Little Charlotte wants to become a master alchemist. She’s got the passion, the determination, and access to countless magical ingredients. What she lacks is experience, which is exactly where you come in. The Bestest Alchemist, launching December 2025 from indie studio Tabi Entertainment, combines the scoring satisfaction of Balatro with match-3 puzzle mechanics and roguelike progression. And according to the development team, creating something adorable was just as important as making it strategically engaging.
Balatro Meets Match-3
The core gameplay loop takes inspiration from Balatro’s scoring system, where understanding combos and multipliers becomes crucial for success. But instead of poker hands, you’re arranging alchemical ingredients on a grid. Match-3 mechanics provide the foundational puzzle structure, while inventory management adds strategic depth about which ingredients to keep, use, or discard.
This genre blend creates interesting decision points. Do you use rare ingredients now for an immediate powerful potion, or save them for later combinations? Which ingredient arrangements create the best scoring chains? How do you balance short-term survival against long-term optimization? These questions drive engagement across repeated runs.
Free Arrangement System
Unlike traditional match-3 games that lock you into grid positions, The Bestest Alchemist lets you freely arrange ingredients to create magical combinations. This flexibility opens strategic possibilities beyond simple pattern matching. You’re actively designing optimal layouts rather than reacting to what the game presents.
The freedom to experiment with ingredient placement encourages creative problem-solving. Multiple solutions exist for most challenges, rewarding players who discover clever combinations or unexpected synergies. This design philosophy prioritizes player agency over rigid puzzle constraints.
Roguelike Structure
Each playthrough in The Bestest Alchemist follows roguelike conventions. Procedurally generated challenges ensure variety across runs. Death means starting over, but with accumulated knowledge about ingredient interactions and optimal strategies. Permanent progression unlocks new ingredients, recipes, or abilities that expand future possibilities.
The roguelike framework provides natural replayability. You’re not grinding the same content repeatedly, you’re discovering new combinations, testing different strategies, and gradually mastering the intricate systems. Each failure teaches something valuable for the next attempt.
Story and Visual Novel Elements
Tabi Entertainment is incorporating story and visual novel aspects into the full release. The demo focused primarily on gameplay mechanics, but the December launch will flesh out Charlotte’s journey from apprentice to master alchemist with narrative context and character development.
The team shared work-in-progress previews showing dialogue scenes and story beats integrated between puzzle challenges. This narrative layer gives purpose beyond just scoring points, creating emotional investment in Charlotte’s success. Players aren’t just solving puzzles, they’re helping a determined young alchemist achieve her dreams.
Prioritizing Fun Over Balance
In their Reddit announcement, Tabi Entertainment revealed their design philosophy: prioritize fun over balance. The full release will revamp gameplay to simplify mechanics while introducing more variety. This approach suggests they’re willing to let players discover overpowered combinations if those moments create joy.
Many roguelikes obsess over perfect balance, carefully tuning every synergy to prevent dominant strategies. The Bestest Alchemist takes the opposite approach, embracing the chaotic fun of discovering broken combinations. If players find a way to brew absurdly powerful potions, that’s a feature, not a bug.
Demo Available Now
A free demo launched on Steam last month, giving players immediate access to The Bestest Alchemist’s core gameplay. The demo received positive feedback from early players, which encouraged Tabi Entertainment to expand their vision for the December full release.
Playing the demo provides insight into whether the genre blend works for your tastes. Some players will love the combination of Balatro scoring with match-3 puzzles. Others might prefer purer examples of either genre. The free demo removes financial risk from discovery.
Global Development Team
Tabi Entertainment describes themselves as a small team spread across the globe. They’re not industry veterans with decades of experience at major studios. They’re passionate developers working remotely across time zones to create games they’d want to play themselves.
This distributed structure is increasingly common in indie development. Modern collaboration tools make geography irrelevant. Talented developers from different countries and cultures can form teams based on shared creative vision rather than physical proximity. The result is often more diverse perspectives influencing game design.
The Bestest Alchemist Isn’t Their First Game
Tabi Entertainment previously worked on Everglyph Trials, demonstrating they have experience shipping completed projects. This matters because countless indie studios announce ambitious games that never materialize. Having a released game in their portfolio suggests The Bestest Alchemist will actually reach the December launch window.
Everglyph Trials shows Tabi Entertainment’s range as developers. The games share cute art styles but differ mechanically, proving the team isn’t locked into a single formula. They’re exploring different genres while maintaining a consistent aesthetic identity.
The Alchemy Game Renaissance
The Bestest Alchemist joins a growing trend of alchemy-themed games released in recent years. Potion Craft became a surprise hit with its hands-on ingredient grinding and experimentation. Alchemist Shop Simulator combined crafting with business management. Noita used alchemical physics as the foundation for roguelike exploration.
