HD-2D, the retro-cool artwork model spearheaded by Sq. Enix and imitated by many others, was initially constructed as a method to pay homage to basic Tremendous NES-era role-playing video games whereas additionally making them look distinctly trendy. And to that finish, it has been used solely for RPGs just like the Octopath Traveler collection and the Reside A Reside remake. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, then, represents the following large evolution of this idea, displaying that the artwork model can simply as simply apply to different basic genres–this time, the top-down action-adventure recreation.
I performed about two hours of The Adventures of Elliot in a demo that takes place about 3-4 hours into the sport. At this level within the recreation, the primary quest was to hunt a magical defend, however I used to be given freedom to roam nearly anyplace within the open world throughout two distinct time intervals. Sq. Enix famous that this construct of the sport has included some suggestions from the general public demo launched final July–faster motion pace, a weapon-shortcut menu, and a collection of issue ranges. The issue was set to Simple by default in my demo, however I switched it to Regular and stored it there with out an excessive amount of bother.
On the subject of menu choices, I ought to point out yet one more. Your fairy companion, Faie, may be very chatty. Her voice is cloying, and she or he talks often, with an odd babytalk have an effect on. It is quite a bit. Gamers of the 2025 demo will need to have given suggestions on this too, as a result of the construct I performed had a menu possibility dedicated to Faie’s chattiness. Her default is ready to “Chatty” however you possibly can change her to “Reticent,” which tones her down, somewhat. I performed nearly all of my demo with the default Chatty possibility however switched to Reticent to see the distinction, and she or he nonetheless chimed in fairly a bit. I’ve a excessive tolerance for this stuff however even I discovered Faie somewhat offputting, so I think about some gamers can have a stronger response.
It does match throughout the general spirit of the world, although, which may be very heartfelt, even to the purpose of melodrama. At one level I accepted a aspect quest to discover a lacking token from a lady whose lover, one other adventurer like Elliot, had been misplaced in a dungeon. It was clearly meant to be emotional, however the voice efficiency was so heightened that it was laborious to really feel very moved. Likewise, Elliot’s response when he discovered an engagement ring from her betrothed–proving he supposed to marry her–was extraordinarily earnest.
My time with the demo wasn’t sufficient to get a great sense for the general story, which spans 4 time intervals and guarantees to allow you to see how the world developed by completely different ages. The actual draw throughout my time was the dungeon exploration and fight gameplay, which was very enjoyable and greater than sufficient to tug me by. It is a classically styled action-adventure recreation like The Legend of Zelda or Phantasm of Gaia, with some good trendy enhancements. In different phrases, this seems to be to these video games what Octopath Traveler was to the RPGs it emulated.
Elliot had seven weapon varieties on this demo, giving me a great number of choices for pace, vary, and energy. Some have been expendable like a bow and arrow or bombs, whereas others have been everlasting like a sword, mace, or a large hammer. I may equip two at a time, which made fight properly versatile, and it felt like I had numerous choices for crowd management versus high-damage assaults in opposition to more durable enemies. Fight feels good and snappy due to the weapon selection and a shield-block to defend in opposition to oncoming assaults. And at one level when I discovered a greater sword, the sport knowledgeable me that it auto-equips higher weaponry. When you occur to die, you possibly can money in some forex to revive immediately, however the fee will enhance every time inside a single dungeon.
Fight is enhanced by Magicite. These provide passive buffs to sure weapon varieties or particular skills like Success Streak, which will increase your essential charge after defeating an enemy. You should buy Magicite at retailers however there may be randomness concerned. As an alternative of merely eyeing a chunk of Magicite you need, you spend to generate a number of items of it, with random results. Meaning you will most likely have numerous completely different choices at your disposal at any given time, and also you might be able to generate particularly highly effective Magicite that absolutely change your construct.
The dungeons I noticed got here in two varieties. A smaller standalone temple would provide a fight or puzzle problem that resulted in a brand new magical potential for Faie or enhanced a present one. Exploring one temple gave Faie a hearth potential for lighting torches–a mainstay of basic journey video games that might be used from that time to resolve puzzles, however in a pinch it is also used on enemies. Faie is mapped to the fitting stick, so whereas she floats round you on a regular basis, you possibly can take direct management of her everytime you need to goal her at torches, enemies, and so on.
Then there was a bigger interconnected dungeon, which transported me again to my days of taking part in video games like A Hyperlink To The Previous. It was darkish and spooky, and was largely simple with just a few sidepaths that may loop again round as you open new passageways. In what I can solely interpret as intentional homage, it centered largely round mirror-beam puzzles, however even this packed a intelligent twist. One in all Faie’s most simple skills is a teleport, which opened up new puzzle alternatives for getting round obstacles to maneuver the beams. It took me a second to do not forget that teleporting was an possibility, for a pleasant “ah-ha” moment–the lifeblood of basic Zelda dungeons.
The dungeon culminated in a large boss battle in opposition to two creatures concurrently, testing my skills to maintain one occupied or distant whereas I targeted on the opposite. Beating them opened up a brand new Doorway of Time, which I used to be advised to not enter on this demo session.
I did not, however I wished to, as a result of what I had already performed was propelling me ahead. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales has some parts to overcome–a chatty companion character and, let’s be trustworthy, a clunky title. However it additionally confirmed that HD-2D might be utilized to different genres that we keep in mind fondly from many years in the past. And extra than simply empty nostalgia or homage, it appears to be like to construct on these parts. Just like the visible model itself, it is recognizably acquainted but in addition feels contemporary and thrilling.