Alchemist: The Potion Monger
- October 16, 2023
- Art Games Studio S.A.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Alchemist: The Potion Monger" is a simulation puzzle and RPG game where you play as an apprentice alchemist in a world of anthropomorphic animals. Choose your character's race, brew potions with various tools, and sell them to residents to become wealthy. You can also use the potions yourself during your adventures for various benefits.
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- Engaging potion crafting system that encourages creativity and experimentation with various ingredients and effects.
- Charming art style and humorous narration create a delightful atmosphere, making the game enjoyable and relaxing.
- Active developers who listen to community feedback and show promise for future updates and content expansion.
- The game suffers from bugs and performance issues, particularly with quest progression and saving mechanics tied to sleeping.
- Combat mechanics are rudimentary and can feel unbalanced, leading to frustration during encounters.
- The game world feels small and lacks content, with many areas feeling empty and limited activities outside of main quests.
- story32 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a mix of dark and creative quests, where players often face morally ambiguous tasks, such as transforming townsfolk into sheep. While the main narrative is minimal and unfolds later in the game, the quest design encourages player creativity through various potion effects and branching choices, enhancing replayability. However, some players find the level of cruelty in certain quests baffling, and the overall plot may feel underdeveloped compared to the engaging gameplay loop of exploration and crafting.
“The quests give just enough guidance to do stuff without any real hand-holding.”
“A fun story and a genuinely interesting game :)”
“The current gameplay loop of exploration, experimentation, crafting, and quest completing plays very well and is quite enjoyable.”
“There's a bizarre level of cruelty to this game's quests which I find baffling.”
“There are only a few secondary quests and apart from that there are contracts, which are just crafting and delivering specific potions in a limited amount of in-game days.”
“No need to look for plot either, it's tiny and will be discovered in the latter half of the main quest.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Gameplay experiences vary, with some players finding the mechanics, particularly in combat and brewing, to be underwhelming or buggy. However, many appreciate the balanced gameplay loop of exploration, crafting, and quest completion, noting its enjoyable nature and flexibility in resource management. Overall, while there are areas for improvement, the core gameplay elements are well-executed and engaging.
“The gameplay loop is decently well balanced with earnings and improvements balancing out well, and the flexibility of the manner in which to obtain aspects from multiple resources based on availability is an excellent, well-executed idea, especially in endgame when all tools are available for transmutations.”
“The current gameplay loop of exploration, experimentation, crafting, and quest completing plays very well and is quite enjoyable.”
“My gameplay has been nearly bug-free, save one bug that caused me to lose some progress - maybe 5 to 10 minutes tops - due to the game soft-locking in a menu.”
“Further fight mechanics do not function too well.”
“The brewing mechanics also did not seem to register well with my setup - don't know whether it is an issue on my side or rough programming.”
“Functional but too short, plays out part of the tutorial that explains core mechanics and ends before letting players see the outside world.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are generally considered unpolished and low-poly, with environments that are better appreciated from a distance. While some players find the cozy art style and attention to detail in the UI and menus enjoyable, others note that the overall aesthetic is unimpressive and may struggle on lower-end hardware. Despite these criticisms, the unique combination of graphics and gameplay elements contributes to a distinct experience.
“I kinda love this game; the combination of the cozy graphics, freeform puzzles, and tonal whiplash make it a very unique experience.”
“The art style is excellent, giving the game a distinct look and feel that is quite enjoyable.”
“A lot of attention to detail has been put into the UI and the artwork of the menus, and it shines through.”
“Graphics of this game are nothing to write home about; the environments are done well and can be enjoyed from a distance, but overall it's pretty low-poly.”
“Middle and low-end hardware may struggle; reducing graphics quality helps.”
“No reason apart from aesthetics.”
- stability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game exhibits some bugs typical of early access titles, but developers are responsive in addressing these issues. While some players report occasional soft-locks and minor progress loss, others have experienced relatively smooth gameplay. Overall, stability is a mixed bag, with a tendency towards improvement as updates are released.
“My gameplay has been nearly bug-free, save for one bug that caused me to lose some progress - maybe 5 to 10 minutes tops - due to the game soft-locking in a menu.”
“A bit buggy sometimes, but it is early access and the devs are good at addressing said bugs fairly quickly.”
“Buggy unfinished Unity game.”
“While it can feel a little buggy from time to time, you quickly learn how to draw the symbols needed to complete the challenges and an automated recipe system can help protect your most valuable ingredients from bad luck.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some users report no performance issues and a smooth experience, others note that the full game performs worse than the demo. Overall, the feedback highlights a disparity in performance consistency.
“Performance: 10/10”
“Performance in the full game is worse than in the demo.”
“Performance in the full game is worse than in the demo.”
“No performance issues to speak of, and the game runs very well.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding in the game to be manageable and not overly burdensome, appreciating the variety of quest completion methods that enhance replay value. The inclusion of material gathering and an intricate potion brewing system, along with features like auto brewing, contributes to a more enjoyable experience, despite some elements of farming. Overall, the game strikes a balance between grinding and engaging gameplay.
“I always want a relaxing potion-making game with a mix of magical life simulation and open world exploration without the dreadful farming mechanic.”
“The grinding is not so bad currently, but it still feels like a chore that detracts from the overall experience.”
“While the game has a great alchemy system, the constant need for material gathering and farming can become tedious.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the high replayability due to the multiple quest completion methods available, which encourage varied playthroughs. Additionally, the manageable grinding experience enhances the overall enjoyment of revisiting the game.
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a limited number of tracks that are enjoyable and not bothersome to players.
“The music is good; there are just a few musical tracks, but they are enjoyable and not annoying.”
