Atelier Yumia Steam Deck Impressions – PC Port Features, Recommended Settings, ROG Ally, and More

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Next week, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land will be released globally on Steam and consoles, marking the latest addition to the mainline Atelier series. Prior to its release, I’ve been testing the PC version on my portable devices, examining the features included in the final PC build, assessing how it performs on the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, among other things. The Atelier series has generally run smoothly on the Steam Deck with a few exceptions, and it is intriguing to observe how the most expansive title in the series adapts to Valve’s handheld device.

Atelier Yumia PC graphics options

In Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy, Koei Tecmo and Gust significantly enhanced their PC port’s performance. This enhancement is mostly reflected in Atelier Yumia, except for one aspect. The graphics settings menu offers numerous adjustments, including resolution (540p to 4K), screen mode (fullscreen, windowed, borderless), frame rate limit (30, 60, 120, 144, unlimited), toggling v-sync, selecting overall graphics quality preset (custom, low, standard, high), adjusting texture, shadow, effect, anti-aliasing, depth of field, ambient occlusion, bloom, light shafts, draw distance for various elements like grass and terrain, motion blur, shadow draw distance, model animation distance, volumetric fog, level of detail distance, and terrain quality. Additionally, it allows adjustments for Intel XeSS and dynamic resolution.



It’s wonderful to have an upscaling feature, but I’m puzzled about why only XeSS is available on AMD hardware without the inclusion of FSR. In our review, James also noted the absence of DLSS. When you opt for XeSS, the dynamic resolution gets deactivated as anticipated, but you can adjust XeSS to ultra performance, performance, balanced, quality, ultra quality, ultra quality plus, or native anti-aliasing.

Atelier Yumia PC control options

In terms of user control, Atelier Yumia caters to both controllers and keyboard/mouse play. You have the flexibility to reassign controls for these input choices. This stands out because console versions currently do not provide button reassignment. However, in contrast, the PC version of Atelier Yumia lacks DualSense adaptive triggers and haptic feedback support found in the PS5 edition. Additionally, the PC version allows you to interchange the confirm and cancel buttons within Atelier Yumia.



In most games, you’ll find customizable controls that offer intuitive button prompts for various actions like navigating the field, using the map, engaging in combat, synthesizing items, constructing buildings, and even adjusting settings for photo mode. You can tailor these controls to suit your preferences almost entirely.

Atelier Yumia Steam Deck performance

On Steam, Atelier Yumia operates with Steam Cloud and offers resolution options in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Upon first launch, I assumed it would run smoothly on the Steam Deck based on its impressive introduction, but the prologue area turned out to be quite limited compared to what was to come. After an hour of gameplay, I discovered that this game aims for a 30fps target on the Steam Deck. If you choose the “Standard” graphics setting, Atelier Yumia generally operates between 24 and 35 frames per second at its worst, utilizing XeSS balanced in the process.






Note: Some of the screenshots have been edited to blank out any potential spoilers.

On consoles, the game is quite challenging performance-wise, so I didn’t anticipate hitting 60fps. However, with upscaling, you can come close to a steady 30fps using the standard preset. The user interface adapts well, and overall, the game plays nicely on the Deck. I rearranged some buttons to the back paddles as well. For additional insights into how the game performs across high-end and hybrid consoles like the PS5 and Nintendo Switch, I’d suggest checking out my separate article for context.

Atelier Yumia Steam Deck recommended settings

In Atelier Yumia for Steam Deck, my suggested adjustments will focus on two main areas. Firstly, I advise enhancing the non-graphical aspects. To do this, boost the camera movement speed both vertically and horizontally. Maximize these settings, disable camera autocorrect, and turn off camera shake for smoother gameplay. For subtitles, adjust the text size to level 3 to make them more legible on the compact handheld screen. Lastly, regarding audio, I suggest amplifying all volume sliders to their maximum or near-maximum levels. The default sound output can appear soft when playing using the Deck’s built-in speakers; this issue is particularly noticeable with the LCD model.

To optimize your experience when playing Atelier Yumia on Steam Deck, you have two primary graphics settings: prioritizing a consistent 30 frames per second (fps) or aiming for a locked 30fps with enhanced image quality. If you choose the former, I suggest setting the game to the low preset and using XeSS at balanced with a resolution of 720p. Although this may result in a slightly softer visual output, it guarantees excellent performance in open areas, near large buildings, bustling towns filled with NPCs, and during combat on Steam Deck based on my personal gaming time.

