Alchemy Stars

Alchemy Stars is a revolutionary line strategy RPG with an interesting plot, compelling graphics, and wonderful music. Its engaging gameplay and wholesome story make it a must-play, but be prepared for some grinding and occasional bugs. Overall, it offers a great experience for fans of the genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 940 reviews

gameplay267 positive mentions

grinding94 negative mentions

The game features stunning graphics and character designs, making it visually appealing.
The gameplay is unique and engaging, combining puzzle mechanics with strategic combat.
The developers are generous with rewards, making it friendly for free-to-play players.

The loading times are excessively long, which can hinder the overall experience.
The auto-battle AI is often ineffective, leading to frustrating gameplay during resource farming.
There is a lack of a skip or sweep function for completed stages, making grinding tedious.

gameplay
480 mentions
56 % positive mentions
42 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is widely praised for its unique and engaging mechanics, combining strategic tile-matching with turn-based combat, which keeps players actively thinking and planning their moves. While many players appreciate the depth and challenge it offers, some note that it can become repetitive over time, especially with the reliance on RNG elements. Overall, the gameplay is considered fun, visually appealing, and accessible, making it a standout in the gacha genre.
- “The gameplay is unique and very engaging, and it's really free-to-play if you wait and search online for information.”
- “The gameplay is fun and strategic, allowing for a lot of planning with multiple ways to beat any stage.”
- “The gameplay is surprisingly fun, with a unique blend of puzzle, strategy, and action that keeps you engaged.”
- “The gameplay is not as exhilarating as other strategy games out there, and I may be biased, but the gameplay was just not it for me.”
- “The gameplay is very unique and I welcome it with open arms, but at the same time hate it because you really need to think your moves to finish a level.”
- “Gameplay is decent but extremely repetitive and rng gated.”
story
427 mentions
57 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its depth, engaging characters, and beautiful artwork, with many players finding it immersive and well-written. While some reviews note pacing issues and occasional translation errors, the overall narrative is considered compelling and enjoyable, often enhancing the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the character interactions and the evolving plot, making it a significant draw for the game despite some criticisms regarding grind and resource management.
- “The story is immersive, the characters and their stories are interesting, and don't feel copy and pasted.”
- “The story, music, characters, gameplay, background, and animations both in aurorian recruitment and gameplay animations are all beautiful and absolutely stunning.”
- “The story is captivating, the art is great, and even though there are a lot of in-game purchases available, you can actually steadily progress without them.”
- “The story is quite decent so far, but not particularly excellent.”
- “The story gets exhausting to read and tutorials get confusing as the game just dumps these new systems and info onto the player, not to mention the UI which looks good in all the pages but is overcrowded.”
- “The story is rushed.”
graphics
186 mentions
69 % positive mentions
30 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning art style, beautiful character designs, and vibrant visuals, contributing to an engaging overall aesthetic. Many players appreciate the high-quality animations and detailed environments, although some have noted performance issues on lower-end devices and occasional graphical glitches. Overall, the game's visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the storytelling and gameplay experience.
- “The graphics are stunning and the story is engaging.”
- “I really enjoy the artwork and aesthetic of this game, so far the characters have been charming and visually everything is stunning and high quality, and the combat is quite fun!”
- “Amazing and innovative gameplay, beautiful graphics and animations, a really engaging and interesting story.”
- “Secondly, the text is graphically distorted upon summoning a 5-star / 6-star unit.”
- “New feature cloud garden, I can't play at all on my device Oppo A12; that feature really needs a high graphic phone to play it. Common guys, fix it or lower the requirement for cloud garden.”
- “The UI is painful to look at with the text being blurry, which would be fixed by upping the graphics, which would in turn cause performance issues that are also present on the lowest settings.”
grinding
95 mentions
1 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
99 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and time-consuming, particularly due to the lack of a skip or sweep function for resource farming. While some appreciate the strategic elements and find the grinding manageable, others feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, especially when combined with slow auto-battle mechanics. Suggestions for improvement include faster auto-play options and more efficient resource collection methods to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “The grind is simple and easy, yet it never feels tedious.”
