There are plenty of games that invite you to escape the pressures of everyday life, but few offer quite such an unusual way of doing it as REKA. Forget building a conventional house, buying a patch of land or settling down in a picturesque village. Here, your home has chicken legs, walks across the countryside and carries everything you need as you embark on a journey into the world of witchcraft. It is a wonderfully eccentric idea, but one that gives Emberstorm Entertainment’s adventure an identity all of its own. Beneath that charming premise lies a thoughtful exploration of Slavic folklore, nature, magic and the simple pleasures of making somewhere feel like home.
You step into the shoes of Reka, a young witch beginning her apprenticeship under the legendary Baba Yaga. With guidance from this mysterious figure, you gradually learn the ways of the natural and supernatural worlds, exploring autumnal forests, gathering ingredients, meeting villagers and uncovering the secrets hidden throughout the countryside. There is a story to follow, but REKA is just as interested in the journey itself as in reaching its conclusion. This is an adventure that encourages curiosity, creativity and taking your time, rather than constantly pushing you towards the next big event.
The full release brings Reka’s story to its emotional conclusion as she completes her apprenticeship and takes up the mantle of a legendary witch in her own right. It also expands the building system with additional furniture, decorations and exterior materials, alongside new quests, environmental features and animals. The result is a more complete experience that builds on the foundations established during Early Access, giving players even more reasons to lose themselves in its enchanting world.
A Home With a Mind of Its Own
Let’s be honest, the chicken-legged cottage is the star of the show. It is difficult not to smile at the sight of this wonderfully peculiar home striding across the landscape, carrying its owner through forests and over the countryside. More than a novelty, it serves as your central base of operations, providing a place to rest, organise your belongings and indulge in the game’s extensive creative possibilities. It is an imaginative twist on the familiar base-building formula, giving REKA a personality that is difficult to mistake for anything else.
Customising the cottage is one of the most enjoyable parts of the experience. You can expand its structure, add rooms, arrange furniture and experiment with different materials to create a space that reflects your own tastes. The full release makes this even more appealing, introducing additional furniture and decorative options for the interior, as well as more materials to transform the exterior. Whether you prefer something rustic and traditional or want to create a more elaborate little home, there is plenty of opportunity to experiment.
What makes the system particularly appealing is the relationship between building and exploration. Your cottage is not simply a structure that remains in one location while you go off adventuring. It accompanies you, making each new destination feel like another chapter in the life of your travelling home. There is a comforting sense of familiarity in returning to it after a day spent gathering ingredients or helping villagers, and the freedom to keep improving it gives you a personal project that continues long after the main story has reached its conclusion.
Learning the Ways of the Witch
Of course, being a witch involves considerably more than interior decoration. Under Baba Yaga’s tutelage, Reka gradually becomes familiar with the natural and supernatural forces that shape the world around her. Gathering plants, berries and other ingredients is an important part of the experience, encouraging you to pay attention to your surroundings and explore the countryside rather than rushing from one objective to another. These activities help establish a gentle rhythm, with the landscape becoming a place to investigate and appreciate rather than simply travel through.
Magic is woven into this relationship with nature. Brewing potions, using incantations and interacting with spirits all contribute to the sense that Reka is learning to understand a world that exists beyond ordinary human experience. The Slavic folklore influence gives these elements an appealing identity, helping the adventure feel rooted in something more distinctive than a generic fantasy setting. Baba Yaga is an especially fitting figure to guide this journey, bringing a sense of mystery and tradition to Reka’s apprenticeship.
There is also a pleasing amount of freedom in deciding what sort of witch you want to become. As you encounter villagers, you will hear their stories and discover the problems affecting their lives. Some need help with curses or ailments, while others simply have everyday troubles that require a little magical assistance. You can choose whether to use your abilities to help or hinder those you meet, giving your actions a personal flavour rather than making every interaction feel like another straightforward favour.
These encounters also provide practical rewards, including crafting recipes, building materials and decorative items. This creates a useful connection between helping the inhabitants of the world and developing your own travelling home. It gives you a reason to engage with the people you meet, while ensuring that exploration and progression remain closely connected. The quest structure can take a little time to find its rhythm, particularly in the earlier stages, but there is something satisfying about gradually becoming more capable and seeing your efforts reflected in the world around you.
The Spirits of the Forest
Human settlements are only part of what makes the countryside worth exploring. Nature spirits and wildlife play an important role in REKA, adding another layer to the relationship between magic and the environment. Feeding crows, interacting with woodland creatures and taming animals offer opportunities to engage with the natural world in ways that feel appropriate for a young witch learning her craft. These encounters make the landscape feel more alive, and the prospect of discovering another unusual creature gives exploration an additional sense of purpose.
