Review of The Last Alchemist

Alchemist blends comfortable and heavy. If the grating control mechanism of the game didn’t ruin the outcome, it might be a hidden gem.

The Last Alchemist
Platform: PC
Developers: Vile Monarch
Publisher: Marvelous Europe
Release date: July 12th, 2024
Price: $19.99 via digital download
Availability: Steam

The Last Alchemist, the most recent game from creator Vile Monarch (Oh, Sir! The Insult Simulator, Floodland), is a great choice if you enjoy coziness and non-combat games. The game puts you in the titular role as the lone alchemist after the death of your mentor. Rather than striving to rescue a world ravaged by a plague, the stakes are higher in this case. Your leg and most of your energy have been snatched by the sickness. If you don’t take action, the illness will eventually claim your life.

Furthermore, despite the dire circumstances of needing to find a cure or perish, The Last Alchemist is anything but depressing. Though skeptical at first, a group of fun-loving mushrooms quickly become your allies, helping you make tools and offering you a wealth of guidance and quirky charm.

Getting Used to Living with Fungi

I was ready for change after dealing with the natives in Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons for years, and these sporefolk didn’t let me down. Additionally, there is no rigid schedule to worry about, in contrast to certain Atelier games. Thus, spend as much time as necessary experimenting before determining the solution.

Plenty of very fussy machines complement the pastoral landscapes of the game and the quirky nature of the mushroom people. These operate similarly to most crafting sim systems, requesting raw materials and spitting out objects that can be utilized to construct more advanced technology.

Temperamental Devices and Additional Distractions

However, alchemy frequently calls for a blueprint, which you’ll need to take out of your game notebook and enter into one of the devices. Although in theory that makes sense, the mouse-and-keyboard control system in Last Alchemist is often difficult to operate, and even getting a machine to accept a page may be likened to attempting to get a vending machine to accept a crumpled dollar note.

Despite having the auto-collect feature enabled, inventory management remains a tedious task in the game. A shortcut is provided to automatically place resources in the appropriate locations, which is considerate as manual placement might be equally precise. Furthermore, although though the game’s ill protagonist shouldn’t be able to move like an agile athlete, it feels ridiculous to have to continuously use the right mouse button to change the game’s camera while moving about.

My Paradise for Supporting Controllers

The Last Alchemist requires controller support more than any other modern game, in my opinion. However, the developers do not currently have any plans to incorporate it. Feel free to increase the review score by 10 points in the event that Vile Monarch decides to change their mind. As things stand, you may occasionally find yourself stuck between objects and will have to wait until the alchemist has tired out and gone back to his bed.

Regretfully, the game’s difficult control system ruins what could have been a really fun experience. Throughout the game, as you leave the boundaries of your fortress and travel across a map to acquire resources, new information is revealed on a consistent basis.

Modeling Chemistry

Sometimes corridors become momentarily closed, forcing players to manufacture an Essence to gain entry. It’s at this stage when The Last Alchemist embraces the spirit of scientific inquiry as you take components from global objects and join the tetromino-shaped objects at their intersections. Thankfully, a microscope is provided for those who would like not to be perplexed by the in-game molecular modeling.

Thankfully, the recipe for each new Essence you successfully find will appear in your in-game diary. You get the impression that you are actually role-playing as a scientist if you keep coming back to the tome and gradually adding new information to it. While several games have tried to replicate research, Alchemist is one of the ones that does it quite well. It’s disappointing that the developers didn’t conduct their own research because of this. They may have discovered that The Last Alchemist could shine even more with a better input technique.

On a PC, The Last Alchemist was played using a review code that the publisher sent.

Review Overview

Gameplay – 80%

Story – 78%

Aesthetics – 85%

Content – 75%

Accessibility – 72%

Value – 78%

Overall Rating – 78%

Good

Summary: The Last Alchemist shows promise with its charming mushroom-populated environment and scientifically grounded feeling of discovery. Unfortunately, a control mechanism that is consistently recalcitrant taints this potential. The takeaway from this is that basic elements can be omitted from a formula.