Alchemist

by Oasiscircle

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Alchemist is a competitive player vs. player game inspired by the Puyo Puyo series. Programmed by Oasiscircle, the game is themed around the four elements and manipulating them to defeat your opponents. With strategic thinking and careful planning, players can group four or more of the same elements together to rack up combos to flood their enemy's side of the arena with refuse blocks.

The graphics - drawn by Oasiscircle - are simple but charming, reminiscent of the ancient Roman's architecture of white marble pillars and marvelous stone buildings.

The music was composed by Eksadus and fits the overall mood of the game quite well.

One of the main features of the game is its persistent leaderboard. Players start with an average score of 500 and face each other to raise their skill level higher and higher to claim the crown as the best alchemist. The scoring method uses a variation of the Elo rating system, which allows for players who are close in score to gain more points after defeating their similarly skilled foes.

For those that like a challenge, the game features fifteen possible medals to obtain, each based on pulling off a specific set of moves in the game. Think you can earn them all?

Alchemist currently features a shell server, so the game is available to play with others almost constantly. If the main server becomes too crowded, the shell server will expand to create more instances of the game. You can also host your own server if you like, which also allows for you to practice the game by yourself. A useful feature of the game is that you can subscribe to the Match Call, which allows players to receive an automated message when other players are seeking someone to play against.

If you find the game enjoyable, there's an option to donate money which will net you a few in-game perks including:

• The ability to create guilds.
• Coloured names in the queue.
• A neat emblem in front of your name.
• And later on, the ability to select custom pixel art packs and sound effects.

Overall, I find the game to be very entertaining. Matches are short and quick, and a fair bit of thinking is involved when trying to create the perfect combo to take out your opponent. I think everyone should give it a try at least once, especially if you're a fan of puzzle games.

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