- “Grinding in this game is rewarding and keeps me engaged.”
- “I love how the grind feels satisfying and not like a chore.”
- “I uninstalled due to the grinding.”
- “Sadly, it is overshadowed by the need for time-consuming grinding.”
- “The main problem is that grinding is boring.”
music
86 mentions
66 % positive mentions
34 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its beauty and emotional depth, while some criticize the battle music as underwhelming and not fitting for boss encounters. Overall, the soundtrack is often described as immersive and well-composed, enhancing the game's aesthetic and storytelling. Players appreciate the variety and quality of the music, with standout tracks that contribute significantly to the overall experience.
- “The music is truly sublime, creating an immersive and emotional atmosphere that perfectly complements the gameplay.”
- “Beautiful character designs and art, amazing music and an engaging story make this game worth a download.”
- “The art is absolutely gorgeous, the music is extremely soulful and fitting, and the story and interactions with characters are so great that I don't even care about the gacha part anymore.”
- “The music is somewhat okay, because the battle music is really meh (even when you fight a boss, the music makes it sound like an ordinary enemy) but outside of that, it's good.”
- “Every time I download this game, I suddenly find 12 music folders on my phone no matter how many times I delete the folder.”
- “It's weird since I don't remember specifically downloading the music at all.”
character development
75 mentions
83 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highly praised, with reviewers highlighting the outstanding and diverse character designs that enhance the overall experience. The characters are well-integrated into the storyline, with unique backstories and appealing aesthetics that contribute to an engaging narrative. Additionally, the voice acting and artistic elements further elevate the characters, making them memorable and enjoyable for players.
- “The character designs are really creative and fitting for their affinity and attitude!”
- “There are a lot to love: incredible character designs, you can feel the effort that has been put into the story that intrigues you and makes you speculate what will happen next, each character builds into the main story with their own.”
- “Beautiful graphics, music, good storyline, and character development.”
- “The character designs are really creative and fitting for their affinity and attitude!”
- “There's still some graphical elements that need work (like text fonts, and the colored blocks not aligning properly), but the art style is nice, the intro is quick and snappy without much tedious dialogue, and the character designs are pretty good.”
- “Love some of the character designs outside of the more fanservice-y stuff they've been doing lately.”
optimization
41 mentions
20 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting excessive storage and power consumption, laggy menus, and performance issues, particularly in the "cloud gardens" mode. While some players noted improvements after recent updates, many still experience stuttering, low frame rates, and overall poor performance even on high-spec devices. Overall, there is a strong consensus that the game requires further optimization to enhance user experience and gameplay fluidity.
- “Many things should be optimized to improve user experience.”
- “Really love the mechanics of the game and the storyline is quite interesting; my only problem is that the interface needs more optimization, and I hope you make the graphics settings more changeable, for example, FPS settings.”
- “Edit: after the recent update, suddenly the performance has become a lot better and less stuttering and laggy UI.”
- “Good game but very badly optimized; menus are not very snappy, story portions and gacha animations are very laggy at random times, and I mean very, like 10 fps.”
- “Gameplay is interesting with a lot of potential, but quality of life issues such as bad technical performance, even on top spec phones, really make it hard to recommend this game.”
- “The only downside is the game performance is not yet 100% optimized/refined; there's some slowing/stutter when you navigate quickly through the UI, and that's just one of the things that I experience.”
monetization
14 mentions
29 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game is generally viewed as fair and "free-to-play friendly," with no ads and minimal progress limitations, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend money. While cosmetic items are available for purchase, most content can be unlocked through gameplay, and rewards are considered generous. However, some users express concerns about predatory practices, such as misleading discounts and aggressive promotion of in-game purchases, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “It has no ads, nearly no progress limitations, actual gameplay rather than an autofighter, and only cosmetic items cost money (80% of which are unlockable only, no money involved).”
