Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land Reviews
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land represents a potential turning point for Gust's long-running JRPG series. It is a large and ambitious production, with an emphasis on more immediate and accessible gameplay accompanied by a story with a more mature slant. Exactly like a complex alchemical formula, the developers have managed to combine the saga's identity features with the novelties included. At the same time, it is a formula that can be further refined and improved. But one thing is certain: the path is definitely the right one.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Overall, I really enjoyed Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. I found the full open world setting a joy to explore, the new combat system is fun, and the story is pretty good. The darker tone will be jarring for longtime fans, but I think it is very fitting for this world and character. Yumia is a different kind of alchemist than we are used to, and that is what made this journey even more special. There is plenty to discover as well, my playtime barely cracked the surface of everything that is here to discover. I feel the game is well worth the $69.99 asking price. This is also a great starting point for someone wanting to check out the Atelier series for the first time, since you need no knowledge of any of the previous games to have a good time here.
Does everything change just to stay the same? Not quite. While Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land by Koei Tecmo and Gust serves as a great entry point to the series, the simplifications and innovations introduced seem to have stripped it of its essence. Despite being enjoyable and well-crafted, the game feels more generic and similar to other titles in the genre, rather than a noticeable evolution of the Atelier world. The streamlined alchemy and resource management may disappoint the more die-hard fans, who might not resonate with what appears on screen. It's a shame because the core structure is solid, and the game is fun to play. However, these so-called accessibility improvements have diluted the gaming experience to the point where, had it been called something else, perhaps no one would have noticed the difference.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Yumia’s Atelier is a game that mixes the classic alchemy RPG style with today’s popular open-world gameplay. The main character looks great, the battles feel quick and fun, and it’s really satisfying to make items easily while exploring the world. But the game could be better when it comes to performance, and a lot of the open-world quests feel kind of repetitive.
Review in Korean | Read full review
With Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Dreamed Land, the Japanese company Gust opens the next chapter in their long-running JRPG series. The game scores points with its great exploration gameplay, which lets us enjoy exploring the large and atmospherically designed game world. Thanks to our heroine's swift movement options, there is hardly an obstacle that cannot be overcome unless the game forces us to wait. The fantastic world is supported by the sometimes beautiful graphics including dynamic day/night changes and the atmospheric soundtrack, even if only Japanese voice output is available. Both the combat and alchemy systems are accessible in principle, but with considerable depth. Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Dreamed Land offers something for every player thanks to four difficulty levels that can be changed at any time. This means that hardcore JRPG enthusiasts and casual gamers are equally well catered for. Also worth mentioning is the great building system, which allows us to create our own outposts relatively quickly and easily. As we are constantly finding new blueprints and resources in the world, this option in particular motivates us to continue exploring the game world. Unfortunately, however, the otherwise successful game falls short in the area of story. The main story takes a long time to tell and, especially at the beginning of the game, seems unnecessarily tedious. The numerous side quests are also hardly convincing, as they are just generic standard fare with collecting or combat tasks. There could definitely have been more in this area. Of course, this sounds very negative. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Dreamed Land, which for me was mainly due to the great exploration premise and the building mode. For a second part of a possible trilogy, however, I would primarily like to see a somewhat better story.
Review in German | Read full review
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land ultimately suffers from being too simple. While it does avoid making engaging with any of its systems frustrating, this creates a complete lack of depth, resulting in most aspects of the game feeling identical whether you are doing them in hour 1 or hour 50. It has tons to do, and if you want something simple and mindless, it does work in that mold, but I can't imagine wanting to play for more than a few hours, since you have seen everything it has to offer.
This is the most ambitious Atelier game yet, and it lays a solid foundation for whatever comes next. If you’re open to change, it’s absolutely worth diving into.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Imagined Land is an incredibly competent RPG and a good gateway to this franchise so unknown to the vast majority.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land offers a fresh take with a non-traditional protagonist and expanded gameplay, including a larger world, new mechanics, and dynamic combat, but underutilizes its setting, while technical issues on Switch are offset by stunning art and excellent voice acting, making it a fun yet slightly shallow addition to the Atelier series.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land invites us to explore an intriguing world with a dark tone and a denser narrative than any other Atelier has seen before. It is a very competent RPG when it comes to presenting gameplay mechanics that tend to attract a large audience. On the other hand, veterans may be disappointed to see that elements that give uniqueness to the series are neglected.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Atelier Yumia is the bold and right new direction for this series. While it took time to adjust to the action combat, it is unlike anything I’ve played before and quite fun.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land comfortably serves as an excellent jumping in point to those looking into playing the Atelier games.
With a deep alchemy system, engaging world, and darker yet satisfying narrative, Atelier Yumia impresses, though the combat could improve, making this a promising new step for Gust's iconic series.
Even with the obvious hardware limitations, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land is extremely beautiful on the hybrid console and is worth checking out for those who are already familiar with the Atelier franchise or for those who, like me, are curious to get to know it. With a more interactive world, renewed combat and the addition of construction mechanics, it is an excellent entry in the series, without leaving aside its already well-known identity. The amount of content available is also impressive, guaranteeing several hours of gameplay and many different ways of approaching it for those who like to explore everything a title has to offer. If the next game can redeem Atelier Yumia's flaws, Gust's series will certainly have gained a new fan.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is another engaging entry in the franchise, featuring active combat that is a sensational evolution for the franchise and a vast world full of incentives for exploration. However, the less intuitive detail system and some quality of life details that deserve more end up hurting the experience in an unexpected way compared to the Ryza trilogy.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land takes the beloved RPG series in a bold new direction, blending emotional storytelling with expansive open-world exploration. While its narrative depth and revamped synthesis system shine, underwhelming villains and uneven gameplay balance hold it back from greatness.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a fantastic experience with engaging mechanics and a solid story. Synthesizing items is addicting, the story is interesting, and the activities around the open world are fulfilling. Combat gets enjoyable later on, but it can feel a little floaty in general with basic attacks. Apart from some minor issues traversing the landscape, I didn't find much I disliked about the game, and I would recommend checking it out if you enjoy the series or just like JRPGs in general. Playing on the Steam Deck is almost completely solid, with a fluctuating framerate. But outside of some areas in the first region and some very flashy combat, we can get a stable 30 FPS with the game looking quite solid. It needs some compromises, but in the end, it is playable and enjoyable.
I must admit to looking back longingly to the fighting and synthesising systems in Atelier Ryza and earlier games. The fighting feels too much like button mashing for me, and I miss all the complexity of older Atelier games. But I get that Gust wants to insert new things into each game and maybe make the Atelier games accessible to new players, and it all comes down to personal preference. That being said, the building part of Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is a nice addition. I love the exploration part; I’m just curious about what’s around the corner. The deep narrative and the way alchemy is portrayed made me instantly like Yumia—no overly enthusiastic youngster but a quiet girl with a history. This is a good successor to the Secret trilogy and a great entry point for newcomers.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land is a bold new approach to the series and a welcome evolution to most of its mechanics. With a strong cast of characters, an excellent story, and an enjoyable open world to explore, Yumia is here to become the queen of all Atelier heroines.