A fan of Koei Tecmo and GUST’s long-running Atelier series? A new game is just around the corner: a sequel to 2015’s Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book.
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream will reunite fans with Sophie, picking up where the previous game left off. It’s an unusual choice for a sequel; after all, Atelier Sophie was itself part of the ‘Mysterious’ trilogy, accompanied by Atelier Firis and Atelier Lydie & Suelle. But while each of those games focused on their own alchemist, this is a direct sequel. Something that GUST is seemingly not afraid of doing, after the success of last year’s Atelier Ryza 2.
This sequel will see Sophie and Plachta – her talking book sidekick – transported to a mysterious new world known as Erde Wiege. It seems to be some sort of alternate dimension; while there, Sophie meets a young alchemist also called Plachta. But rather, a human Plachta rather than a book Plachta. Can’t be a coincidence, right?
Koei Tecmo and GUST promise that Atelier Sophie 2 will ‘combine the art of the Mysterious series with the high quality graphics and animations featured in Atelier Ryza 2’. That can only be a good thing; anyone who played Ryza 2 can attest to just how beautiful it looks.
Players can look forward to a host of new gameplay elements for the series. For the first time, battles will flow seamlessly when players encounter an enemy in the field; no loading screens or transitions. Battle parties will also be made up of six members, split into two teams of three who co-operate with linked turn-based battles.
However: while Atelier Ryza 2 had a separate PS5 release, it seems that Atelier Sophie 2 won’t be; it’s currently only listed for PC, Switch and PS4. If no PS5 version materialises, it’ll be a shame; Ryza 2 looked absolutely stunning on PS5 hardware.
Give Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream‘s trailer a watch below. It’ll be available from 25th February 2022.
