Toil and trouble await in Salburg
Koei Tecmo has locked in a launch date for its remake of the first Atelier game. Atelier Marie Remake: Alchemist of Salburg is set to hit Switch, PlayStation 5, PS4, and PC via Steam on July 13, 2023.
Previously confirmed for a summer 2023 window during the recent Nintendo Direct in Japan, Atelier Marie Remake will “reintroduce” players to Marie, a struggling student at the Royal Academy of Magic. Marie’s goal? Make an item within five years that will appease her teacher. But that’s easier said than done.
Gathering and collecting alchemy materials, and then synthesizing them into items, is a core part of the story. You can fulfill requests for those in the town, upgrade your atelier, and hire little helpers to assist. On top of this, there are some RPG battles to undertake, potentially leading to encounters with legendary monsters. Turns out magic school is pretty rough.
Atelier Marie Remake is playable with either the story-imposed five-year time limit, or with an “Unlimited Mode” which turns off the time crunch. Either way, Gust’s RPG gets a fresh look and a bevy of new platforms to play it on.
Stirring the pot
As the Atelier series grows in popularity, it’s cool to see this piece of history get a refresh for modern systems. All the life sim elements may even seem more appealing to players now, who may have put a fair number of hours into games like Stardew Valley and are looking for a new RPG with similar vibes.
In other Atelier news, Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is due out on March 24, 2023 after taking a one-month delay to work on the game. Even with the delay, though, the upcoming spring and summer looks to have plenty for armchair alchemists to dig into.
