It’s dark and foreboding. A group of 6 stand upon an elevator as they ascend up some kind of ruined tower dotted with eerie glowing crystals. Unfamiliar architecture lies crumbling and decaying as it surrounds them while they proceed upward. Whatever purpose this structure served, whatever splendor it held, has long since been lost to the ages. All that remains now are debris and buried secrets. What is this place? Who are these people that make the perilous trek toward the top?
These are the questions that run through my mind as I get my first look at Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land. Before I get to contemplate these questions further, the group gets distracted and in the ensuing chaos, one of them, the alchemist Yumia, falls and gets separated from the others as she now stares down a vicious looking bat creature.
Thus, we now proceed into combat and the tutorial that explains the basic mechanics. Battles move at a breakneck pace. Both your actions and that of whatever you’re fighting happens in real time. By quickly pressing buttons, Yumia is able to string together combos and deal massive damage to the bat creature before it can even attack. Every button has a different attack mapped to it and the animations are stunning as Yumia blasts and kicks at the creature, eventually finishing it off with one last shot from her gunstaff. With the monster dispatched, Yumia must now find her way through the rubble and climb up the crumbling tower to rejoin her companions at the top.
Another combat tutorial kicks off as Yumia has to fight multiple bat creatures with an eerie orange sky in the background as a view of the outside world lies beyond them through a gaping hole in the tower. This tutorial explains how encounters with multiple creatures work, as well as dodging and guarding. After swiftly dispatching the bat creatures, Yumia continues her climb up the decaying structure. Between the orange sky and the dark ground, the place continues to feel uninviting. Soon the distorted view of nature gives way to marbled floors as Yumia continues climbing the tower. She’s soon to reunite with her companions.
One last combat tutorial awaits atop a set of stairs as a monster made of moss covered rock comes to life and prepares to attack the alchemist. This tutorial explains how combat is divided into two zones, with each zone offering a different set of attacks. Stepping back into the further zone causes Yumias normal selection of techniques to be replaced with ranged ones that let her hit from further away. This also puts her out of range of the rock monsters crushing attacks. The last thing to note is that every monster has a type of attack that they can be stunned by. Yumia’s ranged techniques are perfect for the rock monster and soon it crumbles like the ruined tower it dwells in. With the monster defeated, Yumia is able to jump through a window and rejoin her companions at long last.
Their reunion is short lived however. At their destination, on top of the ruined structure, a menacing arctic werewolf man looks over the group as he lays claim to something. This unknown and so far unnamed werewolf doesn’t look impressed as Yumia’s group confronts him. He channels magic and freezes Yumia into place as the ice begins to cover the field and seperate the group. With her own magical abilities, Yumia is able to break free but another figure soon enters the fray. With explosive ease, this robed man incapacitates Yumia as he utters something about her being an alchemist, before tossing her off the ruined structure. Her companions can only watch as she plummets to the abyss below.
The demo doesn’t quite end here as soon after, the scene changes to a camp amidst a beautiful wilderness. A happier, chipper looking Yumia soon meets Viktor and Isla as the two are asked to assist her despite alchemy being declared a forbidden art. At that, the world opens up with Yumia able to gather various materials, battle monsters and even pet the local dogs. Yes, you can pet the dogs in this game.
So far Atelier Yumia is an attention grabber. The attack animations are fluid with battles being fast paced. The real time combat system reminds me of the Tales of series of games in a way, though this game's take on it seemed more stylish. The world is pretty breathtaking to look at, be it the crumbling ruins at the start, or the lush open world region that follows. It also leaves a lot of questions to be answered. Who is the werewolf man and his robed associate? What is Yumia herself attempting to accomplish? How did the world get like this? Questions that are no doubt to be answered in the full game which releases very soon on March 21 on all major platforms. In the meantime, you can find this demo which covers the game's opening act on those same platforms. Save progress also transfers from the demo to the full game so players can pick up where they left off. Happy hunting fellow alchemists!
Thanks for reading!
