First Look - Alchemy Story - Find the Strawberry

Alchemy Story is a quirky farming sim which, unlike other recent farming sims, has a story mode that is more than the usual ‘grandpa died and left you his farm’ story. It was a refreshing change to what has seemingly become a staple of the genre.

In Alchemy Story we play as Arabella, an alchemist who has moved to Rosehill to help out the local professor, Edward. As we travel into town we find out that Edward failed to mention that, well, uhh… a witch cursed the village and turned all the villagers into animals for… reasons. Thanks Edward, you’re a real pal.

So, now it’s up to us to investigate what is going on and help out these poor villagefolk!

Alchemy Story is currently in alpha but you can buy the demo on itch.io and when it’s fully released you’ll get a steam key to use. The good thing is that the demo definitely still has enough content to enjoy the game with much of the main quest available. There is also daily potions to make, mining and quests from the villagers to keep you busy with more to come as the game development progresses. We know that there will be a map system implemented as well as fishing and character customisation.

If you love a farming sim you’ve probably heard of Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing and My Time at Portia and there are elements of all those games in Alchemy Story, however, if you’re a crop planting master don’t expect to lose hours tending crops in Alchemy Story. The crops are a different mechanic completely and far less hands on than in Stardew Valley. I actually really enjoyed how crops have been implemented but then, fishing is where it’s at for me – and the fish in Alchemy Story are very cute!

First look at fish in the game — blub blub – can’t wait to see these fish in game!

The main focus of Alchemy Story is learning new potions and building up our alchemy skills to help out Edward in reversing the witches curse. By farming, mining and foraging items you’ll be able to make potions and you’re also able to buy recipes from the villagers to increase your knowledge. The potions are also used to boost your character and add some cosmetic changes – like cat ears!

I really enjoyed the light, bouncy feel of Alchemy Story and it was fun to see that the characters actually have facial expressions when you chat with them! There is still more work to go but if the demo is anything to go by, this will be an excellent addition to your farming sim collection.