Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. RPGs you might have wrongly skipped

The recent years were a time of mass expansion of Japanese developers on the PC market. There are still a few key brands that are only available on consoles, though. We were finally able to scratch the Atelier series off this list. In February 2017 the PC got a conversion of the delightful Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book.

The game continues the tradition of the series, offering a very unusual approach to the genre. It greatly emphasizes crafting, here taking the form of alchemy mechanics. Discovering formulas and recipes, collecting ingredients and preparing potions is the mainstay of the game. All this does not happen automatically and is based on a series of complex systems and minigames that require considerable effort.

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is also characterized by beautiful graphical design, interesting storyline, likable characters, extensive campaign, and nuanced, turn-based combat system. On top of that, the conversion on the PC version is quite successful, contributing to – overall – the best edition of this game.

UPDATE 2022

Gust seems to release new installments of the series almost annually. Since the release of Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book, we've also seen the releases of Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey, Atelier Lidi & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Atelier of the New World, as well as Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland. Remakes of the first three installments of the series were also released.

In 2022, Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream was released. The sequel is available since February 25 on PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Despite all these latest iterations of the series, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book remains the best offer for beginners who are just starting their adventure with this franchise.

Dungeon Rats – tactical and hardcore

Iron Tower spent eleven years creating Age of Decadence. After its release, the developers wisely decided that it makes no sense to immediately take another project of as large a scale. Instead, they decided to develop something smaller, and so, the Dungeon Rats was born.

The game allows you to return to the fascinating universe of Age of Decadence, combining the style of the Roman Empire with the atmosphere of post-apocalyptic fantasy. Players become a prisoner sentenced to spending the rest of his life in a mine. We're starting the campaign deep underground, and we have to get to the surface.

Dungeon Rats was concieved on the fountation of Age of Decadence, but it's a very different game altogether. Instead of an extensive plot and complete freedom in role-playing, we get a production focused primarily on combat. The turn-based battle syste has been greatly expanded compared to the previous creation of the studio, the value of positioning units was increased, and we are now controling a larger team.

The game is difficult, but at the same time fair. Every victory is occupied by considerable effort, but the satisfaction is enormous. Dungeon Rats is a good and complex tactical RPG that should be noticed by the fans of the genre.