To achieve a smooth gaming experience at approximately 30 frames per second with some potential drops in intense regions, I suggest using the standard preset and adjusting shadows to low. Then, set XeSS to balanced and run the game at 720p resolution. Remember to cap the frame rate at 30fps since the standard preset defaults to 60fps. If you prefer a sharper visual experience with some sacrifices in settings for the same frame rate target, consider choosing the low preset, 720p, and setting XeSS to quality. Keep in mind that both the low and standard presets utilize XeSS balanced anti-aliasing while the high preset uses XeSS native by default.

As a gamer, I’ve found that Atelier Yumia isn’t quite smooth in its intense moments on Steam Deck. In its challenging parts, it hovers around 24 frames per second at native 720p with the low settings. Even the open areas outside the Atelier often dip to the mid-20s without any on-screen action. However, these settings improved performance in later locations, reaching the 40s, but the frame rate remained unstable for a satisfying 40fps experience with decent visuals. Just for experimentation, I tried running Atelier Yumia at high settings and 720p. Without upscaling, it ran about 15-18fps in open areas, while XeSS native anti-aliasing bumped it to around 21-22fps.

To test how high I could boost the frame rate, I adjusted it to 540p and XeSS ultra performance on Steam Deck. The game ran smoothly between 40 and 70 frames per second. Given this performance, I wouldn’t be shocked if Atelier Yumia eventually receives a “Playable” rating from Valve, as there are some text elements in the menus that might be too tiny for the “Verified” rating.

Atelier Yumia ROG Ally performance impressions and recommended settings

As a gamer, I’ve found that Atelier Yumia isn’t quite smooth-sailing on the ROG Ally yet. It’s not about the game’s performance, but its stability that leaves room for improvement. Frequently, I encounter the game crashing when tinkering with graphics settings while in-game. Interestingly, this issue doesn’t crop up at all on the Steam Deck, nor during adjustments made on the ROG Ally title screen.

That said, I was eager to explore how far I could push Atelier Yumia on ASUS’ handheld. My ROG Ally is configured to utilize 5GB VRAM, and I ran my tests in the 25W turbo mode.

As a gamer immersed in Atelier Yumia, I found that playing on the standard preset with 1080p resolution (limited to 30fps) and the shadows set to ‘low’ provided a generally stable 30fps experience, albeit with occasional drops down to 27fps during more bustling scenes. Even the initial stress test area within the Atelier building exhibited some dips, reaching as low as 26fps. To maintain a smooth 30fps gameplay at 1080p, I’d advise tweaking the settings: prioritize performance over balance with XeSS and keep shadows set to ‘low’.






Due to Atelier Yumia not running smoothly at 60fps on the Steam Deck, I considered trying the ROG Ally instead. However, even when set to run at 720p resolution with XeSS ultra performance and the low preset, a constant 60fps in Atelier Yumia on the ROG Ally isn’t achievable; it frequently drops into the 40s. Given that it performs better in the 25W mode on the ROG Ally, I found myself enjoying more playtime on my Steam Deck for its stability and longer battery life. In fact, I adjusted the settings to a resolution of 540p and still experienced frames per second dips during exploration. For now, I suggest playing with a mix of standard and low settings at 1080p resolution, capped at 30fps for an optimal experience on the ROG Ally.

The captivating game Atelier Yumia has provided me with countless hours of entertainment across various devices. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the technical issues, specifically the crashes, can be addressed in future updates. It’s worth mentioning that Chao encountered numerous crashes when playing on an RDNA 3 GPU, but James didn’t experience any at all on an RDNA 2 laptop or Steam Deck. Interestingly, I didn’t encounter any crashing issues on my Steam Deck, whether it was the LCD or OLED model. I can’t pinpoint the exact cause, but I felt compelled to share our experiences with the game crashes on certain hardware. To ensure you have a smooth gaming experience, I suggest giving the demo a try when it becomes available in the coming days. This will help you determine if the game runs well on your specific setup as well.

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2025-03-14 16:31