Help, I can't move forward in this chill crafting RPG because I'm too wrapped up in building bases and making sick tools

Atelier Yumia screenshot
(Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. It was my first venture into Gust's Atelier series, which I had largely known as RPGs about crafting and chill vibes.

As it turns out, Yumia is a fresh take on the Atelier series, and so it worked out neatly; I'd be trying a new series of games, and the series was trying some new things. But even though I went in expecting to get wrapped up in roleplaying and adventure, I found myself wholly immersed in something else: picking up as many things as my bag could carry, scurrying back to my atelier like a rodent to a hovel, and crafting and building until the bag was empty.

To zoom back out, Atelier Yumia is the newest game in the long-running series from Gust, all about alchemists and item creation. The studio's been making this series since 1997's Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg, and while it does have some sequels, each entry is denoted and defined by their protagonist: Iris, Sophie, Ryza, and now, Yumia.

As part of a research expedition in a new land, Yumia (and the player) is tasked with venturing into new territory, making discoveries, and clearing away the toxic manabound fog. It's open world, rather than the larger open zones I've heard about from the Ryza games, and it has some interesting tools for interacting with the world.

Your staff is also a gun, for example, and you can synthesize bullets using a few basic resources to shoot at switches, shrines, or even just nodes you want to mine. Collecting fruit from a tree by shooting it doesn't really get old.

There is a lot of gathering though, and it's brain-scratching for those who love to wander and find new collectibles to collect. Every new zone or biome promises new discoveries, and new plants to go with them. You get big pop-ups when you find new stuff, and a little ping on your screen to let you know that new recipes or advancements are ready back at base.

Atelier Yumia screenshot

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

Then, you return to an atelier and start crafting. I was ready for it to be a little in-depth, but it's truly engrossing. One thing I really like about Atelier Yumia's synthesization is how you can break so many items down into their components and build them back up, reinforcing along the way to make something even stronger than before.

Take my starting gunstaff. At one point, I felt it was time for an upgrade. Well, my gunstaff needed some ingots. I could just cobble some together quickly, or I could go into the menu and spend time selecting the nodes and ingredients I infuse my ingots with, putting high-value resources into each in order to pump up the quality, resonance, and other factors. Now, when I put those ingots in as ingredients for my gunstaff, the gunstaff gets even better, and its own quality and resonance jumps up too.

It feels really rewarding to come back from a long trek of exploring and hoovering up plants, rocks, and wildlife, then dumping all of that into a new alchemical weapon or component. That has, to my understanding, been a hallmark of the Atelier series, and it shines here. With an open-world approach and so many places to explore, though, the feeling of uncovering new and unseen fauna that can be magically zapped into a sick new scythe really gels for me.

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

Building bases adds another layer, letting you build up the dream outpost as you explore deeper and deeper into the continent. Campsites offer small respites, but big bases also form as you clear out more of the manabound fog and expand the map.

Sticking these walls, floors, and fixtures together does feel a little finicky. Snapping can help, but sometimes random geometry, like a rock in the middle of the build area, will throw it all askew. But the feeling of establishing a new outpost and seeing the happiness meter rise is great, and as you add more installments like bookshelves, couches, beds, and furniture, both NPCs and party members will interact with them when you visit. It's like a little home away from your atelier, and building up projects like a greenhouse or warehouse lets you expand your capabilities even further.

The thread tying it all together is the Pioneering Effort. It's a checklist of tasks to complete, sorted between combat, gathering, and crafting. Each new checkmark adds to the percentage of the area you're in, and hitting certain mile markers in completion unlocks new tools, like the aforementioned greenhouses or some new decor.

All of these systems working in concert have effectively, frequently, distracted me from moving forward with the main quest. I do really like having a narrative framework around typically survival-genre pursuits, and while the plot has been a bit slow-burn even at the 15-hour mark, the characters are enjoyable—especially Yumia, who's constantly wrestling with her own legacy and the public's distaste for alchemy.

So often, I find myself veering off and away from the main quest markers to go collect more resources, explore new zones, build up new base camps, and push the horizon out farther. I even wound up running through an area the game clearly intended for me to tackle later in the story, just because I wanted to see what new treasures and baubles I could add to my synthesization pool for later on. Atelier Yumia dots the world with little tasks to make for yourself.

Since I'm a newcomer, I can't really speak to how well this particular entry carries nearly three decades' worth of legacy forward. But I can say, if you've ever pined for a crafting/gathering experience that's cozy, singleplayer, and built around an RPG world with tons of checklist items to tick off, Atelier Yumia's got that for you in spades.

It's out on March 20, and there's a demo available on Steam now.

Whether hanging out at the Limsa aetheryte or labbing out some combos in a fighting game, Eric can be found writing about and following all kinds of games, from lengthy RPGs to fascinating indies. Usually with some anime on the second monitor.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Eternal Strands character in armor
Eternal Strands review
Alligator skull with glowing eyes on human body and cords coming out sitting at piano with "The Norwood Etudes" ready to play
My new most anticipated RPG let me be a kleptomaniac gourmand set loose in a noir city on a quest to make 'the perfect sandwich'
Two characters sitting on a bench talking
Wanderstop review
Cozy Desktop Konbini screenshots
My favourite Steam Next Fest game, Cozy Desktop Konbini, combines my love for shopping management sims and desktop idlers
Spirit Swap
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To is a chill haven where problems melt away
Shiren the Wanderer art
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
Latest in RPG
Atelier Yumia screenshot
Help, I can't move forward in this chill crafting RPG because I'm too wrapped up in building bases and making sick tools
Avowed Kai holding out his hand toward camera while explaining something to the player.
Avowed's new patch just gave you 6 more talent points to muck around with, along with a heap of fixes and improvements
Olivia, a hunter from Monster Hunter Wilds, looks perplexed in an icy blue environment.
Monster Hunter Wilds players wonder if frenzied monsters are a little undercooked, as one slaps a sickly bird into a fine paste in just 25 seconds
Sans, from the hit 2015 RPG undertale, folds his arms in a dashing suit as stonks rise in the background.
You can grab Undertale for less than $1, as the genre-defining indie RPG beats its all-time player peak for the first time in 10 years
KOTOR remake returns for annual tradition of reminding you it's still alive, but no you can't hear anything more about it until it comes back next year to say it again
Alligator skull with glowing eyes on human body and cords coming out sitting at piano with "The Norwood Etudes" ready to play
My new most anticipated RPG let me be a kleptomaniac gourmand set loose in a noir city on a quest to make 'the perfect sandwich'
Latest in Features
Atelier Yumia screenshot
Help, I can't move forward in this chill crafting RPG because I'm too wrapped up in building bases and making sick tools
midnight murder club
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 17, 2025)
Geralt, two swords on his back, in the wilderness
2011 was an amazing comeback year for PC gaming
Alligator skull with glowing eyes on human body and cords coming out sitting at piano with "The Norwood Etudes" ready to play
My new most anticipated RPG let me be a kleptomaniac gourmand set loose in a noir city on a quest to make 'the perfect sandwich'
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
Monster Hunter Wilds' new gyro controls are a fantastic option for disabled and able-bodied players alike
Manhunt 2
I played the notoriously ratings-board-ravaged Manhunt 2 and was quite glad for the censorship actually