The Wilds of Dacrima: Field Notes from a Poorly Supervised Alchemist and his Unruly Clockwork Companion

The Wilds of Dacrima (Field Notes from a Poorly Supervised Alchemist and his Unruly Clockwork Companion) was an unexpected pleasure for me. The game has not gotten much attention, and I went into it without preconceptions. It has been an absolute delight to play, and I’ve spent over 13 hours exploring with the professor and his robot side-kick. You play as Edric Tayte, who has been sent to Dacrima in search of a cure for a modern-day plague. You are joined by L-P1N, an unauthorized but very helpful mechanical companion. You report to a corporation who has funded your journey and tries to manage you from afar. Dacrima is an interesting place with caves, swamps, forests, and cliffs. There are creatures and plants to discover, potion ingredients to collect, and a history to reveal. Along the way you keep a “Codex” to track the information you’ve discovered. Your first order of business is to locate a source and remedy for the “Rot” (a red disease that seems to corrupt the environment and may be related to the plague infecting humanity). This involves traversing the landscape and crafting potions which give you abilities to explore further. L-P1N can be deployed as a floating platform, and its use will expand as you learn new tricks. Potion abilities include buffering your fall, riding updrafts, manipulating gravity, harnessing sun energy, etc. Your map is built as you go. Within each map segment, there are numerous puzzle areas. Specific skills for each puzzle are identified, and progress is tracked on the map. The game is very good about providing objectives and giving visual markers to aid you in accomplishing them. Resources are abundant and there is no limit on what you can carry in inventory. You must return to your ship to craft new potions. However, one batch of each potion is all you need and there is no limit to how often you can use that potion. There is quite a bit of platforming, but most does not require great precision. My performance in platforming games is mediocre at best, and I had no trouble in Dacrima. If you do die, you are instantly returned to your last position and there is no real penalty. Platforming is made easier by deploying L-P1N as a “step” between floating objects. Most puzzles involve manipulating the environment (through “power keys” and potions) to reach a destination or retrieve an object. Some are a bit complicated and require creativity and timing. The game auto-saves at numerous points. It can also be explicitly saved to a single slot (which is my preference when playing). Many Steam achievements are story related but most are awarded based on completing the “Codex,” and solving all puzzles in specific areas. Note that there is a "point of no return" at the end. Any achievements missed would require starting a new game once the end map has been accessed. There are a couple of idiosyncrasies in the controls. I found it hard to accurately navigate when riding geysers (or updrafts) which meant it often took multiple tries to get where I was going. I also continue to struggle when moving objects across a room using the “Moon” gravity spell. Be prepared to do a lot of traveling. A limited teleport option becomes available late in the game and mid-game, you can craft a potion that allows you to move faster. Despite detailed maps, you need to pay attention to the relationship between separate areas so that you can return to each later in the game. At this point, I have not completed The Wilds of Dacrima, but I believe that I have invested enough time and effort to highly recommend it to adventurers who enjoy exploring an open world, solving puzzles, and following a story. The art, sound, and voice-acting combine to make Dacrima a very pleasant world to spend time in and I look forward to continuing to play. While I have accomplished several major objectives, crafted the primary potions, and constructed the map, there is still much to do. Achieving 100% is probably a 30-40-hour endeavor for me. In this case, being a completionist is a good thing. It rewards me for doing something I am already enjoying and gives me a purpose for continuing to explore beyond the base story. REVIEW UPDATED - After 30 hours of peaceful gaming and discovery, I arrived at the final section to find out that I am suddenly "under fire." I am running for my life (with varying degrees of success), dodging, and attempting to platform my way to the end of a puzzle segment while being killed repeatedly. I got through it but it was not how I hoped this story would end. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow [b]IndieGems[/b] if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it.[/url][/quote]

[English version: see below] The Wilds of Dacrima ist ein charmantes Puzzle-Adventure, das Erkundung, Plattforming und Rätsel angenehm frisch kombiniert. Statt der üblichen Schalter-, Schlüssel- und Kombinationsrätsel liegt der Fokus hier stark auf Movement und Wegfindung: springen, schweben, teleportieren, Fähigkeiten clever kombinieren und erstmal überhaupt herausfinden, wo man eigentlich hinmuss. Die Fähigkeiten, die sich aus dem Brauen von alchemistischen Tränken ergeben, sind kreativ umgesetzt und sorgen zusammen mit Begleiter L-PIN und den Umgebungsmechaniken für abwechslungsreiche Puzzle-Bereiche. Besonders gut fand ich, dass das Spiel klar anzeigt, welche Fähigkeiten für einen Rätselbereich benötigt werden – das verhindert unnötiges Herumirren, ohne das Entdecken kaputtzumachen. Auch die Story hat mich positiv überrascht. Sie steht zwar klar hinter dem Gameplay zurück, liefert aber genug Motivation, interessante Figuren und einige unerwartete Momente. Vor allem die Dynamik zwischen Edric und L-PIN sowie der trockene, angenehm unaufdringliche Humor geben dem Spiel viel Persönlichkeit. Optisch gibt es eine schöne, abwechslungsreiche Low-Poly-Welt mit ruhigen, fast cozy wirkenden Vibes. Dazu passt auch der Soundtrack sehr gut. Ein paar kleinere Schwächen gibt es trotzdem: Das Schwimmen bzw. Tauchen fühlt sich stellenweise unnötig hakelig an, vor allem wegen der Kamera, und die freie Platzierung von L-PIN war manchmal etwas fummelig. Trotzdem bleibt unterm Strich ein sehr gutes Indie-Spiel mit viel Charme. Wer Puzzle-Adventures mag, aber mal etwas anderes als klassische Escape-Room-Rätsel sucht, sollte definitiv einen Blick darauf werfen. Reviewvideo (german): https://youtu.be/VUMN-cVB9RY [English version] The Wilds of Dacrima is a charming puzzle adventure that combines exploration, platforming, and puzzles in a pleasantly fresh way. Instead of the usual switches, keys, and combination puzzles, the focus here is strongly on movement and pathfinding: jumping, gliding, teleporting, combining abilities in clever ways, and often simply figuring out where you actually need to go first. The abilities, which come from brewing alchemical potions, are creatively designed and, together with your companion L-PIN and the environmental mechanics, create varied and engaging puzzle areas. I especially liked that the game clearly shows which abilities are needed for each puzzle section - this prevents unnecessary wandering around without taking away the joy of discovery. The story also surprised me in a positive way. It clearly takes a back seat to the gameplay, but still provides enough motivation, interesting characters, and a few unexpected moments. The dynamic between Edric and L-PIN in particular, as well as the dry and pleasantly subtle humor, give the game a lot of personality. Visually, the game offers a beautiful and varied low-poly world with calm, almost cozy vibes. The soundtrack fits this atmosphere very well. There are still a few minor weaknesses: swimming and diving can feel unnecessarily clunky at times, mainly because of the camera, and freely positioning L-PIN was sometimes a bit fiddly. Still, in the end, this is a very good indie game full of charm. If you enjoy puzzle adventures but are looking for something beyond classic escape-room-style puzzles, you should definitely give this one a look.

