Introduction

Who here has ever wished they lived in the world of Harry Potter? I’m sure many of you have just screamed at your computer monitors and said “me” without a second thought. The idea of casting magic, living in a fantastical world, and being free from human constraints sounds amazing. While real magic might not be easily accessible to most of us, or any of us if you ask some people, the beauty of games like Songs of Glimmerwick is it gets us close to living out our fantasies of being in a fantasy world of magic and the unknown. In this farming sim and fantasy RPG, you are a budding new witch who must prove their skills. Can you rise to the challenge of casting magic to raise your crops, or should you stick with your imagination? Time to dive into this whimsical magical world in our review of Songs of Glimmerwick for the PC! Big thanks to Eastshade Studios, the developers, for a review copy!

Gameplay

In Songs of Glimmerwick you play as a young witch who must attend a school for magic, not wand themed magic mind you, and advance your skills to eventually become the next great mage or just to graduate and learn cool magic. The first thought I had when I booted up and started Songs of Glimmerwick was this is yet another Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon clone, and you can’t blame me for thinking that when you see a hotbar and the ability to pick up random items on the floor. Thankfully, Songs of Glimmerwick is far from just your typical farming sim. This is the coziest original title I’ve played in some time.

Right off the bat you learn that in this world, magic is indeed real and it is summoned by sound. Some play musical instruments, in your case a flute, and others can even use their voices as the conduit. You will need to master your magical craft to not only help accomplish various tasks for others but to help with your garden that has been given to you.

Where most games give you a multitude of tools to farm, Songs of Glimmerwick gives you music and that can summon tools to literally do the work for you. Need to plow the lands, use magic. Need to break rocks, use magic. Want to water your crops? Well, use a watering can, but then use magic when you learn it. You can’t just use magic without consequence though as it does use mana, but like most of these games, there are ways to replenish it.

I loved learning new spells and seeing how they helped not only progress the story but also how I could use them on the farm or maybe in helping a NPC with a quest. When you do learn a new spell you even play a simple rhythm game to master said spell, and there’s a way to keep practicing via a room in the school that slows time down…that’s awesome. There are so many cool ideas for a farming themed RPG in Songs of Glimmerwick that I don’t know if I could look at another game again and not wonder…why can’t I use magic like in Songs of Glimmerwick?

Similar to most farming and RPG titles, Songs of Glimmerwick has events too per the internal calendar, but one thing I loved was how events don’t force you to stop what you’re doing and accomplish them right away. Say for example you are tending your land and last second notice a party is happening at 8:00! Don’t worry, Songs of Glimmerwick freezes time and lets you wrap up what you’re doing and then go to the event. For someone who occasionally hates time constraints in games, Songs of Glimmerwick has opened my eyes to the revelation that timed events are evil when I want to just relax. All jokes aside, I loved that Songs of Glimmerwick lets you take your time and just enjoy the world and game at your pace, no rushing or dire need to accomplish everything in one second.

Songs of Glimmerwick is also an RPG, where completing quests, learning magic, and crafting helps level you up. These level ups can be applied via a skill tree that makes life easier with each upgrade. I’m sure if you max the skill tree out you will feel like Harry Potter…if he was a farmer…and not fighting a powerful evil.

The only flip side to Songs of Glimmerwick that could be a negative to some, I have to say it, is the cozy vibes do mean this game can be quite slow and almost too relaxing. With no timer to worry about and most of your chores being done by activating spells, I often felt myself too relaxed while playing. I’d highly advise being less tired and more awake when booting up Songs of Glimmerwick, otherwise the gameplay could make you relax…a little too much.

Graphics

Before the gameplay or story, Songs of Glimmerwick popped out at me with its absolutely gorgeous and adorable graphics and art style. Almost like you’re playing a child’s story book, Songs of Glimmerwick immerses you in this world by using an art style that feels fitting to the fantasy theme. Lush landscapes, beautiful castles and buildings, magical powers, and the like…Songs of Glimmerwick is just eye candy visually. Even planting crops and using a storm cloud to water them never got old…I almost wish Songs of Glimmerwick would be a TV cartoon or book…it looks that nice.

Sound

When the visuals stopped caressing my eyes, the music and sound for Songs of Glimmerwick took the rest of me. The sound in Songs of Glimmerwick is perfect. The fantasy music that plays when you enter a town to shop or the epic score when a big event occurs, Songs of Glimmerwick just hits you with the genre’s best tones for the ultimate immersion experience. When the music wasn’t excellent, the voice acting was full of personality. These characters, while they might not all look different, sound unique and expressive. Whether human or a giant angry bush that doesn’t like to be toyed with, Songs of Glimmerwick has a great cast of voice talent showing even an indie game can get good voice overs.

Story

There is actually a deep magical tale woven into the world of Songs of Glimmerwick. A lot of it has to do with magic being founded by song and energy, but there are a few darker tales too, nothing too dark though as this is a relaxing game, where witches used magic inappropriately and thus magic was silenced for a bit. As you attend the school and learn more from NPCs and the in-game lore, Songs of Glimmerwick is a novel level story that I was invested in quite a bit more than I expected to be.

Overall Impression

Songs of Glimmerwick wasn’t a game anywhere on my radar this year, but now, if there’s an award for coziest game of 2026, I’m giving it to this one right here. What I had become accustomed to in almost every farming sim game, Songs of Glimmerwick showed me there was another path that could be taken. When you aren’t learning new magical songs, you are exploring a rich world full of life and narrative. Songs of Glimmerwick really feels like you’re opening a book and jumping into it for yourself. That is an experience I can’t say too many games give.

Conclusion

If you love Stardew Valley games but wish it was even cozier, Songs of Glimmerwick is your go to next game. I really didn’t think I’d love this game as much as I did, but even after this review I want to dive back in and learn more. It is rare for a cozy game to be so endearing and want you to keep playing beyond a certain threshold, but Songs of Glimmerwick has proven you can infuse multiple genres and still walk away with a nice and relaxing experience that just makes you smile. Developer Eastshade Studios, you can’t see it but I’m clapping, your game is awesome.