If you love that pastel paradise, magical girl aesthetic, you absolutely must grab Calico. I had a hard time putting this one down even after I had completed everything, and I’m honestly tempted to start a new game just to experience the magic all over again. Seriously, if you’re still reading this, just go buy Calico and get that serotonin injection you deserve. Your brain will thank you.

Calico does something unique and different, so if you’re interested in a management game with magical girls and giant cats, you’ll probably be able to forget its technical errors and design flaws.

Both a tranquil and amusing game that has its moment of natural charm in certain gameplay and narrative elements, but falls short when that charm feels forced. The lack of quality in its visuals and quest lines hinder it from being a great game, but still worth a look for younger audiences.

My eight-year-old self would have absolutely loved Calico to bits, I'm sure. Unfortunately, I am no longer a wide-eyed, curious 8-year-old girl--I'm a game reviewer whose tolerance for bugs and simplistic gameplay has worn thin over the decades. As much as I wish I could view Calico through the eyes of an imaginative youngster, I can't. Perhaps if you are better at embracing your childlike fantasies, you may be able to overlook Calico's many flaws and appreciate its imaginative, fairy-dust-sprinkled charm, but I feel that the magic will wear thin quite quickly.

For fans looking to pick up a new simulation game with a sweet art style and fun mechanics, they may want to wait a while before trying Calico. The game has a lot of potential, but in its current state the bugs and interface can make playing less of a relaxing escape to a pet café, and more of a frustrating battle to get anything done. Calico could have benefitted from a little more time to polish the rough areas in its gameplay, and maybe another look at cleaning up the graphics so the unique art and detailed avatars could really shine in the pastel wonderland of the world the developer has created. For now, though, the multitude of issues plaguing Calico make for an experience that's hard to recommend, though a few sizeable fixes could turn things around for the charming title.