There is NOT an exclusively made versioN of this game for Switch 2 - this should be in the Switch 1 list. Metractic are muddying the waters between what are boxed & sold as Switch 1 & 2 games. This Switch 1 game is great!

This Review is for the first game in the Triology but the DX changes are similar in the other titles. Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout “DX” is still a good Atelier game and a cozy, fun and great JRPG. I like the characters, I enjoy the alchemy system, and I genuinely love the Atelier series especially the older entries that had more charm and less fanservice overload. The problem is not the base game. The problem is this so called DX release and what you get for the money. For new players it’s a fair price, but for the original game owner it hurts because we paid around 60€ for the original 2019 release and 90€ for the season pass, and we can’t even get this DX Version as a free upgrade or at least at a reduced price? It’s basically a “Complete Edition” re-release with some new stuff and enhancement like they already did with older Atelier games. That is ok don't get me wrong but also the original game had a Complete Edition. So this is why I'm so mad about it and the reason for my first Metacritic review: Graphically, it’s only slightly better. Higher resolution, a brighter look, and some sharper assets but many textures and models are basically the same as in the original but upscaled i guess. The advertised “additional graphics options” are simply not there on console it’s the same settings as before on the PS4 version. The only real upgrade is 60 FPS with smoother animations and noticeably faster loading times. That’s nice, but nowhere near a proper remaster. Content wise it’s also pretty thin. Yes, all the original DLC is included. On top of that you get a new episode, base game quests, and three new playable characters that used to be NPCs but without any meaningful new story or cutscenes tied to them. I actually like the extra playable characters a lot, because recent Atelier games went harder on overpriced season passes with mostly cosmetics, items, and tiny new areas instead of expanding the cast like the older titles (which were also a lot cheaper). The new combat sandbox is genuinely a cool idea and encourages experimentation, which fits the series well finally something clearly positive. Good Job Gust! The UI is barely improved. It just feels like they tinkered a bit here and there, nothing more that really stands out. Overall, it comes across like an “Atelier Ryza Complete Edition” cash grab rather than a true Deluxe upgrade for the fans who already paid so much to support the series. The biggest disappointment, though: they didn’t even bother to add more languages. Still only English text and Japanese voices. No German, no Spanish, no French, no Italian, no Russian, nothing. I know localization is expensive, difficult and time consuming, but for a 2025 DX re-release of their most popular Atelier trilogy, recent €90 season passes, and rare sales, it’s honestly embarrassing. Gust and especially greedy Koei Tecmo could have done this for the fans they’ve been milking for years, and they chose not to. Remember 40€ again each game.. for the OG Fans another hit in the face. Oh, Atelier Yumia had more languages and we were so happy about it and hyped for future title localizations... I still love and prefer the older Atelier games because of their charm and real passion in design, but I also enjoy the newer ones despite their flaws like extreme monetization and annoying fanservice. This DX release, however, feels lazy and overpriced for me. If you’ve never played Ryza 1 and you’re fine with English text and Japanese voices, this is definitely the best version now. If you already own it, I’d only consider it on a discount otherwise, it’s just again a fans disappointment.

The games run incredibly well on ps5. They are a joy to play, highly recommend