Reka: Version 1.0 of the Witchy Adventure Gets a New Release Date

For a little over two years now, Baba Yaga has been training the next generation of witches in Reka—at least in Early Access. After the original August 18 launch was called off because of bugs and performance issues, the game now has a new release date.

You know what annoys me about getting older? Slowly but surely, I keep catching myself saying the same things everyone else does. Things like: "My God, has it really been two years already?" Yes, damn it! It really has been two years since I first started my apprenticeship under Baba Yaga.

That was back on September 12, 2024, when Reka (Steam page / GOG Dreamlist) entered Early Access. You'd think its familiar problems—especially poor performance, stuttering and progression blockers—would have been ironed out by now, but apparently not.

As recently as August 11, the developers said that Reka's current state was proving more difficult to sort out than expected, initially announcing only that version 1.0 would be delayed. Now the team at Emberstorm Entertainment has returned to Steam to announce what will hopefully be the final release date: October 26.

I say "hopefully" because Emberstorm is clearly aiming for a Halloween launch here, no doubt partly for business reasons. Whether the team can actually get the game's many rough edges under control by then remains to be seen.

Reka's playable demo returns in improved form

In the Steam post linked above, the Reka developers also announced that the playable demo will return on September 29. Not in its original form, of course, but as a substantially improved version. At the same time, Emberstorm shared a few new screenshots from version 1.0, one of which you can see below.

The release version won't just bring a host of optimizations, of course; it'll also include the final chapter of the story. The developers plan to show off quite a bit of it before launch because, as we all know, more promotion means more reach. In theory, anyway.

What Reka is about

If Reka has somehow passed you by so far, here's the short version: the game is named after its protagonist, Reka, an aspiring witch and apprentice to the legendary "head witch" Baba Yaga. Its world draws heavily on Slavic folklore and is set in rural Central Europe in the late 19th century.

Playing as Reka, you travel through forests and villages with a living witch's house—on chicken legs!—by your side, treat the locals with varying degrees of kindness and gradually uncover Baba Yaga's secrets. Most of your time is spent exploring the world, crafting medicine and magical tools from gathered ingredients, completing quests, taming animals and decorating your wandering witch's house.

Parts of Reka's landscapes are procedurally generated, by the way, giving its exploration and travel a slight sandbox feel. Right now, the game costs $20 on Steam. According to Emberstorm, the full release may end up costing more, although that hasn't been decided yet.