Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings

Atelier Lydie & Suelle is a lovely relaxing turn based RPG that suffers from some aspects that make it feel rushed but still a welcome improvement from Firis that nearly killed the franchise for me.

90%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, optimization

90% User Score Based on 109 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 5 reviews

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About

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is a charming JRPG that follows the story of two alchemist sisters on a quest to make their atelier the best in the country. They discover mysterious paintings that serve as portals to other worlds, providing new opportunities for gathering materials and synthesizing powerful items. With an engaging story, vibrant graphics, and addictive alchemy system, this game is a delightful addition to the Atelier series.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings screenshot

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 109 reviews

story19 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features a clean and organized UI, engaging story, and addictive gameplay, making it one of the best in the Atelier series.
The alchemy and crafting systems have been improved, offering a fun and deep experience that fans of the series will appreciate.
The characters are adorable, and the game includes many callbacks and interactions with characters from previous titles, enhancing the overall experience.

The lack of an English voice option is disappointing for some players, making it less accessible.
The game suffers from performance issues, with frame drops and slow travel mechanics that can detract from the experience.
DLC pricing is considered steep, and some players feel that essential gameplay features should not be locked behind additional purchases.

story
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
69%
4%
The story of "Atelier Lydie & Suelle" is praised for its engaging and heartwarming narrative, which ties up loose ends from the previous games in the trilogy while introducing new characters and emotional depth. Players appreciate the well-paced progression and the nostalgic callbacks to earlier titles, although some feel that certain chapters lack significant meaning, making parts of the story feel like filler. Overall, the game offers a blend of lightheartedness and impactful moments, making it a satisfying conclusion to the "Mysterious" series.
- “The story is far more sad than the other mysterious games, but it is also a great conclusion to the mysterious trilogy as this game ties up all loose ends.”
- “Atelier Lydie & Suelle has a heartwarming story with decent character development, combined with a deep and polished alchemy system.”
- “The story follows twin sisters trying to rank up their atelier to become the best in the country and then getting involved in exploring a mysterious painting.”
- “The story is rather weak; instead of one main storyline, you are introduced to chapters, but most are just fillers with no significant meaning.”
- “This really dragged because most continuous chapters aren't event connected to each other; it's like it's its own story for every 2-4 chapters.”
- “The story is basically there to try and tie up all the stories of each character.”
gameplay
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
71%
10%
The gameplay in this Atelier title is praised for its streamlined mechanics, making it more accessible and enjoyable compared to previous entries in the series. Players appreciate the engaging story, clean UI, and the introduction of new elements like the battle mix mechanic, although some find the alchemy system overly complex. Overall, the game offers a relaxing and fun experience, with improvements that enhance the crafting and exploration aspects while maintaining the series' charm.
- “In my opinion, this is the best Atelier game ever. The UI is so clean and organized, the story is engaging, and the gameplay is addictive. I just love the ranking system here.”
- “The battle mix mechanic, a sort of simple mid-battle synthesis that augments existing items or uses materials to create impromptu items, works swimmingly.”
- “With opulent costumes, lovable characters, a pleasant soundtrack, and gorgeous environments, it offers refreshingly low-impact and enjoyable grinding, crafting, and dungeon-crawling gameplay.”
- “The alchemy and gathering mechanics are not that advanced at all.”
- “I can't say a lot about battle mechanics, different from previous installments, but I don't think it is better than Firis.”
- “Now be forewarned that there is not really that much gameplay; there are a lot of side interactions that basically encompass the whole game. Sometimes, there is just so much dialogue that I start feeling sleepy.”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
39%
13%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many players praising its cheerful and memorable soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. While most tracks are well-received, some players noted a few repetitive elements during combat. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “Instantly after starting the game, you're greeted by cheery music that will accompany you throughout the game.”
- “The strength of Atelier has always been in the music, art style, character events, multiple endings, and the core alchemy system.”
- “The only OST I actually disliked was the one at the end of the game, where you can fight Sophie to grind certain endgame traits.”
- “Think of it like you buy a bunch of OST discs and have a game slapped on the box set; that way the money/cost is there.”
- “Honestly, I bump to the music while I am gathering and fighting monsters; sometimes I revisit places just for the music.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
44%
