The Last Alchemist
- December 31, 2023
- Vile Monarch
- 27h median play time
Get on Steam"The Last Alchemist" is a third-person alchemy simulation game set in a vibrant, science-fantasy world. As the last alchemist, you'll craft your workshop, solve alchemy puzzles by extracting essences and fusing them together, and befriend the Agari folk. With various materials to find and use, you'll craft and expand your workshop while discovering the wonders of this charming world.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a charming art style and engaging story, with cute characters and a relaxing atmosphere.
- The alchemy and crafting mechanics are unique and enjoyable, providing satisfying puzzle-solving experiences.
- The game allows for free exploration after completing the main story, giving players the opportunity to continue crafting and decorating.
- The game suffers from a lack of quality-of-life features, such as a cumbersome inventory system and clunky controls, making gameplay feel tedious.
- Many players found the game to be too short, with a main story that can be completed in under 10 hours, leaving a sense of unfinished business.
- There are numerous bugs and technical issues that can disrupt gameplay, including soft locks and unresponsive mechanics.
- story48 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is engaging and well-structured, featuring a charming protagonist and a mix of dark themes and lighthearted moments, though it is often described as short, with a campaign lasting around 10 to 23 hours. Players appreciate the intriguing plot and character interactions, but many express a desire for more content and side quests to deepen the experience. While the art design is praised, some technical issues and a lack of replay value detract from the overall enjoyment of the narrative.
“The story is interesting and kept me engaged with wanting to know what's happening next, and I loved being able to decorate here and there in-between long missions.”
“The story follows the main character, an alchemist who has retired from his craft, afflicted by a disease that has already claimed his leg and threatens to worsen.”
“Despite this, the story is interesting and well-structured, with characters that are charming both in their graphical style and in the traits revealed through their dialogue.”
“The story feels disappointingly short, as I cleared the entire main storyline within 10.8 hours.”
“One or two quests per character with a small bit of dialogue doesn't feel fleshed out enough.”
“The mid/end of story content felt very rushed.”
- gameplay29 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its unique mechanics, charming visuals, and engaging alchemy system, providing a fun and relaxing experience. However, some players noted frustrations with the "drag and drop" mechanics, keybinding issues, and a lack of depth in crafting and storage systems, suggesting that quality of life improvements are needed. Overall, while the game offers a satisfying loop and potential for expansion, it falls short in certain areas that could enhance the overall experience.
“A nice fun, relaxing game with some unique mechanics.”
“The gameplay is immersive, and the alchemical mechanics are a joy to explore.”
“I love it, a perfect mix of 'here are the basic game mechanics', 'here are the end results you need' and 'we're not going to spoon feed you the answers.'”
“Unfortunately, the 'drag and drop' mechanics left much to be desired.”
“This can be frustrating, as this mechanic is central to progression in the game, creating a repetitive and sometimes frustrating cycle.”
“The gameplay itself could get a lot of improvements; some keybinds are weird, rotating objects is annoying, and storage doesn't feel valuable as you could just throw things on the ground and storage is very expensive.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful art style and attention to detail, with many reviewers highlighting the unique visuals and charming character designs. However, some players noted issues such as glitches and performance hiccups that detract from the overall experience. While the aesthetics are generally well-received, there are calls for quality of life improvements to enhance gameplay.
“I love the art style of this game.”
“The graphics are beautiful, the characters are fun.”
“Art style is done beautifully, and the story is sweet yet short.”
“The visuals can be a little glitchy/jumpy, particularly when you're sprinting; however, it doesn't generally seem to crash the game or cause further issues than a brief stutter.”
“It's super limited and not practical, even if it's aesthetically pleasing.”
“Graphics are decent.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can become tedious due to a lack of quality-of-life features, with players often feeling overwhelmed by the numerous steps required to gather and process materials. While some find the alchemy system engaging, the farming aspect is largely deemed unnecessary and underdeveloped, leading to a sense of frustration rather than enjoyment. Overall, the game offers a cozy experience, but the grinding elements may detract from the overall flow for some players.
“Getting anything done requires jumping through 15 hoops - getting materials (a constant battle with extremely limited inventory and no item stacking), grinding them up (40 sec wait each time), researching (another wait + a currency cost each time), combining (did I mention every action has a 40 second wait time?) and then doing that over and over again.”
“Collecting the necessary resources for mixtures in 'The Last Alchemist' can be quite tedious.”
“Lastly, farming is utterly useless and looks more like a hassle than gathering; I never did it once except for the mandatory one, and still had loads of everything in spades.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as cute and well-crafted, complementing the art style and sound effects effectively. However, it suffers from repetitiveness, with only a few standout tracks, and some players find certain sound cues, like workshop notifications, to be annoying. Overall, while the music enhances the game's charm, it may not leave a lasting impression due to its repetitive nature.
“The art style, music, and sound effects for the game are great.”
“Cute graphics, music, animations, sound effects, characters ^^”
“Soundtrack feels pretty repetitive, and the ringing for workshops having finished their job is really annoying.”
“I remember only 1 or 2 musical scores that stand out, so for me, that was not as strong as the gameplay audio.”
“Music is cute but only slightly repetitive.”
- stability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with most players reporting minimal bugs and a solid experience. However, some users have encountered occasional glitches, such as characters falling asleep during dialogue, indicating that a bit of polishing is still needed for optimal performance.
“Overall, the game is quite stable, with only minor issues that need polishing.”
“I experienced very few bugs during my playthrough, which made for a smooth experience.”
“The stability of the game is impressive, allowing me to enjoy the gameplay without interruptions.”
“I had my character fall asleep during dialogue once, and it got buggy when it tried to show another character.”
“A little buggy and could have better in-game ergonomics, yet an awesome gameplay and mechanics.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a heartwarming and charming story that, while simple, resonates with players. Many reviews highlight the game's engaging puzzles and the wholesome nature of the ending, though some feel it doesn't fully explore its potential. Overall, it is described as enjoyable and touching, making it a recommended experience.
“It's a fantastic game that offers engaging puzzles and a heartwarming, albeit simple, story.”
“Overall enjoyable and a touching, albeit simple, story.”
“Amazing and charming game, very cute and works your brain a bit; the ending is the most wholesome ever. I would highly recommend.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, primarily allowing players to revisit alchemy tasks after completing the story, but lacks significant incentives for multiple playthroughs. Players can challenge themselves by timing their runs, yet overall, the experience does not support extensive replay value.
“This is a replayable game; I just wish I could use my Xbox controller.”
“Just don't expect replayability or 50 hours of gameplay.”
“You can continue after the story to tinker with any alchemy you left undone, but there's no real replay value, except maybe to time how fast you can complete it.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, particularly highlighted by the amusing interactions with characters like the alchemist and the quirky mushroom creatures.
“I loved the alchemist and the funny mushroom characters.”
“The humor in the game is spot on, with clever jokes and hilarious situations.”
“The witty dialogue and quirky characters kept me laughing throughout my playthrough.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight "The Last Alchemist" as an immersive experience, characterized by a meticulously crafted magical world that emphasizes narrative depth and a captivating atmosphere.
“To my astonishment, after seeing 'The Last Alchemist' for the first time on my timeline, I encountered an experience brimming with care, special attention to narrative, and an engaging atmosphere in a magical world.”
