KOEI TECMO Europe and developer Gust, in collaboration with TOHO Co., Ltd., have announced The Apothecary Diaries The False Imperial Brother, the first-ever console game adaptation of the popular The Apothecary Diaries franchise.
Currently in development, the new adventure game is scheduled to launch in early 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.
The game will feature an original story and new characters conceptualised by Hyuganatsu, author of the original The Apothecary Diaries series, alongside familiar characters including Maomao and Jinshi.
Maomao Investigates a New Mystery
The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother follows Maomao, the apothecary from the pleasure district who now works within the rear palace.
Maomao soon finds herself investigating two interconnected chains of strange events known as the Five Mysteries and the Five Curses. The incidents spread across the rear palace, the pleasure district and the streets of the capital, with rumours and conspiracies creating increasing chaos.
During her investigation, Maomao encounters a masked man claiming to be the “imperial younger brother”. As suspicion surrounding the mysterious figure grows, Maomao becomes involved in an investigation that could ultimately uncover a secret capable of destroying the imperial court.
Explore, Gather Evidence and Solve the Case
The game will put investigation at the centre of the experience. Players will need to explore locations, gather clues, interview witnesses and organise the information they discover before attempting to solve each mystery.
Maomao will be able to investigate locations throughout the rear palace and the surrounding city, while travelling outside the city allows her to collect apothecary ingredients.
These ingredients can be used to concoct medicines that may become useful evidence during an investigation or allow Maomao to help her companions.
Players will also encounter familiar characters such as Jinshi, the influential eunuch of the rear palace, alongside new characters including Guanyu, a travelling actor whose reputation is growing throughout the capital.
Deduction Is Key to Uncovering the Truth
Once players have gathered enough information, they can enter the game’s deduction phase, where Maomao reviews the evidence and summarises the facts she has uncovered.
However, simply reaching the correct conclusion won’t necessarily be enough. Players will need to defend their deductions when challenged by others and provide convincing evidence to support their theories.
This can involve selecting the appropriate responses, searching through Maomao’s notebook for relevant evidence or combining different pieces of information to establish a stronger argument.
The more evidence players uncover during their investigations, the more options they will have available when attempting to convince others and solve the case.
A New Story Set Within The Apothecary Diaries
One of the more interesting aspects of The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother is its new storyline. Rather than simply retelling events from the existing franchise, the game introduces an exclusive mystery and new characters while bringing back familiar faces from the series.
With Maomao’s knowledge of medicine and her ability to notice details others overlook, the game is built around investigating seemingly unrelated incidents and piecing together the evidence to uncover what is really happening.
The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother Release Date
The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother is currently in development and is scheduled to release in early 2027.
The game will launch on:
- Nintendo Switch 2
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 5
- PC via Steam
The game will feature Japanese voice acting with English text.
For fans of The Apothecary Diaries, the upcoming game looks set to offer a new way to experience Maomao’s world, combining exploration, evidence gathering, medicine crafting and deduction with an original mystery created with the involvement of the franchise’s original author.
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