An Update on the Launch

Hello from the Garden Witch Life Team!

Thank you to everyone who gave our game a chance! We are so thankful for all of your support and we love seeing your reactions to the world and characters we have built. It is really heartwarming to see how many of you connect with our stories in different ways.

Now for the painful part. It has become apparent that the experience has been very different for a lot of you. We hear you.

We would like to apologize for the rocky launch of Garden Witch Life. We are very aware that there are issues plaguing the game and we are very sorry about that.

We take your concerns very seriously and have been working on bug fixes since the launch and we will continue to do so.

We do not want to deflect the criticism. In hindsight, we made mistakes, and we misjudged, and we are sorry this has led to a lot of frustration for many of you.

What happened?

There was a technical error delivering the correct versions to consoles, and because of that, Switch and other consoles are on an older version than they are supposed to be.

Many of the bugs you are encountering now are technically fixed but need to be re-delivered. Due to the complicated process involving many parties this takes some time and we can’t predict how long this will be. Meanwhile, we are collecting and fixing new bugs players encounter that couldn’t be found prior to release by our publisher’s QA team. We have already fixed many of those bugs, but they still have to go through the same approval process that is out of our hands.

You can help us by reporting new bugs in the dedicated channels on our Discord server. If you haven’t yet, please join us here: Discord We have separate channels for bug reports and for feedback for future content updates.

Why no Early Access?

This decision was reached together with our publishing partner. While Garden Witch Life is not our first game, it’s a way bigger project than the last. With their 20 years of experience publishing games we trust in their judgment.

That does not mean the game is a done deal! Of course our first priority is to fix the issues you have been encountering, but after that we will continue to listen to the community and work on new content updates.

When will be the next update

Most of the fixes are already done and ready. But we need to wait for our partners to process the delivery. Due to the complicated process involving many parties, this takes some time and we can’t predict how long this will be. We are hoping to have a new patch online for you as soon as possible, but unfortunately this is mostly out of our hands.

What are we working on now?

First and foremost we prioritize pushing the console versions to be up to date. Since this process must go through other parties, we concentrate on collecting and fixing new bugs as soon as they are reported by the community. We have already fixed a lot of bugs that were reported by the community and will continue to do so. A list with known bugs and a list with already fixed bugs can be found in the dedicated channels on our Discord server, and at the end of this announcement.

Some of the most common concerns and questions from the community:

Progress Reset

Arguably the worst bug is losing progress. When you pass out right when using the bed you end up getting reset. Until this is resolved in the next patch(es) make sure to only go to bed when you have 2 fatigue left or pass out instead.

This game is so slow and boring!

We intended for our game to be a slow relaxed experience. It was never meant to be a race to the top. In fact we are trying to address competitive hustle culture with our game and show alternative ways of living with the ultimate goal to get away from societal pressure and connect with nature. We understand that this is not for everyone and that is okay. While we do plan to add more quests and goals in the game, we do not want it to become too pressuring and status- and capital-driven.

Making Money

One of the most misunderstood mechanics seems to be the Community Box vs MagiBuy. The whole idea behind those two options is the direct comparison of community driven local businesses and big corporations.

MagiBuy is fast money, but it doesn’t pay much. You can use it early in the game to slowly get your first money. The community box takes a while, but is meant to gradually become the better option. As you progress through the story and increase friendship with the villagers you will sell more items and get up to two times the amount of money per item while also supporting your local community.

Fatigue

We see that most people don’t like the fatigue system. And we understand that. The initial idea behind that was to promote mindfulness and show that it’s okay to slow down in your daily life. But instead it has become a huge source of frustration. We understand that in its current state it has the opposite effect of what we were trying to achieve. This is why we are internally discussing this issue and plan to either improve it or remove it completely. We will keep you updated on that in future news posts.

Running out of Quests

We did not intend for the whole game to be a continuous string of quests. Rather the quests were meant to be a nice addition to an otherwise relaxing game in which you choose what to do next. The quests in our game are supposed to be discovered, or stumbled upon by exploring the world and progressing in friendships with the villagers. They would slowly open up to you and let you be part of their story.

