I think I understood the concept... but it was a bit difficult to comprehend. I'm supposed to look at the top left, and then find the ingredients with '+' or '++' by the shapes displayed? I understood... but in practice it was very difficult to keep track of what ingredients I needed.

Because the directions were not explicit I had no idea if I was on the right track, and gave up after several failed attempts to brew a potion.

A few suggestions that could make it more accessible:

• Reduce total amount of alchemical symbols, at least so you don't have to scroll through the bottom left book every time. You should be able to see everything when you mouse over each ingredient.
• Make the cauldron show the current ratio of alchemical symbols so you don't have to keep it all in your head.
• Make the alchemical symbols more distinct. Some of them were great, like the bat wings. But others felt indistinct and so it didn't stick in your mind as much, like the various rounded rectangles and rhombus shapes. Think distinctly different like Crescent Moon, X, +, Bat Wing, and Star
• Tutorial system to teach you how to brew successfully
• A failure message telling me what I did wrong

I think if you fixed the confusion around the system, there's a lot of promise here and it's very charming and made me want to play. I love all the art for the various ingredients. Very nice illustrations and layout in that menu. Also loved the vibe of the music and sounds. It did feel satisfying to use the alchemy kits. I also really loved the art and the way his hat bounces while he walks!

The vibe of the music and art and anims was very cozy / stardewlike which was awesome.

I didnt really understand what the objective of the mixing was though

I didnt understand how can I brew the correct potion