Hogwarts Legacy fans should check out this free Steam download

My childhood was spent, like many other Harry Potter fans, wishing I could attend Hogwarts.

In recent years where I have strayed from the fandom, I have found myself searching for other ways to experience that magic and luckily, I think I have found it within the walls of Whimel Academy.

Whimel Academy is an upcoming cosy time-management sim where you play as a witch or wizard attending the magical school.

You will live the day-to-day life of a student as they attend classes, learn to fly, go shopping for magical supplies and befriend, or even romance, fellow classmates.

Designed in first-person perspective, you will decide how you live out each day at the Whimel Magical Academy but with each activity taking up both time and energy, you will have to prioritise what you will spend your time doing.

In the free demo that is currently available on Steam, you have access to the first week at school as well as a sneak peek at some of the activities you can get up to.

Impossible Home

Whether that is hanging out with the fiery Ida, mysterious Lumi, shy Daisy or boisterous Cyrus, I can only expect that there are more magical people to meet throughout the grounds of the academy.

So much so that developers Impossible Home assure players that there will be male, female and non-binary characters finding their home at Whimel Academy and from my short time playing the demo, I can already tell it is going to be a diverse cast.

It is worth noting that with some activities being time-gated, you had better keep a close eye on your class schedule so you don’t fall behind on schoolwork. Not only that but attending classes will unlock more areas for you to explore on the school grounds.

This can include the greenhouse, astronomy tower, flying fields and more.

Attending classes won’t just do well for your six-year record at the academy but it will also help you level up skills.

Skills are split into different attribute sections: physical such as combat and flying, mental for healing and reasoning, emotional for herbology and kindness skills and finally magical for alchemy and spell work to name but a few.

Every activity you take part in will reward you with skills, and levelling up different attributes will unlock more dialogue when it comes to befriending or romancing classmates.

Impossible Home

As with any magical school, you will also have to take time to practise your flying, attending to the greenhouse, star gazing in the Astronomy Tower or even talking on a part-time job such as fortune telling in order to earn a bit more money.

It is this money that can be spent over the weekend when you will be able to go shopping.

In the ramshackle but cute shopping street, you will be able to purchase equipment such as cauldrons, ingredients for your spells, books to increase skills, room decor to decorate your dorm room and even tasty food to increase your energy.

Whimel Academy’s days will end either when you run out of energy (which can also be refreshed at the dining hall) or when it hits nighttime.

The game will end when you have graduated from Whimel Academy after six-years and players will receive a specific ending based on their actions throughout their stay.

Not only that but there are over 30 endings which can be achieved by following different careers, befriending different people and levelling up certain skills.

Although this can all sound a bit daunting, rest assured that Whimel Academy is far from a challenging time-management sim.

Gameplay is laid back and despite having to plan out your days, there is no punishment for not doing so. As a result, this game could not feel any cosier despite having the ‘management’ tag attached.

Whimel Academy is set for early access release in Q4 of 2024 so there is not long to wait if you, like me, always imagined attending a magical school when you were a kid.

Until then, check out its free Steam demo for a little teaser.