| Alchemy Stars | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Tourdog Studio |
| Publisher | Level Infinite |
| Composer | Asami Tachibana |
| Platforms | Android,iOS |
| Release | |
| Genres | Tactical role-playing,Strategy |
Alchemy Stars[1][a] was afree-to-playtactical role-playing andstrategy mobile game developed by Tourdog Studio and published byLevel Infinite. It was released globally on 17 June 2021 forAndroid andiOS devices, with a Chinese version released on 13 June 2023. The game shut down on 24 January 2025; a limited offline version was made available to existing installations.[2]
In the game, players build teams of five characters ("Aurorians"), each associated with one of four elements. In theturn-based combat stages, players guide these characters along paths of as many connected tiles of the same element as possible. Depending on the path length, the characters' attack powers and range can increase. Characters can also activate abilities to influence the battlefield before taking their turn, including changing tile elements, teleporting or healing. Most stages are won when the player successfully eliminates all enemies within a set number of turns. However, some stages' objectives may be different, such as surviving a set number of turns against an endless wave of enemies, or creating a path to a specific tile to exit the map.[citation needed]
Outside of combat, players can build up their base and interact with or level up their characters.[3] On the Colossus, players can increase their affinity with individual Aurorians or gather materials to use to upgrade their stats. In Cloud Gardens, players take control of their Navigator himself on a small, fully 3D map, and can collect materials through minigames such as fishing, chopping wood, and collecting ore to build up their own base.
Alchemy Stars takes place in Astra, a world different from our own, inhabited by people known as Aurorians who are constantly fighting against evil beings called Eclipsites. Another group, known as the Caelestites, had special abilities that let them fly gigantic sentient airships known as Colossus and had psychic abilities to let them connect with each other. However, one day, a Caelestite named Schummer sold out her home to the Eclipsites in exchange for power, leading nearly all the Caelestites to be massacred.
Players take on the role of the Navigator (named by the player in-game), a survivor of the Caelestite race who has spent roughly 17 years hiding from the Eclipsites in a Colossus named Soroz. When an Aurorian named Vice and her two comrades stumble across the Colossus while fighting off Eclipsites, the Navigator uses his power to help Vice defeat the enemies, and soon finds himself thrust into the middle of a war against the Eclipsites involving several factions of Aurorians with different agendas.
The music for the game was mainly composed byAsami Tachibana.[4] The theme song, "White Midnight" (白夜), was written and performed by the Japanese singerReol.[5] The game surpassed one million pre-registrations ahead of its release.[6] The game was released in both Japanese and English versions on 17 June 2021.[7]
The global launch ofAlchemy Stars was promoted by a giveaway of access to theCrunchyroll anime website and other prizes.[8]Tencent Games also organized an illustration contest onPixiv, commissioningShoko Nakagawa and other artists to support the competition.[9]
A Chinese release was announced, with pre-registrations beginning in January 2023.[10] Chinese voice actors were introduced, and a promotional video was released in March 2023.[11]Alchemy Stars officially launched in China on 13 June 2023.[12]
In November 2024, it was announced that the Chinese release ofAlchemy Stars would cease operations on 24 January 2025. Registration for new players andin-app purchases have been disabled. A special offline version of the game will also be made available. Players who have made transactions in the game may receive special gift packs for other games, includingHonor of Kings,Peace Elite,Naruto Mobile,Call of Duty: Mobile, andLight and Night Love.[13][14]
In December 2024, the global versionAlchemy Stars was also confirmed to shut down on 24 January 2025. Similar to the Chinese release, a special offline version of the game will be made available, with limited features compared to the original game.[15][16][17]
Hardcore Droid praisedAlchemy Star's gameplay and story, but noted that players may find both aspects monotonous.[18] 4Gamers highlighted the game's character designs andLive2D art, though found the gameplay to be weak.[19]
The game surpassed 10 million downloads as of September 2021.[20]