Developer – KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.

Publisher – KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.

Platforms –   Nintendo Switch , PS4/5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series S|X,PC (Reviewed)

Review copy given by Publisher

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land attempts to expand the horizons of the Atelier Yumia subseries, but in doing so, it seems to forget what made the franchise special in the first place. While it still centers around alchemy and crafting, its ambition to become a grander JRPG experience ends up watering down its identity. What’s left is a mechanically sound, narratively intriguing, but ultimately underwhelming title that struggles to justify its scope.

The story follows Yumia Liessfeldt, a young woman descending from a disgraced lineage of alchemists, now regarded with fear and suspicion. Centuries after the fall of the once-powerful Aladissian Empire—brought down, supposedly, by alchemy itself—Yumia travels to a forbidden continent to uncover the truth. It’s a strong premise, blending personal grief with historical mystery, and the early narrative beats deliver enough intrigue to pull you in. But despite the weighty themes, the plot unravels with more tell than show, and the worldbuilding never quite lives up to the potential.

Most of your time in Atelier Yumia is spent gathering ingredients and crafting tools, gear, and items using the game’s familiar synthesis system. It’s still the backbone of the experience, but here it feels more routine than compelling. You pick up ingredients as you go, toss them into recipes, and occasionally get a stronger version of something you’ve already made. There’s some strategy involved with selecting ingredients based on their mana traits, but it’s more of a checklist activity than a creative process. It works, but it lacks the satisfying complexity seen in past titles.

The game tries to spice things up by letting you use crafted items as weapons—transforming reagents into swords or spears during battle—and allowing on-the-fly synthesis n the field. There’s also a basic base-building feature where you can decorate outposts with furniture and minor buffs. But much like the core crafting loop, these systems feel surface-level. They’re there to check boxes, not to encourage experimentation. Even the “Simple Synthesis” option seems designed to fast-track the crafting process rather than deepen it.

Where the game tries to shine is in its scale. The continent is presented as a vast, open land that you can explore in any direction. In practice, though, this freedom is constantly undercut by frequent and lengthy loading screens. Movement between zones is sluggish, and even entering a small building can result in a frustrating pause. Combine that with largely empty zones and repetitive scenery, and the freedom to explore starts to feel more like a burden than a reward.

Combat introduces a dual-range system, allowing you to switch between different attack styles that change your available skills. On paper, it sounds strategic, but in execution, battles rarely require much thought. Enemy variety is low, AI is predictable, and the real-time system—while flashy—lacks the tactical satisfaction of turn-based or more refined action systems. Using crafted items mid-fight adds some flair, but you’ll quickly fall into a rhythm that doesn’t demand much engagement.

One of the biggest disappointments is the complete lack of meaningful end-game content. Once the credits roll, the adventure just… ends. There’s no optional dungeons, no superbosses, and no compelling reason to keep crafting or exploring. This is a sharp step down from past Atelier games, which usually offered bonus bosses or deeper synthesis goals for dedicated players. Here, the journey feels terminal, and not in a good way.

The cast of characters doesn’t help much either. Yumia herself is a solid protagonist, balancing vulnerability with curiosity, but her companions are forgettable at best. Dialogue with party members is sparse and shallow, while NPCs across towns and camps often feel like cardboard cutouts. Outside of the few who provide quests or shop services, most are there for filler, and rarely contribute anything of note to the world or story.

Technically, The Alchemist of Memories is rough around the edges. The game’s CPU usage is unusually high for what’s on screen, even when running on modern hardware. Performance dips in populated areas and larger zones are common, and the constant load times only exacerbate the frustration. This kind of technical instability feels especially unacceptable when paired with environments that feel so empty and underutilized.

There are still some bright spots worth mentioning. The soundtrack is beautiful—full of ethereal melodies and quiet emotional beats that match the game’s themes of memory and loss. The voice acting, especially for Yumia, helps carry some of the more emotional story moments. And while the crafting may not be particularly exciting this time around, it’s still functional and familiar enough to keep longtime fans mildly entertained.

In the end, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land feels like it tried to evolve, but grew in all the wrong directions. It trades intimacy for scale, depth for breadth, and ends up feeling like a generic JRPG that happens to have alchemy in it, rather than a true Atelier experience. If you’re in it for the vibes and some light crafting, you might still find some charm here. But for fans hoping for a deeper, more refined entry—this one just doesn’t quite synthesize.