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I’ll be the primary to confess video games that closely function crafting as a key element are sometimes an enormous turn-off for me, so I used to be initially cautious of Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Recollections and the Envisioned Land’s deal with it. Be it in survival video games like Minecraft or Sons of the Forest, and even different RPGs like Last Fantasy 14 On-line, I often discover it onerous to have interaction with crafting methods; the tedium of all of it rapidly units in, making me very wanting to get again to gameplay that’s only a bit extra thrilling.
Overview information
Platform reviewed: PC (Steam)
Out there on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Sequence X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Change, PC
Launch date: March 21, 2025
This, surprisingly, has not been the case with developer Gust’s Atelier Yumia. From tools and equipment to useful gadgets and placeable furnishings, a lot of this RPG’s (role-playing sport) gameplay revolves round its alchemical crafting system.
However that turned the precise motive why I grew to like the sport. In Atelier Yumia, you’re not simply crafting issues for small, briefly useful positive factors. Every merchandise you synthesize gives significant sport and character development. Whether or not that’s rising the efficiency of a therapeutic merchandise by utilizing higher-quality gatherables or making a model of a weapon that allows you to slot in additional traits, there are at all times a number of avenues of customization and outfitting your social gathering members with instruments that fit your playstyle.
Pair this with an extremely slick and trendy battle system and an open world that drastically incentivizes exploration, and in Atelier Yumia, you’ve got a sport that may simply be thought-about probably the greatest RPGs of 2025. Barring some presentational points and the occasional little bit of obtuse map design, the sport is just a near-constant pleasure to play.
The not-so-wicked witch
Whereas not an solely darkish narrative by any means, Atelier Yumia grounds issues in a world the place alchemy is drastically feared and shunned, having been answerable for an amazing many accidents all through historical past.
Our titular protagonist, Yumia, is one such alchemist and, regardless of solely wanting one of the best for the world and its individuals, is usually met with mistrust. Even when she makes use of alchemy for the good thing about others.
Thus, Yumia units out on a journey of fact and discovery with a celebration of trusted comrades. With the purpose of discovering the secrets and techniques of the fallen land that when thrived beforehand, Yumia goals to show that alchemy can be utilized for good and doesn’t should be one thing that’s inherently harmful.
From begin to end, Atelier Yumia’s story is a reasonably simple experience, however one which’s nonetheless pleasurable. Components of maturity are current, particularly when exploring Yumia’s previous. However the sport typically retains the tone light-hearted and there’s loads of bubbly dialogue and humor to get pleasure from. Total, it’s an easygoing, typically cozy story, however one which isn’t afraid to get critical because the scenario calls for.
A stroll within the park
What Atelier Yumia will get proper for almost all of its runtime is pacing – one thing that’s often fairly uncommon within the open-world house. The sport’s story hardly ever drags its heels, permitting gamers to actually take issues at their very own tempo.
That tempo, between all the sport’s methods and mechanics, is often very brisk. That’s very true of exploration in Atelier Yumia. Whilst you may initially balk on the abundance of Ubisoft-style query marks dotting the map, in actuality, these are nearly all extraordinarily fast diversions. Optionally available factors of curiosity like this embody small ruins to discover, monster breeding grounds or hubs for specific supplies, caves containing treasures, and packing containers you may rapidly nab ability factors from.
Whereas there’s definitely a lot to do in every of Yumia’s 4 principal areas, you’re in a position to discover it at a comparatively fast tempo. Darting between undiscovered factors of curiosity on the best way to the following story goal at all times felt pure, and by no means like I needed to significantly exit of my method until I expressly wished to.
Greatest bit
Atelier Yumia’s tackle the sequence’ alchemy system is arguably its finest but. Whereas definitely very deep and boasting an amalgamation of its personal mechanics, it’s nonetheless extremely simple. Crafting high-quality gadgets like weapons, equipment, restoratives and extra is a moreish endeavor, particularly as you proceed to refine and make them simpler as you progress via the sport.
That very same snappiness applies to Atelier Yumia’s battle system. Like alchemy, there’s so much to the battle system, nevertheless it’s all very simple to select up and be taught. The fundamentals are that your social gathering of three can interact enemies with combo assaults, set to every of the 4 face buttons. These combos can be utilized to place enemies in a weakened state, at which level you should use battle gadgets and accomplice assaults to use elemental weaknesses for large injury.
Battle gadgets are additionally a way more integral a part of the expertise, and have been streamlined to a level. They’ll grow to be everlasting additions to your fight loadout, solely restricted by a cooldown timer between makes use of. You’ll solely want to interchange them for those who want to craft higher variations of them with extra properties and extra injury or therapeutic efficiency.