Alchemy provides rich thematic material for game designers. Experimentation, discovery, transformation, and mastery through practice all translate naturally into gameplay mechanics. The mystical aesthetic appeals to players seeking magical experiences without combat-heavy fantasy settings.
December 2025 Launch
The full release is scheduled for December 2025 on PC via Steam. This timeline gives Tabi Entertainment approximately one month to implement planned improvements based on demo feedback. The tight schedule suggests most core systems are complete, with remaining work focused on content addition and polish.
December launches compete against holiday game releases and end-of-year blockbusters. However, The Bestest Alchemist targets a different audience than AAA action games. Players seeking cute, strategic puzzle experiences might specifically look for alternatives to mainstream holiday releases.
Community Engagement
Tabi Entertainment actively engages with potential players through Reddit and other platforms. They’re answering questions, gathering feedback, and demonstrating genuine excitement about their project. This accessibility builds goodwill that translates to community support and word-of-mouth promotion.
Small indie studios benefit enormously from direct community relationships. Without marketing budgets to buy visibility, grassroots enthusiasm becomes the primary discovery mechanism. Players who feel heard and valued become advocates who share games with friends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Bestest Alchemist?
The Bestest Alchemist is a strategic match-3 roguelike where you help apprentice alchemist Charlotte brew potions on her journey to mastery. The game combines Balatro-style scoring mechanics, puzzle gameplay, inventory management, and visual novel story elements in an adorable package.
When does The Bestest Alchemist release?
The full game launches in December 2025 on PC via Steam. A free demo is currently available for players who want to try the core gameplay before release.
Who is developing The Bestest Alchemist?
The game is developed by Tabi Entertainment, a small indie team distributed across the globe. While not industry veterans, they bring passion and dedication to creating games they would love to play, with previous experience shipping Everglyph Trials.
How does The Bestest Alchemist gameplay work?
Players freely arrange alchemical ingredients on a grid to create magical combinations using match-3 puzzle mechanics. The game incorporates Balatro-inspired scoring systems, inventory management, and roguelike structure where each run presents new challenges and learning opportunities.
Is there a demo for The Bestest Alchemist?
Yes, a free demo is available now on Steam. The demo showcases core gameplay mechanics and received positive feedback that encouraged the developers to expand their vision for the full December release.
Does The Bestest Alchemist have a story?
Yes, the full release will incorporate story and visual novel elements following Charlotte’s journey from apprentice to master alchemist. The demo focused primarily on gameplay, but December’s launch will include narrative context and character development.
What makes The Bestest Alchemist different from other match-3 games?
The game combines match-3 puzzles with Balatro-style scoring, roguelike progression, inventory management, and free ingredient arrangement instead of locked grid positions. The developers also prioritize fun over perfect balance, embracing powerful combinations that create joyful moments.
What platforms will The Bestest Alchemist be available on?
The game is confirmed for PC via Steam at launch. Additional platforms have not been announced at this time.
Conclusion
The Bestest Alchemist represents thoughtful genre fusion executed by developers who understand what makes each component engaging. Balatro proved that clever scoring systems create addictive gameplay loops. Match-3 puzzles remain satisfying after decades of iteration. Roguelike structure provides natural replayability. Combining these elements around an adorable alchemist protagonist creates something that feels both familiar and fresh.
The decision to prioritize fun over balance is particularly refreshing. Too many games chase perfect competitive equilibrium at the expense of joyful chaos. Discovering absurdly powerful potion combinations should feel rewarding, not like exploiting broken mechanics. Tabi Entertainment embraces the delight of finding overpowered strategies rather than patching them out.
Charlotte’s journey from inexperienced apprentice to master alchemist mirrors the player’s own progression. You start confused by ingredients and scoring systems. Through repeated attempts, failures, and discoveries, mastery emerges. That parallel between character arc and player skill development creates satisfying progression that purely mechanical roguelikes often lack.
Whether The Bestest Alchemist becomes a breakout hit or a beloved niche title depends on execution details we won’t fully evaluate until December. But the foundation is solid: proven mechanics combined in novel ways, adorable presentation that doesn’t sacrifice strategic depth, and developers willing to prioritize player joy over rigid balance philosophies.
The free demo removes barriers to discovery. Download it, brew some potions, see if Charlotte’s quest resonates with you. If the core loop clicks, December will bring the full journey with story integration, expanded variety, and whatever chaotic combinations Tabi Entertainment decides are too fun to remove. Charlotte needs your help becoming the bestest alchemist. Not the best, the bestest. That extra syllable conveys all the earnest charm this project radiates. Give the demo a try. Your inner alchemist might be waiting to discover the perfect potion recipe.