakery has managed to capture excellently in its Next Fest demo, and I'm already in dire knead (I will not apologise) of more.

It's a game clearly steeped in some heavy Studio Ghibli inspiration—an art style constantly basked in a warm glow, adorable and strange creatures as companions and allies, and an emotional narrative that the demo gives a very small glimpse of. I get to step into the adorable sneakers of witch-slash-baker Lunne who, alongside aforementioned strange creature companion Orio, has just moved to Paris and opened a brand-new boulangerie.

Of course, as a witch, Lunne's goods have that extra little pizzazz to them. They can dive into the troubled hearts of her Parisian customers, healing their emotions and helping them to come to terms with anything particularly troubling they're going through. The first instance I get to see of this in the demo is when I meet Judith Tessier, owner of the decoration shop.

She's clearly got something weighing on her—and not just the spectral being snaking around her, invisible to everyone but mages. One croissant bite and a maze minigame later and she's having a wee cry. That's a good thing, promise! It sends the emotional spectre hanging around her away, and it's only one of the many times Lunne's baked goods heal souls.

The actual bakery part of the demo is pretty minimal—Orio actually does the bulk of the work. All I have to do is knead the odd bit of dough and then grab whatever the customer wants. It's simple and initially I found myself yearning for a little bit more, but The Witch's Bakery dresses the game up in so many other activities that I understand why it doesn't lean into full chaotic management sim shenanigans.

That's because, once the bakery is closed, Lunne has the chance to befriend her neighbours and explore the beauty Paris has to offer. Eating at restaurants, strolling through the park, and catching a film are some of the evening activities that I can get up to. And once the day is done, I'm treated to a gorgeous view of Paris from above as Lunne peacefully sips on her tea.

Nighttime was where I ended up having the most fun with The Witch's Bakery. I was able to venture to the Atelier and concoct some pastry designs. Putting smiley cat faces on TKTK or jazzing up a pan au chocolat with a lovely cocoa-coloured swirl pattern.

My main gripe right now is that the entire process is kinda obtuse—every time I attempted to make a new baked good I was only awarded two out of three stars without the game actually telling me why. It's a little unintuitive all round, especially when the game's UI as a whole is a little half-baked, but it's stuff I am sure can be cleaned up beyond what is its first public demo.

Though it's not a perfect demo, The Witch's Bakery has me delighted for what this game can become. It certainly helps that it's been on my radar for almost a year now, so really I'm just kinda jazzed I actually get to play the thing now.

The Witch's Bakery is set to release sometime this year (hopefully!), and you can check out the first chapter of the game (around one to two hours) during Steam Next Fest. That's right now up until March 2.