It’s not often(if ever?) that a game is described as a complex alchemy RPG, but that’s exactly what BattleJuice Alchemist is. Okay, it could also be described as an action-adventure RPG, but that sounds far more generic and far less cool. Developer Alchemical Works and publisher ESDigital Games announced the game today, with plans to launch for PC and consoles in the future.
Juice the alchemist is called to Caribou Creek to fight the land’s demons. Players create their own unique version of Juice, who will then explore the wildness that used to be New England. Juice will meet strange creatures from the Crossroads while the game’s dark plot unravels. Fight evil in two ways: classic action RPG isometric top-down view, or bullet-time close combat. Master the game’s deck-building mechanics by arranging your compilation of flasks to suit your play style. Outside of normal character customisation, accentuate your Juice using ritual magic as long-term buffs.
BattleJuice Alchemist features a classic aRPG formula with an added equipment-based skill system. As an alchemist, Juice wears no armour and wields no sword, but they can rain down fire onto their enemies. Find flasks with unique properties, or make them at your workbench. Create a compilation of flasks that you randomly draw from. Flasks are skills. Every flask can be used the normal way, and some can be used in a supercharged way for stronger effects. Some flasks even have power that dramatically alter their affects when used.
The procedurally-generated world is separated into vast levels of landscapes. A unique algorithm places every valley, sea, river, mountain, building, stone, tree, and item. Quest locations, however, are hand-crafted to help tell the story. Juice is influenced by daytime and weather effects, as are their enemies. But these enemies also get buffed by the demons’ presence, so Juice will have to find dark altars to keep the demons’ influence under control.
In classic top-town view, fight enemies from afar. Throw explosive or freezing flasks at them, or prepare ambushes of explosive barrels. The Frog Hop flask can be used to jump away from danger or into close combat with bullet-time, where you can interact hands-own by dodging or using smoke flasks to avoid being hit.
Developed by Alchemical Works and published by ESDigital Games, BattleJuice Alchemist will be released for PC via Steam/Epic, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One.
