"Arc of Alchemist" Review

Guiding the nubile heroine Quinn Bravesford on a quest to secure a paradigm-shifting force that could save humankind from itself, there are no lack of high stakes in "Arc of Alchemist."

You're stuck int he desert in search of the bluntly named Great Power. Armed with orb-controlling alchemic powers, you have the ability to shift the landscape and conjure weapons and defenses that make you an increasingly formidable force.

The action RPG from the dev team at Compile Heart emphasizes style and visuals above all else. With a painterly style and gorgeous dreamscape of a narrative, the saga rises to the occasion.

Taken as a storytelling experience, the game is rich and vibrant. Its gameplay, though, is rote and unfulfilling. The game's heart seems to be an anime rather than an interactive adventure.

The RPG elements and menu interfaces can be complex and daunting, forcing you to adapt to a steep learning curve to keep pace. You crawl along a more-or-less linear journey, with the gameplay amounting to repetitive, mundane tasks that you plow through until you can unlock the next piece of the story arc.

Whether or not the game interests you enough to continue tugging you along the path depends on your level of patience, as well as how entranced you become with the tale. "Arc of Alchemist" has plenty going for it, but to truly hook you it will have to transform you into someone willing to accept stiff elements in order to stay the course.

Publisher provided review code.