Alchemic Cutie is a relaxing simulation game from a two-man development team. You capture and raise small jelly creatures, each with unique attributes. These jellies are used in competitions to progress in the game. This is wrapped up in a quirky but lovable town. It’s the sort of gaming town where everyone is completely obsessed with one particular aspect of life. On Wimba Island, it’s jelly raising. They live for it.
The pixel art style is reminiscent of Zelda and Stardew Valley, it’s a style that really fits a chilled out game. Between the soundtrack and this style of play, playing Alchemic Cutie evokes the same feeling as listening to Lo-Fi beats. There’s more to the game than just jellies though, there’s a farming element and an island to explore. Farming simulators are a crowded marketplace for indies at the moment. However, here it’s largely a means for gathering resources. With alchemy, resources are used to create different items for your jellies. That fulfils the Alchemic side, as for the Cutie bit? Well, most of the game fits that description.
A Cute Island
Wimba Island is a pretty chilled out placed. The lives of the weird inhabitants revolve around jellies. The characters that are spread around the demo area have a lot of charm to them. If this is an indication of how interaction will feel, then it’s going to be another pixelated village to fall in love with. Essentially, it’s well written cutesy dialogue. The sort you’d expect from a game with cutie in the title.
The developers plan to build out the island, making the stories of the inhabitants a big part of the game. Aiming for an experience more akin to Animal Crossing than a world ending plot. What’s currently shown is small but promising. While relaxing, Alchemic Cutie does need a little more going on than the present build. If these cute characters are given compelling lives, it’ll be hard to resist getting to know them.
An All-Devouring Love of Dancing
The heart of Alchemic Cutie is the jellies. By playing a flute, you get a wild jelly so caught up in your rocking melody that they’re completely oblivious to outside world. While they’re in a blind trance of pure flute-induced euphoria, you’re able to effortlessly capture them. There are thousands of different designs for these jellies, so you’ll be looking for a while if you want all of them. They’re also each blessed with the most bizarre descriptions. The stats of each jelly are the main influencer in their performance during contests.
You can increase your chances of succeeding in these contests by training items to your jellies to effect their stats. This isn’t done by any sort of combat. You farm and gather. After the short but magical process of alchemy, your materials are now consumable items! These will effect your jelly’s stats, feed them, make them happy or sad, and increase their bond with you. Alchemic Cutie already has a deep meta-game to these stats and buffs, so there’s a lot to sink your teeth into. On the other hand, if you’d rather spent your hours kicking back and becoming best friends with whichever jelly has the best personality then you can. Competitively raising your jelly like it’s a show dog is not mandatory.
It’s still early days for the game. If you’re curious, a small alpha build of the game is available. There’s even a system set up already to transfer your progress from the early build to the final game. Alchemic Cutie is defiantly worth keeping an eye on if you’re a fan of chilled out, relaxing gaming.
