Review: Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian (PS5) – A Vibrant RPG That Transforms Grind into Gold

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Playing Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is similar to following a recipe – many different parts work together to create the overall experience.

That makes sense, considering the game centers around playing an alchemist who creates potions. You’ll use these concoctions both during strategic battles and to sell in your shop – we’ll explain the shop aspect in more detail soon.

Gust, a veteran game developer, recently released a new Atelier game – their second completely original title this year, not counting the three remasters of Ryza coming out in November. This new game takes place within the story of the now-closed mobile game, Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Polar Night Liberator.

Don’t worry if you didn’t play the mobile game – it wasn’t very popular for a reason! The two main characters, Rias and Slade, are new to the story, and you don’t need to know much about characters returning from previous games, like Resna, to understand what’s happening.

The story takes place in Hallfein, a town that was sadly abandoned after a terrible event. Imagine a typical high street in the UK today – that gives you a good idea of what it’s like.

What’s unique about Atelier Resleriana is that its characters are driven to improve Hallfein, instead of simply abandoning it to decline.

You’re a new alchemist, and you play as Rias, an aspiring VTuber. You’ll use your alchemy skills to create useful items – both for fighting and for earning money to help your town.

The gameplay centers around a simple but deep cycle: you’ll venture out to discover resources, fight enemies, and then use those materials to craft items. These items can either help you in battle or be sold for profit.

Your Shop, also known as Mistletoe Miscellaneous, is a key part of the game. You can fill it with items from your inventory and sell them to earn money and help Hallfein gain experience.

Selling more valuable goods will draw more customers to your location, encouraging other merchants to open shops nearby. This lets you buy new crafting recipes and materials, allowing you to create even rarer items, and continue the cycle of improvement.

There’s a rewarding sense of progress as you play, because you can visibly see the world change around you. You begin in the ruined town of Hallfein, but as you play, you’ll rebuild it into a lively and thriving city.

The game’s tycoon aspects are surprisingly deep, letting you focus on specific skills and dispatch helpers to gather resources. But what really makes it work is the satisfying feeling of slowly building and improving things over time.

The game can be frustratingly interrupted by excessive, overly cheerful conversations after each task. Especially at the beginning, you might find yourself wanting the characters to be quiet so you can just play. Thankfully, you can speed up or skip these conversations if they become too annoying.

The game features a combat system that’s closer to the classic style of the series, unlike the recent Atelier Yumia. It’s a traditional turn-based system, but with clever additions like manipulating turn order, combining attacks with teammates, and using multi-action commands. These elements add a good amount of strategy to battles.

We especially appreciate the way you can combine the effects of crafted items for stronger attacks, and how swapping in party members from the back row lets you adjust your battle strategy and gain an advantage.

You’ll often encounter battles while exploring, and they’re especially important in Dimensional Paths. These are randomly created dungeons meant for leveling up and getting better items. The harder the dungeon, the rarer the rewards you’ll find.

Despite looking a little dated in places, the game’s interface is surprisingly well-designed, considering how complicated the alchemy system is. It can get cluttered with details occasionally, but overall, it presents a huge amount of information in a clear and manageable way.

The game is visually appealing, though some character designs might not be for everyone. While we eventually liked certain elements, like Rias’ unique look, we understand why someone might be put off by the character designs. Thankfully, the game runs well and looks bright and polished on a standard PlayStation 5.

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2025-09-25 15:07