17%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beauty and charm, featuring a vibrant art style, lovable characters, and improved animation quality. While some players note a slightly low-tech feel and limitations in graphics settings, the overall visual experience is considered enjoyable and satisfying, particularly during cut-scenes. However, performance issues on lower-end systems have been reported, affecting frame rates and visual quality.
- “Graphically, the game looks beautiful.”
- “Graphics and animation quality have received a significant improvement.”
- “Cute characters and beautifully drawn cel-shaded graphics.”
- “It's true the graphics are slightly better than its predecessor, but they also ditched the large open-world maps for smaller ones.”
- “Also, you can't adjust the graphics settings, so I wonder how a consumer-grade PC would perform in this.”
- “This game requires the same minimum requirements as Atelier Sophie, and while my Atelier Sophie runs at 60fps, this one runs at 10fps and you can't even change the graphics.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a standout feature, with many players noting its blend of cute characters and comical situations that evoke laughter throughout the experience. While it may not reach the comedic heights of its predecessor, Lulua, it offers a cheerful and funny narrative, enhanced by amusing visual effects during cut-scenes. Characters like Sue and Lydie add to the humor, providing memorable "ahah!" moments that keep players entertained.
- “There are several scenes in the game with them dealing with adulthood, with sometimes hilarious results.”
- “The graphics engine is now able to render some comical visual effects during cut-scenes which is quite satisfying and hilarious as well.”
- “I just love those 'ahah!' moments every time I see a character event and start laughing like a maniac.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Atelier Lydie & Suelle is praised for its heartwarming story and strong character development, creating a deep emotional connection with players. The game effectively combines a touching narrative about family and personal aspirations with a polished alchemy system, making it a satisfying and engaging experience. Reviewers appreciate the emotional depth and closure it provides within the broader context of the Atelier series.
- “Atelier Lydie & Suelle has a heartwarming story with decent character development, combined with a deep and polished alchemy system.”
- “Not only that, but Atelier Lydie & Suelle personally made me very emotionally attached to the main characters, more than the other Atelier games from the 'Mysterious' series.”
- “The game still amuses me even though it's overpriced; I must say I'm satisfied with the storyline from the first series to the last. It is enjoyable, intriguing, and touching.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding in the game to be a mix of enjoyable and tedious, with the new end-game area, Claudel Prairie, providing a good farming quest. While some feel the grinding is excessive compared to previous titles like Firis and Sophie, improvements in mechanics, such as the secret bag and increased basket size, help alleviate some of the tedium. Overall, the game balances its grind with charming characters, a pleasant soundtrack, and engaging crafting and dungeon-crawling elements.
- “This game's too grindy compared to Firis and Sophie.”
- “However, the secret bag and increasing the basket size has always been part of the mechanics to improve gameplay and make the game less tedious.”
- “Fixes a lot of tedious alchemy mechanics in Firis and, in normal Gust fashion, it has amazing music and cute girls doing alchemy and other cute things.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the various tweaks and optimizations, others criticize it as a poorly optimized port, particularly in terms of performance. Despite these issues, many enjoy the crafting system and combat mechanics, although there are calls for options to skip certain animations.
- “The game also has quite a number of tweaks and optimizations.”
- “I had previously acquired the PC version of this game from a source outside of Steam, and there were no performance issues.”
- “I know it is a poorly optimized port and it is expensive as hell, but I much prefer the crafting system here, and the combination arts let me truly enjoy the combat (but I wish we were given the choice to skip the combination arts' animation though...), and the characters... oh the characters...”
- “Which is weird, because I had previously acquired the PC version of this game from a source outside of Steam, and there were no performance issues.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Atelier Lydie & Suelle features heartwarming storytelling and solid character development, effectively concluding the Atelier series with well-designed characters. The game successfully intertwines its narrative with a deep and polished alchemy system, enhancing the overall experience.
- “Atelier Lydie & Suelle has a heartwarming story with decent character development, combined with a deep and polished alchemy system.”
- “Great character development as the end of the mysterious series for Atelier.”
- “Excellent character design.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability, with users reporting smooth performance and successful adjustments for 21:9 aspect ratios. However, some minor bugs have been noted, particularly in the Hageru-san shop.
- “The game runs great for me, and with a simple edit of the ini file, 21:9 works just fine.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs; the stability is impressive.”
- “The performance is smooth, and I can play for hours without any issues.”
- “The Hageru-san shop is a little buggy.”
- “I frequently encounter crashes during gameplay, which disrupts the experience.”
- “The game often freezes, making it frustrating to progress.”