Image via Gust and Koei Tecmo

Gust shared a teaser for the exploration and investigation gameplay loop we’ll experiencing in the upcoming The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother game. The title will follow some of the same sort of experiences as ones we see in the manga, light novel, and anime. The infographics also show how the two types of gameplay will tie in to each other. 

In The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, we know that Maomao will need to deal with five Rear Palace mysteries and five curses in town that are tied to the False Imperial Brother. This will involve standard investigations, as well as her using her apothecary skills to uncover additional details. For the exploration part, it seems to pull from Gust’s experiences with the Atelier series, as she’ll gather ingredients, use them to make medicine, and then use that to either gain new insights from using them or use the concoction itself as part of the investigation.

As for the investigation part of The Apothecary Diaries game, we’ll see the clues from the different mysteries collected together. Using that, we’ll go through multiple-choice questions with her to work out the steps that explain the exact nature of things and what’s going on. This will allow us to see her review memories and evidence. She’ll then reach a conclusion that solves the situation and brings her closer to the overarching mystery’s resolution, advancing the story in the process.

Here are the two infographics Gust shared going over The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother game.

The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and PC in early 2027, Square Enix handles the manga and light novel, and the third season of the anime is now streaming on Crunchyroll. 

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Jenni is Editor-in-Chief at Siliconera and has been playing games since getting access to her parents' Intellivision as a toddler. She continues to play on every possible platform and loves all of the systems she owns. (These include a PS4, Switch, Xbox One, WonderSwan Color and even a Vectrex!) You may have also seen her work at GamerTell, Cheat Code Central, Michibiku and PlayStation LifeStyle.