- “The plot is captivating, the art is great, and even though there are a lot of in-game purchases available, you can actually steadily progress without them.”
- “Sure it is a gacha and has microtransactions, but surprisingly it is relatively easy to get new characters, the rewards for doing stages and missions are generous and they do not really force the cash shop in your face every time you play the game.”
- “Very predatory monetization, very similar to EA. The in-game shop even shows x% off, but the prices are always the same. In some countries, that is illegal. Every new event, the game pass thing gets forced down your throat by showing how much you miss out.”
- “I did my last in-game purchase and losing my account made me feel scammed.”
- “Or is it one of those 'advertisement' techniques in which the true words should be 'obtainable rolls' totals to 100 pulls, etc. You know the gist.”
emotional
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players have praised the game for its emotional depth, highlighting a nostalgic anniversary scene that evokes strong feelings, even for those unfamiliar with the events. The combination of wholesome characters, an engaging storyline, beautiful artwork, and sublime music creates an immersive emotional atmosphere, fostering a deep investment in the characters. However, some users expressed frustration with technical issues, such as account loss and gameplay mechanics, which detracted from their overall experience.
- “I loved the special anniversary scene; it really made me feel nostalgic about past events (even the ones I haven't personally experienced, I just watched the scenes), and I felt the love from the characters (and developers) towards the navigator (us).”
- “The game has an emotional storyline and beautiful artwork.”
- “The music is truly sublime, creating an immersive and emotional atmosphere that perfectly complements the gameplay.”
humor
7 mentions
86 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by its lighthearted storytelling and self-aware dialogue, often breaking the fourth wall, which leads to amusing interactions with characters. Players appreciate the balance between humor and drama, finding joy in both ridiculous jokes and playful commentary on their gaming habits. However, some hope for a shift towards more varied and humorous narratives in future content, as they feel the current themes have become repetitive.
- “Even without the fight aspect, the game is very good when managing the colossal, getting new characters, and interacting with them. Many of them have really funny and nice stories and dialogues with you as the protagonist, breaking the fourth wall. 😉”
- “The fact that they will mock you, demand you to go to bed, or tell you to stop playing late is hilarious.”
- “Great story! I love the balance between humor and drama, and the characters look amazing. The auto-replay feature is a big plus since the game can be quite grindy.”
- “The storytelling style is chilled and bright; I often find myself laughing at unfunny jokes that are so ridiculous they become funny.”
- “The humor feels forced and falls flat, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
- “I expected clever wit, but instead, I was met with tired clichés that failed to elicit any real laughter.”
stability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern for many users, with reports of frequent bugs, freezing issues, and difficulties exiting the app properly. Players have experienced gameplay interruptions, particularly when interacting with certain features, leading to frustration and a diminished overall experience. Despite its enjoyable content, these technical problems hinder the game's performance on various devices.
- “But the game is too buggy for me. First, I can't exit the game properly; I have to go to my phone's homepage and remove the app from the app manager.”
- “I play on a Samsung Galaxy A7, and whenever I tap the friend icon, the game 'freezes' (the L2D and music are still there, but I can't tap anything on the screen).”
- “This game is fun to play, but coming back to it today, cloud gardens and the actual gameplay keep glitching, and I can't even see anything, even though the main and title screens are okay.”
atmosphere
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with impressive illustrations and sublime music that create an immersive and emotional experience. Reviewers highlight the strong synergy between the art, atmosphere, and story, contributing to the overall appeal of the game.
- “The illustrations are quite good, and the general atmosphere of the game is one of its strong suits.”
- “The music is truly sublime, creating an immersive and emotional atmosphere that perfectly complements the gameplay.”
- “The art, atmosphere, and story are awesome; the combat system is innovative.”
replayability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
100 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability due to its engaging interactive events that cater to a wide range of player skill levels, making it enjoyable for both casual and hardcore gamers.
- “It has great interactive events with different player skill levels, making it enjoyable for both casual and hardcore players.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for more, as each playthrough feels unique.”
- “The game offers multiple paths and strategies, ensuring that no two sessions are ever the same.”