That said, we noticed that some players are stuck with quests and are unsure if that was it. This is something we want to address with the next and future patch(es).

We also plan to add more new quests for clearer guidance and a better feeling of progression.

I need more tutorials!

We are planning to add more tutorials in the future! Our priority now is fixing all the bugs first and adding more content later.

When bug X is fixed will I be able to continue in my current save game or do I have to start over?

We try our best to make sure your old save game can be continued. For most cases this should be achievable, but we can not guarantee all save games will be compatible in the future.

I lost my tools, where did they go?

There is currently a bug where you can plant your tools. Unfortunately the only solution to that is to buy new tools. This will be fixed in the next patch. We also reduced the price for starter tools, so they should be easier to access.

I can’t see tooltips on my console!

This will be fixed in the next patch.

Is the empty chest bug fixed and will I need to restart?

This should be fixed with the next patch. We heard people were concerned that they would need to restart their game because of this. We can assure you that this should not be necessary. We will implement this in a way that will give you a copy of the chest, so nothing will be lost and you can continue with your current savegame.

My whisk and grater aren’t working! What should I do?

This will be fixed in the next patch.

How do I heal my character?

Certain foods can heal your character. We rebalanced this for the next patch, so there will be more options for healing your character.

Are we going to get more clothes / furniture?

We are indeed planning on making content patches in the future! Our priority now is fixing all the bugs first and adding more content later.

How can I help? / I need help!

The best way to contact us if you need help with the game is on our Discord server.

While we understand that you want us to directly respond on social media, it does make things more complicated for us and will slow down the bug fixing process. We are only a small team and have limited time in the day. We want to make sure to use that time efficiently so our players get new patches as soon as possible.

Of course we will still continue to answer as many people as we can on social media, since not everyone will know about this. That’s why another way you can help us is to spread the word. If you see somebody struggling, please let them know kindly that we are working on solutions, bug fixes and that we have a Discord server with amazing mods and a lovely community that will be very happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have. We also have a news section on Discord for all official updates and progress we can share with you, an FAQ, a Known Bugs list and of course channels where you can report your bugs or give us feedback and share your ideas for future content updates.

Known Issues

Fixed In Upcoming Patch (1.0.19)

Overwriting saves will not retain their names
Library locked preventing quest progression
Item Tooltips not showing with controllers
Unable to Scroll down in mail while using controllers
Plantable tools
Missing tutorials
Tutorial pop ups missing
Unable to see/select locations on the map
Grapes not selling
Melon Race not Working
Compost not Healing Soil
Progress Resetting after Fainting
Nettles Not Naturally Spawning
Reports of Empty Chests in various regions
Decorations being placed backwards from preview.
Battery not able to be charged if placed in charger before starting Tin’s quest.
Quitting cooking early uses ingredients up
Unable to split stacks
Summer Festival not starting / ending on entering buildings
Crashing when replacing stacks in inventories
Various camera angle making swimming look like flying
Camera glitches when swimming in the mines
Witch hat showing bald head when camera intersects environment / close up
Unable to move Apiary
Community Box not selling single item stacks
Whisk and Grater getting stuck while in use forcing manual exit
Unable to select teleport locations

Known Issues

Tools duplicating on save and reload
Disappearing Quests
Unable to move during Aurel’s friendship quest
Cooking skill not increasing
Tutorials not Translated
Unable to leave the Fairy Forest Teleporter location
Oven is Missing
Basement is Empty
Able to Walk underwater in the Fairy Forest
Character creator lighting
Some features do not show while in Character creator (eg. Freckles, Blush)
Players getting stuck in broken Vases in the house
Settings getting reset
Missing ground textures on path to mines and mountain
When gifting it gives more than one of the item
Cursor Invisible / missing while using Controller on PC
Double chairs place in Café
Planting Potatoes and Tomatoes quest text doubles repeatedly.