The ability to tame animals and bring them along as loyal companions is particularly charming. There is something wonderfully fitting about travelling through an enchanted forest with a collection of creatures accompanying your chicken-legged cottage. These interactions also offer blessings and assistance with exploration, giving them a purpose beyond simply adding another cute detail to the adventure. The game understands that its appeal comes partly from creating a world that feels welcoming and full of little discoveries.
Importantly, REKA does not need to constantly throw danger or urgency at the player to maintain interest. Its appeal comes from the atmosphere, the freedom to explore and the gradual accumulation of small experiences. Finding ingredients, meeting a new character, discovering a spirit or returning home to make another improvement can be rewarding in its own right. It is a refreshing change of pace for anyone who enjoys games that allow them to settle into their own routine.
A Fairytale Painted in Autumn Colours
Visually, REKA does a wonderful job of establishing its identity. The autumnal countryside, mist-covered forests and rustic architecture create an atmosphere that feels as if it belongs in an old folk tale. There is a natural beauty to the environments, with the changing scenery constantly inviting you to wander a little further and see what might be waiting beyond the trees. The overall presentation favours mood and character over spectacle, which is exactly the right approach for this adventure.
The walking cottage deserves special mention, too. Watching it move across the landscape is inherently entertaining, and its unusual design gives the world a touch of whimsy without undermining the more mysterious elements of the setting. It is a memorable visual centrepiece, and the additional exterior customisation options in the full release make it even more enjoyable to personalise. Your home becomes part of the scenery, rather than just somewhere to return to when the exploring is finished.
The audio presentation complements the visuals with soothing music, folk-inspired instrumentation and environmental sounds that help bring the countryside to life. The rustling of leaves, forest ambience and the warmth of a crackling fireplace all contribute to the feeling of being somewhere removed from the modern world. It is the sort of soundscape that encourages you to slow down and appreciate your surroundings. Together, the music and environmental audio make REKA an especially inviting game to spend time with.
A Few Imperfections Beneath the Magic
For all its charm, REKA is not entirely without problems. The early quest pacing can feel a little drawn out, with the initial stages taking their time before the full range of building freedom becomes available. While learning the basics of Reka’s new life is important, some players may find the adventure takes a while to properly open up. Those arriving primarily for the cottage-building side of the experience may need a little patience before they can fully indulge their creativity.
There are also occasional technical irritations, including performance stutters and camera clipping, particularly when navigating denser forest areas or working with more elaborate cottage designs. These issues do not fundamentally undermine the experience, but they can interrupt the otherwise relaxing atmosphere. Building and decorating should feel like an opportunity to unwind, so anything that gets in the way is disappointing. A little more refinement would make an already appealing experience feel considerably smoother.
Nevertheless, these shortcomings are relatively modest compared with what the game gets right. The full release feels like a meaningful expansion of the original concept, with additional quests, environmental features, animals and customisation options helping to make the world feel more complete. Most importantly, the conclusion to Reka’s apprenticeship gives the adventure a proper emotional destination, while the freedom to continue gathering, decorating and taming creatures means there is no need to consider the journey over once the final mystery has been revealed.
A Little Piece of Witchcraft Worth Calling Home
REKA succeeds because it understands the appeal of its unusual premise. It does not need to be a sprawling epic filled with constant combat or dramatic set pieces. Instead, it offers something more personal: the chance to become a witch, explore an atmospheric world inspired by Slavic folklore, and build a home that quite literally walks alongside you. The combination of exploration, gathering, magical interactions, and creative building gives the experience a gentle yet rewarding rhythm.
The chicken-legged cottage is an inspired idea, but the game has enough substance beyond that initial novelty to make the journey worthwhile. Its world is inviting, its folklore influences give it character, and its building systems provide a satisfying creative outlet. The story also gives Reka’s journey a sense of purpose, allowing players to follow her development from apprentice to a witch ready to stand on her own. There are some pacing and technical issues, but they rarely overshadow the warmth and imagination at the heart of the experience.
Emberstorm Entertainment has created something that feels genuinely different from the usual cosy adventure. REKA is not simply about escaping into a pretty countryside setting; it is about finding your place in a world of old magic, helping those you encounter, and making a travelling home that feels entirely your own. It is a little rough around the edges, perhaps, but there is plenty of heart here. For anyone who has ever fancied living the life of a wandering witch, with a magical cottage and a few woodland companions for company, this is an adventure well worth taking.
