Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
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  1. Cubed3
    Apr 9, 2018
    70
    Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is an enjoyable romp with a charming world, an interesting alchemy system, and plenty of content.
  2. 3DJuegos
    Apr 6, 2018
    70
    Not the best entry in the popular Gust JRPG franchise but a good one indeed.
  3. God is a Geek
    Mar 27, 2018
    70
    Atelier Lydie & Suelle is a lovely relaxing turn based RPG that suffers from some aspects that make it feel rushed but still a welcome improvement from Firis that nearly killed the franchise for me.
  5. Wccftech
    Mar 27, 2018
    70
    Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is a serviceable entry in the long-running JRPG series by Gust, offering an experience that's surely entertaining, but not as good as Atelier Firis. Additionally, the lack of any real innovation in both story and gameplay departments translates into a very predictable game.
  6. CGMagazine
    Mar 27, 2018
    70
    Atelier Lydie and Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings succeeds in important ways, but a lack of polish really takes away from an otherwise great experience.
  7. We Got This Covered
    Mar 27, 2018
    70
    Despite lacking the variety of previous Atelier games, Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings has a happy charm that makes it hard to put down.
  8. Gaming Age
    May 25, 2018
    67
    Atelier Lydie & Suelle fits right in with the franchise’s tendency towards quiet, solid competence — and, it should be added, it looks much better than it ever has on the Vita. Personally, though, it has me certain that wherever the series goes next, I’m only going to follow it if I can play it on a handheld.
  9. RPG Fan
    Apr 11, 2018
    65
    A novel, thematic conceit is the most interesting element of this repetitive experience; the rest is weighed down by crybaby characters and vague, unsatisfying gameplay objectives. Atelier is overdue for a revamp.
  10. Eurogamer Italy
    Apr 23, 2018
    60
    Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings is a role-playing videogame developed by Gust, with a turn based combat system. It does not introduce many innovations to the series, but is nicely inspired by classics in a nostalgic and vintage way.
  11. Push Square
    Mar 27, 2018
    60
    Atelier Lydie & Suelle isn't as innovative as its predecessors, but that doesn’t mean you should write it off entirely - it tells a charming and captivating story that ends up being the best tale in the whole Mysterious trilogy. There are plenty of enchanting areas to explore as well, and as always, there's a deep alchemy system for you to master.
  12. 4P.de
    Apr 13, 2018
    55
    Definitely the weakest part of the most recent Atelier trilogy. Almost everything feels outdated. Having said that, the tactical turn-based battles are still fun, though.

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 39
  3. Negative: 10 out of 39
  1. 17_jrpg
    Mar 27, 2018
    9
    Now that Atelier Lydie & Suelle is finally released, I'll share my review for Mysterious series (Atelier Sophie, Atelier Firis and AtelierNow that Atelier Lydie & Suelle is finally released, I'll share my review for Mysterious series (Atelier Sophie, Atelier Firis and Atelier Lydie & Suelle).

    Each game in the Mysterious series have their goal: in Atelier Sophie you must restore the book's memories and its former human form, in Atelier Firis you must pass the alchemist certification exam in one year so you can become a full fledged alchemist and earn the right to keep exploring the world indefinitely, and in Atelier Lydie & Suelle you must explore the worlds within paintings and raise the Atelier Rank in order to have the best atelier in the kingdom. To achieve goals, you have to do certain tasks, and you solve these tasks with alchemy (this is the core of all Atelier games).

    The core system of alchemy is the same in all Atelier games: you need a recipe and ingredients to make a new item. To get a new recipe you have to buy, earn or find them, at least that's how was in previous games. In the Mysterious series they presented a new way to get a recipes: now you can get an idea for new recipes through various types of activities such as fighting, meeting characters, gathering material, and the act of synthesis itself. This new way to get a recipes is interesting, and actually gives the feeling that the protagonists learns alchemy. Also, the synthesis system has been changed in the Mysterious series, and this new system is a bit harder for reason because you have to solve the puzzle so you can get the better effects on the items. In previous games it was easier, for example in the Arland series you can get a different effects based on the quality of the items (better quality, better effect), or in the Dusk series you can get a different effects based on element level (higher level, better effect). In each game of the Mysterious series, they add some new elements to the synthesis system to improve it (for example Catalyst system and Enhancing Agent). Maybe the new synthesis system is a bit harder, but it adds the challenge and the ability to experiment with the items. If you want to make a better item, then you need to find the best ingredient. Each ingredient is of different quality and contains different traits. To find the best ingredients then you have to explore the world and fight different monsters.

