Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land Review

Game: Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land
Genre: RPG
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam [Windows], PS4/5 and Xbox)
Developer | Publisher: Gust | Koei Tecmo
Age Rating: US Teen | EU 12+
Price: US $59.99 | UK £49.99 | EU € 59,99
Release Date: March 21st, 2025

A review code was used, with many thanks to ICO Partners.

If you have followed our site, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Atelier games. Ever since I played my first one, Atelier Rorona, I’ve been hooked. I love the synthesis; I really liked the turn-based fighting and making sure I had the right battle items to take down the monsters. I also love the exploration part, which has slowly but surely crept into the series. Atelier Firis was the first game that truly had an open world, which wasn’t welcomed by all the fans. I enjoyed it, though.

Eventually, we all know what happened when Atelier Ryza and the Secret Trilogy came to be: what used to be a series with a staunch fan base exploded into a game series that sold really well for Gust, saving the Atelier series from going into oblivion. The series evolved so much over the years, and I felt it all came together in the Secret Trilogy.

Now Gust is back with a new protagonist and taking a bold new step with Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. They are not content with just picking up where Ryza left off: the game features an open-world design, the largest in the series to date and entirely overhauled synthesis, combat, and exploration systems. And there’s even a villain for the first time in the Atelier series! But will this new game hold the attention of this long-time fan of the series?

We Meet Yumia Liessfeldt

In a world where alchemy has become taboo and is considered evil, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land follows the adventures of Yumia Liessfeldt. Yumia joins the Aladiss research team to decipher the secrets of the disaster that destroyed the once-blooming continent Aladiss. Led by Erhard and the Order of Eustella, the research team is made up of scientists, adventurers and mercenaries who explore the fallen country.

As an alchemist, Yumia isn’t exactly welcomed with open arms, as Alchemy is feared, and every move Yumia makes is looked upon with distrust. Brother and sister Viktor and Isla von Duerer are assigned to accompany her to make sure her abilities are employed for the good of the research team. Usually, the Atelier games follow a young girl and her coming-of-age experiences.

That is not the case here; the story of Yumia goes much deeper, which is refreshing. She is passionate about alchemy and seems to be doing her job in this research team in deference to her mother. She isn’t as outspoken and lively as Ryza but a bit quieter, which I like. And she travels around with her companion Flammi, an adorable addition.

Battles in Atelier Yumia

Atelier games always consist of three elements: synthesis, fighting monsters and exploring to find ingredients to use in alchemy. Over the years, the synthesis system has changed with every new trilogy, and the battles have gone from turn-based to more action-based. Where you used to travel across the world in a linear path on an over map, the games now have an open world.

The fact that the opening scenes of Atelier Yumia immediately focus on a battle tells you something: where synthesis was the main focus, that has changed. Battles in Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land take place in real-time, with cooldowns for the skills or items you use. You’ll be switching between melee and ranged attacks depending on your positioning in battle. You can switch from one team member to another while fighting.

For Yumia, her attacks change depending on where she’s standing: skills used in the inner circle deal physical damage, while those in the outer circle are magical. When enemies strike back, you can dodge or parry to avoid damage. Later on in the game, Precision Counters are added, which reward perfect timing with a powerful counterattack.

It’s all about strategy and quick reflexes, but for me, it has turned into a button-mashing fest of frantically pressing all buttons that might help. To be clear, it doesn’t have to be that way: if your dexterity is ace and you can remember all the combos in the heat of the moment, you’ll probably enjoy this more strategic new fighting system a lot. 

Synthesis is Less Intricate

Yumia’s synthesis system brings a new twist to alchemy, introducing a new mechanic called “Resonance.” This time around, it’s not just about picking the right ingredients; it’s about how they interact with each other.

When synthesising, you’ll start by placing a core material, then add other ingredients in key slots around it, which don’t have to be from a specific item or group of items. Some materials have a stronger “Resonance” radius, meaning their effects can spread and overlap with others on the synthesis map. Using high-quality ingredients not only improves the final product but also boosts the Resonance rating, unlocking extra benefits for your crafted items, materials, or equipment.

In the past, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with the synthesis system in the Atelier Games, even writing various guides about them for many of the games. However, although I haven’t had enough playtime yet to finish the game, it feels like the system is less deep. I don’t think I’ll have as much soothing fun tinkering around as I had with the Atelier Ryza games for example.

This time, you can also make the simpler items on the go while you are “in the field” called Simple Synthesis. A very welcome addition, where you can make a glove for using the ziplines, bandages and even a portable camp to carry around. You can use the Camp to rest and chat with your party and cook. This is new too, as cooking will give you dishes that can grant different effects.

There are several ways to expand the recipes you can synthesize as you journey through Yumia’s world. Advancing the main storyline naturally unlocks new recipes as these are needed to progress. Exploring different locations can also lead to spontaneous discoveries, allowing you to learn recipes just by venturing into the unknown. Also, you need to keep an eye out for mana geysers; these mysterious sources release particles that can be used to unlock additional recipes. Finally, completing certain quests will reward you with even more recipes.

Fully Fleshed Out: Building

In former games, we sometimes could dabble a little in making a new Atelier or even bringing a portable one. It was never really building, not even in Atelier Ryza: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, where you could choose from several pre-defined Ateliers.

In Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, you can use a real building feature to create and customise your base. And not just one: you can make several throughout the world. You can select various base styles from a catalogue, which means you can go for your own style. After you’ve built your base, you can furnish and decorate it to your taste. Plus, you can equip functional modules to your base, which can give you various benefits during exploration and combat. And when you enhance the comfort level of a base, you will also strengthen the abilities of Yumia and her companions.

I like the way they added this feature, easily making for many more hours of gameplay to get your bases just right. In the base, you can add the stations you need, like a Workbench, a Recipe Recall Station, an Altar on which you can do your synthesis and an Energy Generator. Yumia needs to replenish her energy by tapping into the generator or finding places in the wild, like interacting with the Alstahlia Flowers, where she can top up.

Exploration is Key to Atelier Yumia

Though you might feel I’ve compared the game unfavourably with the Atelier Ryza games, there is one thing I adore in Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. Exploration is giving me the exact same vibe as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did.

Discovering the ruined continent and unravelling the mysteries behind the cataclysm that destroyed Aladiss. Such a joy to crest a hill and see the land below, ready to be discovered. Repairing shrines, unlocking chests, finding ruined buildings and being able to easily get up the hills and rock faces using the double jump is great. Even though I have my quests lined up, I just enjoy going around the next corner, curious about what I’ll find.

It’s a bonus that, although there are ample animals and monsters on your path, you can easily avoid them so it doesn’t break the enjoyment of roaming. Meanwhile, there’s a light puzzle to unravel at some points, too.

Visuals, Tutorials and Soundtrack

As always, the background music is great, and the title song is catchy. It’s called “Labyrinth Synapse” and was written and performed by the Japanese band Flumpool. The game’s ending theme, “Remember,” is performed by Kohana Lam, who is known for her delicate and emotional singing voice that complements the game’s motif of “memory.” Once the soundtrack is out, it will no doubt be a daily enjoyment for me.

Visually, Atelier Yumia looks wonderful, colourful and detailed. I have only played the game on a handheld on the Switch, and I have seen some stuttering here and sometimes it’s like there’s a local earthquake going on. The shading on the rocks can look a bit strange as well; I’m not sure, though, if it’s only the Switch that is afflicted by this.

As always, there are loads of tutorials, and this time, most are served to you right from the start, bombarding you with info. You might want to reload the first bit of the game to take it all in!

Conclusion for Atelier Yumia

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 synthesis 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.

Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot

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