Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists Switch

Time to get stuck in a loop with Mars Underground, a groundhog day style adventure game from Moloch Media on the PC.

It’s Mars’ first day at a new school in a new town, except it’s always his first day since he keeps reliving the same day over and over. In Mars Underground you progress by exploring, gaining knowledge and exploiting that information daily to unravel the reasons why you are stuck in this time loop. Each cycle begins the same way with your alarm going off and Mars struggling to get out of bed, where you go from there is entirely up to you and dependant on what you have discovered to that point. Skip school and go to the movies to see “One Banana, Two Banana” or try and get into the local cool nightclub. At the end of each day you must take your medication, fall asleep and start again.

There is a very Earthbound look to Mars Underground which suits the style of exploration and discovery perfectly, other effects are layered with this to reinforce that unsettling feeling that is ever present. Sound design matches these visuals with chiptune styled effects and music, eerie soundscapes add to the ever claustrophobic nature present in the narrative. It’s not all doom and gloom though, ominous threats such as men in black, the military, Aliens and shady hooded figures are equally balanced with some good humour.

Every choice you make will lead you down another path but this can sometimes lead to the same burn out some will suffer with classic point and click adventure games. Solutions can be so obvious that you might completely glaze over them and others are so obtuse you might not approach them in the exact way needed to succeed. Missed a specific time period that event takes place? Take your pills and try again. Mars Underground definitely captures the sense of repetition one would feel reliving the same day over and over but it can begin to feel a bit much at times.

If complex and intriguing time travel stories are your thing though, Mars Underground is a wonderfully unique adventure that has so many hidden layers for players to find.

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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

Disclosure: Mars Underground [Steam] was kindly provided by Moloch Media for this review.

Delve into a world of alchemy and mystery in Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, the latest title in the long running Ateliers series by Koei Tecmo.

The game starts as Nelke, a young and eager noble woman, and her ever faithful maid Misty arrive in the small town of Westwald. The two have made their way there after hearing rumours that an ancient sage relic of immense power, the Granzweit Tree, is possibly in the region. Nelke’s father agreeing to support her on this quest only if she becomes governor of the town and proves herself to be a worthy leader. You must help Nelke turn this sleepy village into the bustling city of commerce her father desires, all while making new friends, meeting challenges and exploring the surrounding countryside.

Being personally unfamiliar with the world of Ateliers and it’s 20 year history of titles, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists’ story felt a little daunting at first but all the characters introduced are also unknown to Nelke and their introductions reflect this. The game gives subtle backstories where needed through bits of dialog and character interaction. Characters are out of place and in some cases out of time, fans will no doubt love the return of series famous alchemists and newcomers will enjoy being introduced to the varied cast.

There are 3 main areas of gameplay in Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists, being broken down into turns and each turn involves weekdays and holidays with various actions for each. Weekdays include town management such as construction of various buildings or facilities, commissioning alchemy and working on town requests. Holidays on the other hand give you a chance to visit and develop relationships with towns folk, as well as a chance to explore the region, finding materials or battle monsters.

There is a lot going on in Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists, micromanagement is key to success as you need to assign tasks to alchemists and store owners constantly, depending on production demands and town needs. Tasks such as gathering specific materials or defeating certain monsters will often challenge you and keep the game from feeling stagnant. The battle system is refined yet simple with an option for semi and full auto attack modes, this means low powered enemies will be dealt with rather quickly, keeping the game’s pace moving steadily forward. That being said, there is a lot to take in very quickly between the various mechanics and sub-systems and this might put off some players.

One real stand out attribute in Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists is the anime graphic styling. The game has a beautiful aesthetic overall making it feel bright and cheerful. Most of the character interactions are told by visual novel interface with Japanese voice overs for the cast. Fans of anime and the Ateliers series will really appreciate these visual stylings and especially the gorgeous full animation sequences.

Overall, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists is a beautiful and in depth title with a lot on offer between the multiple systems at play. Some may find it a bit too complex but others will happily spend dozens of hours making Westwald their perfect home away from home.

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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

Disclosure: Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists [Nintendo Switch] was kindly provided by Turn Left Distribution for this review.