    The battle system through the Mysterious series also has changed a lot (just like in the Dusk series). In Atelier Sophie they put a traditional turn-based battle system with support system (four characters in battle). In Atelier Firis they put a battle system which is a combination of battle systems from Atelier (support system and Chain Burst) and Ar Tonelico (three vanguarts in the front and alchemist in the back). In Atelier Lydie & Suelle they put a new battle system which is known as Collaboration Battles. In battle there are three pairs (six characters in battle), and in each pair, one takes the role of the main attacker, while their partner provides the support. Also, in battle you can use a special command to synthesize items (similar to Atelier Iris). This new battle system is much better than battle systems in Atelier Sophie and Atelier Firis, because it is faster and more active.

    In the end I can conclude that from Atelier Sophie to Atelier Lydie & Suelle, certain aspects of gameplay are improving. In order to gain a full experience of the Mysterious series, I recommend that you first play Atelier Sophie and Atelier Firis (in case you didn't), then Atelier Lydie & Suelle. I have rated all three games in the Mysterious series with 9 out of 10 because I like them all, they have a very interesting story and gameplay. I can say that the Mysterious series is one of the best in the Atelier series. Also, I gave a score of 9 out of 10 because there is still a place to improve the Atelier games, so I hope the next series will be even better.    … Full Review »
  2. the_ed_85
    Mar 27, 2018
    3
    My wife and I played this game for a few hours and I can't say that this game was worth the $100 that we paid to get the collector's edition.My wife and I played this game for a few hours and I can't say that this game was worth the $100 that we paid to get the collector's edition. The packaging was nice, with the well-done art book, the pins, fabric poster, audio CD, and collectible box, but the packaging can't make up for a very lacking game. After playing through Atelier Sophie and Firis, I had very high hopes Lydie and Suelle. Unfortunately, those hopes took a giant belly flop into a giant pool of burning lava.

    The first thing that you notice is that the game lacks a very badly needed English dub. Hearing the characters sound like idiots saying "barrel, barrel" whenever you investigated one was a comedic and entertaining way to break the usual very grindy-feeling gameplay of alchemy games. In Sophie and later in Firis, I would go and gather materials for a few hours and then go and see a barrel just for a quick laugh and refresher from the gathering. I know it sounds stupid and it really is, but it was a classic quality that this game doesn't have. The lack of an English dub is not only a letdown, it’s flat out painful. The Japanese voice actors that Gust used are so bad that I would rather take a motorized cheese grater to my ears than hear their voices. These actresses make the Japanese actress for Taokaka in Blazblue seem like a goddess.

    The next thing that I noticed is that the graphics engine breaks the character models. There’s nothing like seeing your character slide in from the right or left and say “hold on, I left my boob over there” and then having it snap back into place like a rubber band. While this is amusing for first few times it happens, it is most definitely a base system of the game not working properly. Honestly, how did the game get through QA testing with such an obvious problem?

    After getting through the obvious graphics problems that the game has, we come to the soundtrack. The songs available in the beginning of the game are flat out bad. There’s no sugar coating it, because the infectious pus that it excretes would make it dissolve away. The DLC soundtrack that you get for preordering the game only includes songs from Atelier Firis. It does not include any of the truly awesome songs that come from earlier games. This is a massive setback for this game since the default soundtrack is not good to listen to.

    Overall, I honestly can’t recommend people buying this game right now. There are just to many things that the game misses on and great packaging does not fix a bad game, the collector’s edition is a whopping $100 that really is not worth it. If I had known that this game would come out this way, I wouldn’t have bought it at all.    … Full Review »
  3. Inuhanyou
    Mar 27, 2018
    10
    I have not played an Atelier game since Escha and Logy, but i have to say this one was really great. It feels like Gust are really reachingI have not played an Atelier game since Escha and Logy, but i have to say this one was really great. It feels like Gust are really reaching toward the penultimate combination of slice of life elements and chemical crafting and traditional turn based RPG combat. And the art style has really survived the transition from last gen to current gen.

    I just hope some day Koei Tecmo gives Gust more of a budget to really expand their formula to even greater heights    … Full Review »
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