FaeVerse Alchemy

FaeVerse Alchemy was in an unfinished early access state for many years, which is why there are so many negative reviews about the game having been "abandoned." I remember playing the EA version last year and I felt it was mediocre at best. However the developers recently released a major update which greatly improves the game and raises it up to the level of quality that we have come to expect from Subsoap, and the game is now worthy of a positive review.
At its core this is a very simple game. It is basically a Tetris/match-3 hybrid, and the mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has played similar games in the past. While there is nothing especially innovative here, the art and music are very nice and the game feels polished and relaxing to play. This would be a good choice for someone who likes to play casual games while listening to podcasts in the background, or for achievement hunters looking to collect some fairly easy achievements.

Only recommended so long as you can still acquire a free license; I wouldn't pay money for this.
Here's how to get the free license if you want to try it out (provided the dev doesn't remove it):
Start > Run > steam://install/282880
Competent take on progressively-staged match 3 gameplay, and an OK time waster, but... it's just a match 3 game. With literally hundreds of decent, completely free games of this type available on every digital platform in existence, the jump from free to buy-to-play seems very out of place here.

If you take it as it is, it's a likable and engaging puzzle game. It's a matching game, but one that involves matched pieces transforming into a single new one instead of just disappearing. I personally have never become very good at it, but it's still satisfying.
Like the other Faerie Solitaire games, the visuals are original and striking, and somehow manage to draw from fantasy fundamentals while still being self-original, recognizable, and interesting. The word choices definitely give a sort of lore-teasing flavor to the menus and explanations.
Still, for me, Faerie Solitaire's worldbuilding and characters and stories, ranging from the cheesy-yet-charming stories and worldbuilding in Faerie Solitaire 1 to the serious and mythical lore Easter Eggs in Faerie Solitaire: Harvest are among the most appealing aspects of the franchise. Those are understandably, yet still sadly, not here.
Any racu I would have not to recommend FaeVerse Alchemy settles into bed with the fact it's free. Feel free to give it a fanding if you like match-em-up puzzle games.

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relaxing

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