Because of this, whereas social gathering members have their very own weapons and base stats, how one can set them up is impressively versatile. For instance, kitting Yumia out with elemental battle gadgets can flip her into a strong mage, whereas the shield-bearing Viktor may maintain quite a lot of stat-boosting gadgets, primarily making him a stalwart help unit. It’s a bit Xenoblade-esque in that regard, supplying you with the instruments obligatory to construct and equip characters in a method that works for you.
I require your strongest potions
As I discussed on the prime, alchemy is the system that ties all the pieces collectively in Atelier Yumia. Whereas at your atelier – or inside a delegated constructing zone on the planet – you’re free to carry out synthesis to create something from battle gadgets to benches. You’ll after all want supplies to craft this stuff, however you’ll discover plentiful gathering spots all through the world and also you’ll naturally acquire an abundance of elements by merely exploring.
All synthesis initiatives start by deciding on an Alchemy Core as your base merchandise, of which there are numerous varieties – together with one that gives an total high quality enhance or one other that allows you to slot in traits for added modifiers. You’ll then add supplies to assist broaden the core’s resonance space. The bigger this space, the extra drifting mana will probably be captured inside its affect. The extra mana you acquire, the better the merchandise’s high quality, thus boosting its total efficiency. Plus, utilizing supplies of a better grade will lengthen the ceiling of any given merchandise’s potential energy.
What makes alchemy so nice is that it truly is as much as you with reference to the way you form this stuff. Supplies have their very own distinctive properties, and utilizing particular ones can present secondary or tertiary bonuses. A tough-hitting battle merchandise might present different bonuses this fashion, comparable to therapeutic or offering numerous buffs. Or, you may simply go all-in on energy, making gadgets that hit as onerous as attainable.
As you progress via the sport, you’ll step by step unlock new recipes for synthesizing fully new gadgets. These ‘recall recipes’ may be created and upgraded at your atelier utilizing various kinds of Reminiscence Vials yow will discover on the planet. Upgrading recipes could make them much more highly effective, comparable to rising their variety of makes use of earlier than happening cooldown, or rising their base high quality.
As I stated, you’re not simply restricted to battle-oriented gadgets. Synthesis may be finished to create potions, armor, equipment, and extra. And for those who don’t need to get too misplaced within the weeds, useful fast synthesis choices exist the place the sport will neatly assign supplies routinely primarily based in your preferences – whether or not that be the naked minimal, or going for as a lot high quality as attainable.
Synthesis doesn’t cease there, both. Workbenches will assist you to create housing gadgets like benches, crops, or archways. These can then be freely positioned as designated constructing spots all through the world, letting you create your personal bases or homesteads. There are such a lot of choices right here, and it feels nice having the ability to go away your personal marks on the world to a drastically private diploma. Certain, it’s not fairly Minecraft ranges of freedom, however there’s a lot right here that’ll assist you to get misplaced in hours of creativity.
A courageous new frontier
In my Atelier Yumia playthrough, actually the one factor that bugged me was the sport’s total visuals and presentation. They’re in no way dangerous, however I do really feel like developer Gust typically went a contact overboard in relation to post-processing results. Bloom throughout dawn and sundown may be eye-searingly vivid, washing out the world to an sometimes uncomfortable diploma. Climate results additionally aren’t significantly convincing, with an instance being rainfall instantly coating the world in an excessively moist and glossy look.
In higher information, efficiency in Atelier Yumia is incredible. On PC, I used to be in a position to preserve a rock-solid 60fps (frames per second), and cargo occasions are phenomenally quick – even when quick touring from one finish of the map to a different. I discovered this to be essential given the comparatively fast-paced nature of the sport, and I’m glad that Gust actually took the time to optimize its world with this in thoughts.
Must you play Atelier Yumia?
Play it if…
Do not play it if…
Accessibility
There’s an honest quantity of accessibility options discovered inside Atelier Yumia’s choices menu. Textual content dimension and background opacity may be adjusted, in addition to have three colorblind settings (deuteranopia, tritanopia, and protanopia) utilized to them.
Numerous battle choices exist that may make hitting sure instructions simpler, too. These embody an auto-guard operate for incoming assaults and an ‘simple precision counter’ that swaps you to a random character after efficiently guarding or evading on the proper time.
How I reviewed Atelier Yumia
My playthrough of Atelier Yumia lasted round 35 hours, taking me via the principle quest line, a ton of non-obligatory map exploration, and a handful of aspect quests.
I spent a lot of that point getting absorbed by merchandise synthesis, discovering it to be the sport’s crowning achievement and one thing I used to be keen to place a lot time into with a purpose to craft high-quality battle gadgets and kit. I performed the sport on PC through Steam with an Nvidia RTX GeForce 3060 Ti graphics card, an AOC Gaming 24G2SP monitor, and the Razer Wolverine V3 Professional controller.
First reviewed March 2025
