The tactical combat system involves players battling on an isometric grid, but also includes timing-based elements akin to the Paper Mario series.

In the story, the player initially controls Maritte Hildegaard, a non-magical teenage girl who journeys to the titular magical school Ikenfell, in an attempt to investigate the disappearance of her witch sister Safina.

[7][5] Players initially control Maritte Hildegaard, a teenager who travels to the magical school of Ikenfell to find her sister Safina, who has gone missing since summer break.

Meeting with Ima and Gilda, they go to the Summerstone, a large orb which imprisons the Dark Fold, a destructive wave of magic seemingly precipitating the strange events.

Believing her sister wanted to free the Dark Fold, Maritte has a panic attack and rids herself of her magic, and decides to leave Ikenfell.

Ima asks the school's raven deity to remove Maritte and get help, but it refuses to do either, instead sending the party to the ancient ruins of old Ikenfell.

Aeldra, the current headmistress of Ikenfell, was the only survivor, using her friends' magic powers to construct the Summerstone, imprisoning both the Dark Fold and the Sapling.

As they try convincing Aeldra to stop her vain attempt to preserve the Sapling, her stress breaks her cauldron, overwhelming her and making her lose contact with reality.

Aeldra retires, leaving the role of headmistress to Ima and dueling teacher Radegund, who begin research into the new knowledge created by the next magical generation.

After reading Rainbow Rowell's young adult novel Carry On, he was inspired to make a video game about a magic school using his tools.

[2] Later, Johnston also brought on consultant Joanna Blackhart to ensure that the game's portrayal of LGBT characters was accurate and inoffensive, a process that led to a "rewriting" of parts of the story.

Much of the game was developed in a public library, influencing its artistic direction and plot; he borrowed vintage books from the collections to use as references.

Johnston designed each party member's moves so they could be used in many different ways, while still being fundamental to the character, comparing this philosophy to Mario's basic skillset.

[20] PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life pointed out the "impressive range of enemy types" among other elements as contributing to the game's strategical depth.

[4][21][22] Slant also complained about the combat design, stating that it involved "selecting an attack, and then cancelling that move to place them in a different space once you see that they’re not properly positioned".

Corrigan was more negative, describing it as "unusual",[4] criticising implausible and on-the-nose elements in the plot, and the incongruous manner in which LGBT issues were included.

Conversely, both Rochlin and Slant lauded these elements, with the former stating that the game wore "its progressiveness on its sleeve" and provided a much-needed focus on the importance of relationships.

[7] However, reactions to the vocal segments were more disparate, with LeClair stating that they "enhance the mood even further",[1] but Corrigan calling them poor quality, remarking that she was tempted to turn down the volume.