Amazing game. Could'nt stop playing it. Very well made.

It’s a cute little puzzle game to kill a few hours with, and honestly I’m surprised how unknown it seems to be for a newly released game of this qualitiy. The puzzles aren’t super difficult, but they’re fun and satisfying. The world is colorful and pretty and fun to explore. I would have loved to decorate the hub some more, but the thougt was there. The humor really worked for me, and the characters are genuinely charming. (If you love a certain necormancer in dragon age: Veilguard, you might like the main charakter here). You can tell the game was made with love. The only real downside: there are quite a few bugs, some of them almost game-breaking. I had to reload and replay parts of the game multiple times. At one point I had to rescue a squirrel from drowning (aka running around underwater) so the game would allow me to collect its fur. I also ended up staring at doors that were definitely open before deciding they suddenly weren’t anymore. Sometimes reloading fixed things (thank god the door thing, because I hadn't seen an unstuck button), sometimes it didn’t, and sometimes I just wiggled around the bugs with enough patience until the game finally gave up and let me continue. Disclaimer: I am really good at finding bugs in games... Nevertheless I recommend this game, since I still had lot of fun and I would not have dealt with the bugs if it didn't feel rewarding enough.

If you like 3d puzzle platformers this is a good pick. The atmosphere is nice and the abilities are interesting, thought the story is a bit lacking. As for difficulty I found the puzzles to be on the easier side but still very enjoyable. Huge bonus for puzzles and their completion being tracked automatically as well as telling you if you are missing unlocks required for completion. There was a little jank and I found two softlocks but I'm playing day 1, the devs have indicated they are working on fixes already.

the idea of this game is nice. I had hoped for more focus on the potion brewing process and a bit less guided story based playing, but that is a personal preference. The game in its mechanics feels a bit like it needed more time before releasing it. Some things like swiming but also generally moving are partly glitchy and could be a lot smoother.

The Wilds of Dacrima is a delightfully charming first-person adventure that masterfully blends exploratory puzzle-solving with a deeply relaxing, whimsical atmosphere. Stepping into the weathered boots of the aging alchemist Professor Edric Tayte, players are immediately immersed in a vibrant, stylized world teeming with bizarre flora and fauna that practically beg to be scanned, cataloged, and harvested. The core gameplay loop of gathering exotic ingredients to brew highly specific, status-altering potions feels incredibly rewarding, as each concoction seamlessly unlocks unique traversal abilities. This progression dynamic transforms exploration into a rewarding puzzle in its own right, making the act of uncovering the dense forest's ancient secrets a genuine joy. What truly elevates this indie title from a simple gathering simulator to a standout experience is the fantastic, narrative-driven dynamic between the eccentric protagonist and his unruly robot companion, L-P1N. Serving not only as a witty, sarcastic narrative foil but also as a versatile, physics-based placeable platform, the mechanical companion adds a clever and satisfying layer to the game's 3D platforming and environmental puzzles. Backed by gorgeous, atmospheric visuals and a wonderfully lighthearted tone, the game manages to deliver a compelling overarching mystery wrapped in a low-stakes adventure. It strikes a rare, perfect balance, remaining entirely accessible to casual newcomers while offering enough mechanical depth to keep seasoned puzzle enthusiasts thoroughly engaged. ✅ Enchanting, vibrant art style and a highly relaxing atmosphere. ✅ Engaging alchemy system with meaningful potion-crafting progression. ✅ Clever puzzle-platforming mechanics utilizing the robot companion. ✅ Witty humor and a heartwarming dynamic between the main characters. ❌ The relaxed, lower-stakes pacing might feel a bit slow for action-focused gamers. ❌ The robot companion can feel a bit awkwardly locked to the camera view, occasionally cluttering the screen. The Wilds of Dacrima is a beautifully crafted indie gem that offers a perfect mix of cozy exploration and creative puzzle design. It is a highly recommended journey for anyone looking to lose themselves in a magical, lighthearted fantasy world.

Very enjoyable game, even harder then the demo

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Solid puzzle game with a great vibe. I enjoyed my time with it! The puzzles are engaging but not unnecessarily difficult. The game was good at guiding me to the correct place despite feeling like a completely open world. I definitely went overboard collecting way more materials then I needed at any one point because I just enjoyed walking about :) I'd definitely recommend giving it a go!