The Xbox Indie Showcase gave us a look at the beautiful pixelated world of Alchemic Cutie, a chilled out jelly-themed adventure RPG launching next month for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Since it’s due to launch so soon, we thought it would be a good time to reach out to co-creator Sebastien Vakerics for more info on Wimba Island, jelly competitions, and of course, the jellies themselves.What is Alchemic Cutie?Alchemic Cutie is a laid-back, relaxing adventure RPG in development from Viridian Software. It’s all about collecting, taming, and raising Jellies, entering them into contests, and socialising with the people of Wimba Island.When does Alchemic Cutie launch?There’s not long to go at all — Alchemic Cutie launches for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on July 27th! How does Alchemic Cutie play?“In Alchemic Cutie, you play as a young alchemist named Yvette who is working to uncover the secrets of the ancient ruins on Wimba Island,” explains Vakerics. The slimes themselves are a main attraction; you’ll be busy catching, raising, and breeding them — and taking them as companions on your adventures — but you’ll also be entering those jellies in competitions such as Jelly Sumo and Jelly Splash, as well as exploring Wimba Island and socialising with its inhabitants. “Going forward we’d like to add to that list with updates, and eventually with modding support for the game,” Vakerics adds. According to the dev blog, there are up to 32 Jelly shapes and 32 different colours to “mix up.” They need to be kept happy with food and love, with the devs adding that items and the jelly’s diet can have an effect on how it grows — this can be tracked by their “Blob,” “Tummy,” and “Social” stats. And you’ll need to take good care of your jellies; if your jellies are sad or mistreated, they might come back to haunt the island. You’ll have a chance to redeem yourself, however, and can help them “leave the ghost state.”What’s the world like?Alchemic Cutie is set on the colourful Wimba Island. In the trailers and glimpses of the game we’ve been given so far, we’ve seen forests, fields, and farms. The island’s seasons affect Wimba Island in unexpected ways, with Vakerics explaining, “aside from different regions of the island, the player will also be able to experience new items and jellies as the seasons change.” Different bugs can be spotted at different times of the year, for example, such as moths in the autumn and dragonflies in the spring and summer. According to the dev blog, these bugs can be pretty useful. “If you play them a song, they will hint the player to follow them, and who knows, maybe even guide them to a nearby jelly, or something more secret!” As you explore, you might find your way blocked by temples, which means you’ll need to find and complete all the shrines in the area to unlock the next place to explore. Although we’ll be sticking to Wimba Island, the devs were keen to ensure that Alchemic Cutie’s world felt more than just one area. “Looking beyond Wimba Island, the characters the player meets are from various other countries, towns, and islands across the globe. We hope that people will get a sense that Wimba Island is just one location in a much larger game world,” Vakerics adds. Hints of inspiration from adventure RPGs like Stardew Valley are evident in Alchemic Cutie, and Vakerics says this extends to other games. “I would include Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing as influences regarding the tone and pace of Alchemic Cutie. The artistic influences include Minish Cap, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and Moonlighter, among others. I also looked to the artwork of certain artists such as soapH, jmw327, grafxkid, and Johan Vinet, among others.”You might also be wondering, why jellies? Well, as Vakerics says, the main reason is simple: “they’re cute!” Using jellies instead of the usual farm animals also has other benefits. “There are also less restrictions on what a jelly can do/eat compared with farm animals,” Vakerics says. “We have more freedom with the fiction and game design when using fictional creatures.”Any news on the Alchemic Cutie achievements?First off, we know for sure that we’ll need to spend some time collecting all the types of jellies, as Vakerics confirms there are achievements for that “and for other completion milestones such as finishing jelly delivery orders.”Vakerics continues, adding, “I used to chase achievements a lot, so I remember how boring and tedious some achievements are. We’re hoping to avoid that by treating achievements in Alchemic Cutie as challenges rather than basic tasks to complete. We wanted people to play in different or counterintuitive ways instead of just grinding when possible.” According to Vakerics, creating the achievements was a “fun process,” with the only difficulty being the data tracking for some achievements. We’ll keep an eye out and update you as soon as we get those Alchemic Cutie achievements.So, that’s everything we know about Alchemic Cutie, and there’s not long to go before it launches and you can try it out for yourself! What do you think? Are you ready to raise and care for a farm-full of jellies? Let us know in the comments!
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