Tim Burton's gothic-style isometric action RPG BattleJuice Alchemist currently has 8 points in Steam Early Access. Luckily for us, this unusual project was brought to TGS 2024! Alexander Kudeshov, executive producer of ESD Digital Games, told our editor-in-chief Rodion Ilyin about the key features of the game created by Alchemical Works. We are promised exciting battles, a well-developed combat system, and fascinating exploration of various locations.
Alexander: Hello everyone! We present the game BattleJuice Alchemist, an action RPG in its own world, in the imaginary Middle Ages. The synopsis of the game is as follows: a dark ritual took place, and demons attacked Caribou Creek. This is a medieval village, whose inhabitants lived to themselves, without grieving.
VGTimes: And who was asked to deal with this trouble?
Alexander: An alchemist who must deal with all the devilry going on around. In fact, the protagonist's father tried to solve the problem, but failed. Then he called his son, the alchemist Juice, who will become your character [pointing to the poster with the character — editor's note] Here he is, our main character.
VGTimes: Great, what do we do next in the game?
Alexander: BattleJuice Alchemist offers players a choice of three classes: melee, ranged, or mystical. At the beginning of the game, you can customize your character: gender, hair color, hairstyle, skin color, and accessories. In addition, the game uses an algorithm that randomizes monsters, objects, and their locations, so each player sees the world a little differently than their friends. The game's visual style is inspired by the works of Tim Burton — with his dark, gothic aesthetics and bizarre design.
VGTimes: What features does the project offer?
Alexander: The main feature of BattleJuice Alchemist is the absence of weapons in the usual sense. Everything here is based on alchemy: we create and use elixirs for attack, defense, and healing. There are a huge number of elixirs. All of them can be used with some effect. The inventory system and elixir management play an important role in the combat system. For example, even if you choose a melee class, you will attack with elixirs.
VGTimes: How is this implemented?
Alexander: In the inventory, you can put elixirs on two fixed slots, like the first and second weapons. And many, many other elixirs will be randomly available on three other adjacent slots. A kind of ability. That is, I put 9 elixirs on 3 slots, and they appear in an order that I will not know in advance. But I will be able to understand what to throw at enemies when the elixir icon appears in the slot. Or, let's say, I'll put one elixir on all three slots. Or I'll choose two elixirs, and they'll randomly appear in different slots.
Players can combine elixirs in different slots, which opens up wide opportunities for creating unique combat styles and tactics.
VGTimes: And what about quests and the plot?
Alexander: The game has a story campaign, and a survival mode will be added later. BattleJuice Alchemist is already available in Steam Early Access, and you can play through the first act in full, with the rest to be unlocked at release. As for quests, like in any classic RPG, BattleJuice Alchemist has both main and side quests.
The map displays the main demons that need to be defeated — bosses of varying sizes, from small to large. Various skills are available for character development, including improving health, «water» (the local equivalent of mana), agility, and juice (attack power). The key feature of the combat is heating up elixirs. When an elixir is heated up, its properties improve, and attacks become stronger. Additional effects can be unlocked for each elixir, such as increasing damage or causing area damage. These improvements add significant variability to combat, giving the player the opportunity to experiment with combinations.
VGTimes: How much content is in the game?
Alexander: The game is full of various monsters that require different tactics to win. And the game world is huge. Three acts will provide many opportunities to help NPCs and save the world from the demon invasion!
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BattleJuice Alchemist seems to be able to please both fans of the genre and those who appreciate non-standard combat systems. This project claims to be a real discovery for a wide audience.
Interview conducted by Rodion Ilin.
VGTimes has been operating since 2011 and during this time has visited dozens of exhibitions and festivals, where our journalists have collected many exclusive materials. For example, in 2019 we got to a closed screening of Cyberpunk 2077 at gamescom, in 2017 we prepared a photo report from WG Fest, in 2020 we were at the largest gaming event in Central Asia CAGS, and also visited IgroMir several times, where we saw Hideo Kojima and other famous developers.