Games like Diner Dash and Cake Mania will always hold a special place in my heart and my game library.  It was these types of time-management games that showed me there was more to this whole “casual gaming” craze than color and shape matching puzzles.  In fact, time-management games are one of the most popular genres of casual games, ranking right up there with match-three and hidden-object games.  Developers Myth People have released their latest entry into this genre with the medieval-themed game Miriel the Magical Merchant.

In the game you play Miriel, a young shop owner with magical abilities, specifically the ability to create things that other people need.  You spend the day serving water, flour, eggs, and other assorted goods to the various denizens of the realm.  As you progress through the game, you will gain new products that you can create to sell.  As well as single goods, you can use recipes to create things like bread, pies, and cakes.  This requires creating two different goods and combining them in the oven.  As the levels increase, the complexity of the patron’s orders increase.  Don’t let them wait too long, or they will leave in a huff and lower your rating for the level.  There are helps later in the game that will either ease the wait or make the wait shorter.  These will become an important part of the strategy of the game.

All along the way, the player is treated to a story told through illustrated cut-scenes between certain levels which suggests a mysterious destiny for Miriel.  The story is well-told, and the illustrations and nicely done.  Over all, the graphic quality is top-notch.  The one problem that I have with it is that, as smoothly as everything else is animated in the game, the patrons bounce in like paper dolls pasted to Popsicle sticks.  I suppose this wouldn’t be so bad, but you will often see their feet bouncing up and down, which completely ruins any illusion of movement without animation.

As you unlock different recipes for things to make to serve your patrons, you also unlock real-world recipes for the same goods.  I have yet to try and make any of them, but from the looks of the ingredients, they look quite good.  A unique addition to what turned out to be quite a fun game.  Miriel the Magical Merchant turns out to be a much deeper time-management game, focusing less on memorizing patterns of clicking and more on the strategy of what to click when.  This helps to lift it out of the crowded genre and make it a visible alternative to the other titles.  While some may feel it is “more of the same,” you should give it a try.  You may be surprised as Miriel works her magic on you.

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(5 votes, average: 4.8 out of 5)

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