The gameplay construction of Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian feels a bit like a recipe, with intertwining parts that every contribute to the sum of its elements.
That is becoming, we suppose, as a result of the sport is all about brewing concoctions as an alchemist to each help you in turn-based fight and – crucially – flog in your store. Extra on that shortly.
This newest effort from long-time developer Gust – the second all-new Atelier title this yr, and that’s ignoring the trio of Ryza remasters due out in November – inserts itself into the timeline of shuttered gacha sport Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Polar Night time Liberator.
However don’t fear in the event you’ve by no means touched the cell spin-off – its service ended for a cause, in spite of everything – as a result of twin protagonists Rias and Slade are newcomers, and also you don’t really want to know a lot in regards to the backstory of returnees like Resna to observe the plot.
The story centres in town of Hallfein, which befell a tragic catastrophe, rendering it deserted and derelict. Image it as any present UK excessive road, and also you’ll be roughly heading in the right direction.
The twist is that Atelier Resleriana has characters who actively need to alter the fortunes of Hallfein, fairly than depart it to rot.
And that’s the place you, as a fledgling alchemist, enter the equation; as wannabe VTuber Rias you’ll use your newfound abilities to concoct objects that may each help you in fight and produce wealth again to your hometown.
The loop is multilayered however pretty simple: you discover and have interaction in battles to search out supplies which will be crafted to create objects you’ll be able to then use in fight or promote in your retailer.
Mistletoe Miscellaneous, or in less complicated phrases Your Store, is an enormous function on this sport: you’ll be able to inventory any objects in your stock at your retailer, after which flog them to build up earnings and stage up Hallfein.
As you promote more and more beneficial merchandise, you’ll entice extra clients to the world, which in flip will encourage extra retailers to arrange their very own outlets. You may then buy new crafting recipes and objects from mentioned distributors, permitting you to forge even rarer objects, which feeds the general loop.
It’s a satisfying cycle which has a visible impression in your environment; Hallfein is derelict and deserted initially of the journey, however you’ll watch it rework right into a bustling metropolis as you progress.
There’s rather more to the tycoon parts than our rudimentary rationalization lets on, together with the flexibility to speculate into sure specialties and even ship allies out on extraction missions, however it’s that underlying sense of gradual development that makes the entire thing sing.
Sadly, the sport does prefer to cease you from really enjoying it at occasions, with an overabundance of irritatingly chipper dialogue interspersing each quest you full. There are occasions, significantly early within the marketing campaign, the place you’ll want everybody would simply shut up so you’ll be able to benefit from the sport. Mercifully, you’ll be able to fast-forward and even skip some dialogue in case your endurance is operating skinny.
We must also point out the fight system which is a extra conventional tackle the collection than the current Atelier Yumia. The extra conventional turn-based fight system has some attention-grabbing wrinkles involving flip order, team-ups, and multi-action instructions which add a strategic layer to the motion.
Particularly, we like how the consequences of things you’ve synthesised will be mixed to unleash highly effective extra assaults, or how one can insert celebration members out of your again line to alter up the formation of your entrance row and earn the upper-hand.
Whereas fight is a standard gameplay facet whenever you’re out exploring, it additionally components closely into the Dimensional Paths, that are randomly generated dungeons designed for grinding, the place the problem determines the rarity of the objects you uncover.
Whereas there are some antiquated parts to its design, given the complexity of a few of the alchemical mixtures, we really assume the UI is pretty properly honed total. It may nonetheless turn into a cluster of objects and statistics at occasions, however the sport typically does a very good job of constructing such an absurd quantity of data accessible.
It appears good, too, though a few of the character designs might show an acquired style. Rias’ dumb ears and New Period cap ultimately grew on us, however we are able to’t argue with anybody who’s turned off all the title simply by her look alone. At the least all of it runs easily and appears presentable and vibrant on a base PS5.
Conclusion
Atelier Resleriana: The Crimson Alchemist & the White Guardian succeeds by means of the power of the sum of its elements. Its story and dialogue are a bit obtrusive at factors, however the easy loop of fashioning objects to flog them to forge even higher ones is compelling. With strategic turn-based fight and breezy presentation, that is an total satisfying RPG time sink – even when its character designs and anime tropes might instantly flip some gamers away.
