Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky DX

Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky DX gets off to a pretty turgid start with exposition-heavy scenes punctuated with lots of tutorials; however, once it gets its bearings, it's another satisfying tale with two strong lead characters to choose from, a great cast of supporting characters and that deep and satisfying alchemy sat right at the centre of it all, pulling the weaker strands of its gameplay together into a satisfyingly unified whole.

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is much more than I previously thought. Compared to its predecessor, Atelier Ayesha, which shares the same worldview, it seems much more polished in terms of mechanics and in some small aspects regarding its game design. Sure, it's a product of its time, with budget constraints and all, but it's still a sincere game that demonstrates care, compensating for its flaws with good art direction and original ideas. However, its specific problems, such as the drawn-out story and the limitations imposed by the Time Limit, still aggravate it. However, Escha & Logy makes up for its flaws with its own strengths. Even though it's not in my "Top 5 Atelier games of all time," I recognize its strengths even more than I did in the past. Revisiting it has certainly been good for me, and Atelier Escha & Logy deserves to be part of this captivating saga that is Dusk.

The second entry in the Atelier Dusk trilogy is an improvement overall compared to its predecessor, but does struggle a bit in certain areas.

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Sky DX is the second game in the Dusk Trilogy series and it wins its place on the Nintendo Switch thanks to its compelling mix of interesting characters and good balance between the objectives and the margin to fulfill them. Its beginning does feel too slow and the exploration could be more elaborate but overall, the Atelier series continues to show good health on the Nintendo Switch.

To conclude, Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemist of the Dusk Sky is a fantastic addition to, not only the Dusk trilogy, but to the entirety of the Atelier line-up. Bringing in a dual point of view makes things more interesting. Plus, the though of a second play-through with a completely different person the second time around makes it more exciting. A great place to start for any newcomers to the series of alchemy. I'm giving this game a 8.5 out of 10.

The storyline is different, and the fact that both protagonists spend their time working for a company sometimes makes it feel more like a management game. But the characters that accompany you on your assignments are likeable and each have their own story to tell. The fans of the series will see many familiar faces, like Marion, Linca and Wilbell. I like the interaction between Escha and Logy and the mystery that has to be unraveled. The visuals, gameplay, soundtrack and combination of synthesising, battling and the story made it into a great experience for me.

Little nitpicks aside, I love this game. It juggles a bunch of interconnected systems well, combined with a light-hearted sense of humor and plenty of little bits of polish here and there that really show the love the developers put into the game.

There's an old-school feel to Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky that'll make series fans nostalgic as they go on the memorable adventure within.

Atelier Escha & Logy DX refines the formula Ayesha laid out and other new features that make it not just the best in the Dusk trilogy, but one of the best Atelier games in general.