Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 114 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 114
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 114
  3. Negative: 13 out of 114
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  1. yorgash
    Nov 9, 2019
    7
    I played almost every Atelier games, and loved all of them since Rorona greatly.

    This one is... a bitter, very bitter letdown for me. I'm not saying it's not a decent game, but if I rate other titles 9/10 I can not honestly give this one more than 5, were it not for the many new ideas implemented, and the somewhat decent if a bit overly basic story. 1.) Synthesis: Of course the new    I played almost every Atelier games, and loved all of them since Rorona greatly.

    This one is... a bitter, very bitter letdown for me. I'm not saying it's not a decent game, but if I rate other titles 9/10 I can not honestly give this one more than 5, were it not for the many new ideas implemented, and the somewhat decent if a bit overly basic story.

    1.) Synthesis:
    Of course the new ideas are welcome, but not if they come at the price of letting the old ones go. Nearing endgame it becomes more and more obvious that this game almost entirely lacks item traits; it has maybe 5 useful traits coupled with 5 "stack-able" level-based ones. Compared to the 100+ that could be combined in many ways in former titles. Not to mention the "reformed" synthesis is basically dirt-cheap compared to the second most recent one, Lulua (I could say Lydie+Sue or Shallie too) for example. You just... add materials if you have them to the effect you want to have. And you can edit it later, not even having to worry about the quality.

    2.) Battle
    The battle is also a mess. I see what they were trying to do, making it a bit more "active time" than plain old turn-based, but it really is just turn-based. Worse yet, one could say you can only control one character, since going for speed build and trying to control all characters is plain impossible. To be a little more exact, it needs you to make about 20 button mashed in 0.5 seconds. If there were a way to issue or set up tactics for your party that might actually work, but you can only choose "spam what they have enough AP for" or "normal attack". Can't even make them use items. Not to mention that aside from the 3 members you currently select the others are just there being reserves - no assists, stat boosts, combination, nothing. That's a huge step down from almost every other Atelier games. Not to mention you can simply not get excited to battle with any monsters, since basically there are 4 enemies recolored, two "big bad" ones, 1 optional boss for recoloring and maybe 2 additional models. Their strength increases linearly to match your progress while in the main story, nothing afterwards.

    3.) Characters
    Aside from the main character and maybe one of the other party members the others are just comically simple avatars of their archetypes. Of course the glasses shorty acts just like he's "supposed to" being a scaredy-cat bookworm. The hot-blooded warrior wants to beat up monsters. The "alchemist with a heavy past" is just that. The interactions between characters are minimal and hardly interesting or entertaining. You just... don't feel for any of them.

    4.) Music
    The music not only is forgettable, it's almost impossible to like them. And it's not that they are terrible; it has more to do with being way too atmospheric and trying hard not to overtake the scene. You can almost use the battle music for your atelier comfy music and vice versa... It's the first time that after playing 50+ hours I have no desire to listen to its OST - nor could I recall them if I wanted to.

    5.) The pros
    ...are the new things implemented poorly. The premise of a gathering synthesizer is good, adding materials in this fashion could be good, reactor forge is an interesting - if not overpowered - tool, no nonsense way to duplicate items is also pretty decent for an idea. Item rebuild would be a nice touch if it came with any restrains (aside from the ridiculously negligible constraint of your alchemy level). Most of these ideas could make a good foundation for an actually good implementation, but as is currently it's a pretty bad mix. And after getting through the initial confusion it's sickeningly simple.

    Overall this game could be improved upon so vastly it'd be more efficient to do it the other way around: just use any older titles and implement the good parts of this one. Atmosphere, OST, characters and everything... not saying they are terrible, but way out of Atelier's league.    … Expand
  2. SplitMind
    Jun 5, 2021
    5
    This is my first Atelier game and quite possibly my last. I've observed the series from a distance over the years but have always been deterred by the sexualisation and tedious crafting. Unfortunately my assumptions still hold true.

    Atelier Ryza has the stereotypical JRPG and Anime-style graphics. Whilst colourful and charming, at a cursory glance this game looks not so different from a    This is my first Atelier game and quite possibly my last. I've observed the series from a distance over the years but have always been deterred by the sexualisation and tedious crafting. Unfortunately my assumptions still hold true.

    Atelier Ryza has the stereotypical JRPG and Anime-style graphics. Whilst colourful and charming, at a cursory glance this game looks not so different from a 'Tales of..' game or ample other JRPGs. Having characters of ludicrous physical dimensions is commonplace in videogames, however the hyper-sexualisation of Atelier is uncomfortable here, especially as it's implied she's a young girl and therefore likely underage. Anyway, perhaps the game improves as it progresses, but the time I spent playing it I found mostly vacant villages, with some green forests and sandy beaches, so it's not exactly living up to its potential in the graphics department.

