Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book

Atelier Sophie makes great improvements, especially with its rewarding alchemy and social systems, which always give you something to look forward to

Providing a fairly monotonous story with a splash of colour, the characters seem to be the only bright spot in this otherwise dreary role-playing game. That's not to say that the constant rigmarole of finding and slaying isn't fun – it is - but considering what the storyline offers, the grind hardly seems worth it; the narrative's simply not engaging enough to warrant the repetitiveness found throughout Atelier Sophie: Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. If you've played other titles in the series, then this entry will feel like it adds very little to the experiences that you've already had, while leaving a much blander taste.

While Atelier Sophie makes interesting changes to the dynamic of the series, it does not leave a strong impact.

Not the jump forward I was expecting for this series, but a light and entertaining RPG nonetheless.

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is a solid, yet not perfect, beginning of the new saga, sporting enjoyable characters, that sadly don't get the development they deserved, outside Sophie and Plachta, and interesting mechanics, such as the new alchemy system. Some of the new mechanics, such as the removal of the time limit, do create some pacing issues, but the development of the main characters' relationship is so good that it's easy to look past this issue. Just don't expect to play the best Atelier game ever released.

Fans will eat it up and for people who have been curious about the Atelier series but are uncertain about what game to start with, this PS4 debut is a new character with a new story and appears to be a good starting point.

Overall, Atelier Sophie is a great addition to the Atelier franchise. Despite the story being quite weak, the character interactions made up for that, especially between Sophie and Plachta. I’ll be looking forward to playing the sequel game Atelier Firis.

Atelier Sophie's highly addictive game-play through its alchemy systems help mitigate the blow the game takes from its ultimately underwhelming storyline, especially for a JRPG. Nevertheless, Atelier Sophie is an enjoyable game for those looking for a JRPG with a focus more on crafting rather than story-line or combat.

While some aspects may seem potentially annoying or daunting, such as the passage of time (and the fact no one has an open store at one in the morning) or the intricacies of the alchemy system, these aspects grew on me the more I kept playing. I learned to adjust my in-game schedule in order to view character events, and the alchemy system is something meant to start off as a looming presence that you slowly become familiar with. Overall, Atelier Sophie is a great addition to the series, and while it does have its flaws, does its best to try and overcome them. Although the PC port could run a lot smoother, the majority of the transition went well, and is still an enjoyable game to play.

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book isn’t anything groundbreaking, but any fan of the series can attest the Atelier games never set out to be – and it doesn’t matter.