The Apothecary Diaries is basically the definition of a cozy anime mystery series. It follows Maomao, a servant in the emperor’s palace in a fictional country based on Tang Dynasty-era China, as she investigates poisonings and other court intrigue among the emperor’s consorts. And if you’ve ever thought that would make a great premise for a video game, too, we have good news: that’s exactly what’s happening.
Nintendo announced The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, an upcoming adventure mystery game developed and published by Koei Tecmo, during its Nintendo Direct livestream today. “Two chains of strange phenomenon and conspiracies are causing chaos throughout the rear palace, red-light district, and streets of the capital,” reads the game’s official description. “Apothecary Maomao must use every ounce of her intelligence and knowledge to solve the mysteries and unveil the truth behind the False Imperial Brother before it destroys the imperial court.” You can check out the announcement trailer below.
According to the game’s Steam description, gameplay elements will include “exploring, collecting evidence, crafting medicine, organizing information, and making deductions.” The exploration, crafting, and mystery-solving elements look robust, which is exactly what we’d want from an Apothecary Diaries game.
Between the upcoming game and the anime’s third season premiering October 2 on Crunchyroll, Apothecary Diaries fans will be eating well for the foreseeable future. A new original movie also premieres on December 11 in Japan.
The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother will be available for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC. It is set to release in early 2027.
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