Magical life-sim Kitori Academy is on the way for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, so we reached out to developer Cubenary to find out more…
We spoke to Bee Sanz, creator and cofounder of Cubenary, who also designs and writes for Kitori Academy, to find out more about the life-sim which sends us off to a wizard academy.
What is Kitori Academy?
Kitori Academy is a life sim about our experience as a wizard apprentice at the academy. It’s in development from, and published by, Cubenary.
When does Kitori Academy launch?
We don’t yet have a launch date for Kitori Academy, but we’ll keep an eye out!
What’s it about?
In Kitori Academy, we are an apprentice wizard. “The academy doors are open for anybody who wants to become a wizard; many future wizards join at a young age,” Sanz says. ”There will be unexpected events and strange things happening around the academy and surroundings.” From the game’s Steam page, we know we’ll be looking to “free the world from the curse that threatens innocent creatures,” and Sanz highlights this, adding, “As a future wizard, you will be invaluable in sorting out the mess. From the first day you join the academy, something strange happens, and you will slowly discover what’s happening.”
We’ll be accompanied by our spirit companion, who, it seems, can also take the form of a cat. “Your spirit companion will be presented to you on the first day at the academy in the welcome ceremony. The apprentice will be able to customise the appearance of the cat,” Sanz explains.
What’s the gameplay like?
We’ll be attending classes at the academy, while also exploring the lands around it. We wondered whether Kitori Academy’s gameplay would be tied to a timetable if we’re playing as an apprentice, but Sanz explains, “You are free to explore as much as you want and you won’t have to attend lessons at the academy if you don’t want to. There will be moments during the day when you will find a teacher in the classroom where you can report your progress and ask for assignments.”
We’ll find more activities throughout our time at Kitori Academy. “Exploring, fishing, bug catching, and attending classes are some things you can do daily, but there is so much more,” Sanz says. You can spend time bonding with your cat with treats, pets, or minigames. Some days you might think it will be a quiet day, but instead, one of the academy classrooms is a complete mess, and it’s your task to clean the goo that covers the floor and walls.”
Our classes include botanic class and spell class. The botanic class sees us tending our gardens and growing vegetables, but Sanz adds that the botanic class might “surprise players because there is a twist. There won’t be lessons only about plants but some of the creatures living in harmony with nature.” The spell class revolves around catching spell-creatures, as well as working on charms and potions. “One of the primary responsibilities of a wizard is to take care of folks, creatures and familiars,” Sanz adds. “The Healing Alchemy class will be the place for that. Apprentices will have to find magical remedies which involve harvesting, foraging, brewing potions and other tasks.”
On top of this, we’ll meet other apprentices and characters while exploring the academy, including a frog headmaster and a raccoon chef. “You interact with many of the apprentices differently; talk to them, listen to their stories, and they will occasionally ask you for help,” Sanz begins. “You will even have to lend them a hand dealing with a cheeky Tignis. There will be eight apprentices who can become best friends and have more in-depth stories. There are all sorts of quirky, magical creatures living in the academy. Many of them will be teachers, for example Mr Hopinkson, the headmaster, a giant lazy frog, or Holmes, the wise owl who teaches spells.”
What’s the world like?
Exploration looks to be an important part of Kitori Academy, and we’ll explore both the academy itself and the lands around it. “You live in a beautiful cottage outside the academy in Apprentice Town,” Sanz says. “Beyond the academy’s walls is an extensive and beautiful valley ready to be explored, with secrets, creatures, and interesting places to discover and gather more ingredients for your potions… We can’t wait for [players] to discover and interact with all the creatures in the valley and ride their broom,” she adds.
Any news on the Kitori Academy achievements?
We don’t yet have the Kitori Academy achievements, but we’ll update here when we do! “We want the achievements to reflect the apprentice’s progression in the academy,” Sanz explains. “We will give achievements when players master different magical skills like potion brewery.” As for Sanz’s idea of an ideal achievement list: “I like the achievements that reflect my progression in games, but my favourites are the unexpected ones that tell me I’ve taken a unique path.”
So, what do you think? Will you be keeping an eye out for Kitori Academy? Let us know in the comments!
