‘The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother’ Comes To Consoles And PC March 18
by Sage Ashford
Koei-Tecmo and Gust are working together again to provide anime fans with another adaptation of a popular series. This time, they’re relying on Maomao, the master of herbs and medicine, to bring them success with The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother. The title sees Maomao trying to solve the “Five Mysteries” and discover the truth behind a man masquerading as the “imperial younger brother.”
What’s most surprising about The False Imperial Brother is the kind of game it seems to be. While there’s a lot of focus on solving mysteries, it’s more than a point-and-click style mystery title, instead encouraging exploration as players gather ingredients and interview people through exploration. The title’s in-depth herbal concoction system feels like something right out of the Atelier series, which is helpful as they’re using that less and less as the franchise becomes more action-oriented.
We also got a look at the other two playable characters in the game: Jinshi and Maomao the cat. Naturally, both characters have different options available to them for exploration, including Maomao the cat being able to travel across rooftops to get information the human Maomao could never reach.
Announced back in September, they’ve finally confirmed its actual release date as March 18th, when it’ll release on Steam, Switch and Switch 2, and PlayStation 5.