    The gameplay of Atelier is where things seem to get divisive. Long-term fans of the series seem to love the crafting/alchemy system, while I found the process of gathering ingredients tedious and time consuming. The alchemy system itself was puzzling to me and I struggled to make sense of it. We are given tutorials but they come too thick and fast early into the game. Fortunately there is basically a one-click button to do the alchemy automatically, but I could never be sure I was getting the best quality of items. I like the idea of the alchemy system, but in Atelier it seems to add an unnecessary layer of gameplay, forcing you to gather and craft to get items whereas in typical RPGs you simply collect them from shops or defeated enemies, the latter of which is much more enjoyable.

    Then we have the battle system itself. Modern RPGS seem to have this strange aversion to turn-based combat and I can't understand why, because this hybrid of real-time/turn-based combat in games like Atelier and FF7 Remake are not a pleasant compromise - they are the worst of both worlds. I have always seen RPGs as about strategy, not time-pressured button inputs, which is what Atelier's combat essentially is.

    However my biggest gripe with this game are the mechanics to progress the story - missions. These are mindlessly banal and maddeningly inane. Ranging from fetch quests to messenger missions, these come across as padding rather than immersive gameplay. I wouldn't have a problem if these were entirely optional, but I was constantly met with "collect x to continue" style of barriers in the game, so I didn't want to persevere in a game that was boring me to sleep.

    The story of Atelier shows some promise albeit fairly cliche and stereotypical. It falls on the trope of Atelier being filled with potential and passion but bound in the reality of living on her parents' farm. If you strip away Atelier's sexualisation she becomes a rather unlikeable character, whining a lot and being egocentric in general as she only wants to do things that benefit her directly. For example, rather than running away or whining when asked to help on the farm, it could have been implemented as a tutorial to harvest ingredients. For a JRPG it really is quite unimaginative.

    Overall, Atlelier may appeal to a specific fanbase, but I found it to be a mundane and cliched experience with tiresome barriers to progress and an alchemy system that bewildered me. There are many better JRPGs out there to get our teeth stuck into.    … Expand
  3. Vaeu
    Apr 2, 2023
    7
    My first Atelier game and it was a surprising delight. The alchemy system did feel daunting but the game helps you to build up from basic recipes as the game progresses, but when you get towards the endgame the process of trying to create the endgame gear does become tedious as you are effectively doing the same recipe paths but with a higher quality ingredient, but you do this like 5+My first Atelier game and it was a surprising delight. The alchemy system did feel daunting but the game helps you to build up from basic recipes as the game progresses, but when you get towards the endgame the process of trying to create the endgame gear does become tedious as you are effectively doing the same recipe paths but with a higher quality ingredient, but you do this like 5+ times over.

    The turn-based combat isn't any different from other games of its time but it is different for an Atelier game (or so I've heard). While Ryza isn't revolutionary in this department it doesn't break a tried and tested battle system which is inherently fun. The story is slow but picks up eventually and the characters are solid. It is a laid-back game that serves as a great introduction into the Atelier series.    … Expand
  4. OldAndCynical
    Dec 6, 2020
    6
    There are two kinds of Atelier games, those where crafting is joy, and those where it is a painful chore due to ill advised changes in the crafting system.
    Atelier Ryza is one of the latter, and because of that it lands flat on its shapely bottom. Not worth your time or money, especially as there are so many other Ateliers to choose from.
  5. hazukimio
    Jul 4, 2023
    7
    First of all, I'm not a pervert.
    It's not that I have any sexual fantasies about Ryza, since I'm not a pervert.
    But I should say otherwise, Ryza's thighs are really attractive to me. I am not a pervert, but speaking based on the fact, she is sexy. I'm not saying I like Ryza, but her thighs are pretty attractive, but I'm not a pervert. Lastly, after making it clear that I'm not a    First of all, I'm not a pervert.
    It's not that I have any sexual fantasies about Ryza, since I'm not a pervert.
    But I should say otherwise, Ryza's thighs are really attractive to me. I am not a pervert, but speaking based on the fact, she is sexy.
    I'm not saying I like Ryza, but her thighs are pretty attractive, but I'm not a pervert.
    Lastly, after making it clear that I'm not a pervert, I have to admit that there's a part of me that wants Ryza to choke me to death with her thighs.

    Thigh lovers, does it really matter what the rating is?    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

93
#93 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Pure Playstation
    Apr 28, 2021
    80
    Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness And The Secret Hideout refines some of the series’ classic gameplay pillars without abandoning the core experience that fans love. Although a little more mature than past games, it’s a great adventure that manages to stay upbeat and challenging. It has earned a sequel, and I’m excited to play that one as well.
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  2. GameCritics
    Apr 2, 2020
    90
    Atelier Ryza knows that it’s the start of a new franchise, and it ends with the promise of more to come. It’s dangerous to assume that the developers can keep up this level of quality, but after getting through the story and a robust assortment of side quests, I’m as excited about as I was after completing Atelier Sophie. Ryza isn’t the best in the series, but it certainly has the potential to be the jumping-off point for the best trilogy yet.
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  3. ZTGD
    Feb 12, 2020
    75
    In a bid to move the series forward towards a new direction, Atelier Ryza presents a new exciting combat engine and one of the best takes on alchemy yet, but falters with its plodding pace and a cast of forgettable characters.
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