The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales review for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch 2

At this point, I think it is fair to say that HD-2D is my favorite art style for games. I find this blend of old and new to be stunning in execution, and nothing else comes close to topping it. The team at Claytechworks and Team Asano are no strangers to this art style, with Octopath Traveler standing out as the shining example of what these games can look like. Anyone coming to The Adventures of Elliot expecting an experience akin to those previous titles might be a bit disappointed, though, because this plays way closer to something like A Link to the Past than it does to Octopath Traveler, despite the visual similarities.

The Adventures of Elliot wastes no time, kicking things off almost immediately. There is no reluctant hero who needs to be convinced he is special and go on to save the kingdom; no, the titular Elliot is already an established adventurer in the land of Philabieldia. When the King needs a hero, you are ready to rock and roll! The story that propels you across the ages wastes no time getting underway. The Adventures of Elliot sees you travel across several different ages of the kingdom, traversing dungeons and learning about the various events that led to the troubles in the current age. While this is an enticing hook, the execution does leave a good deal to be desired. The kingdom remains largely the same throughout the ages, so any dungeon or area you experience in one era will be almost exactly the same in the next. This leads to a feeling of familiarity and “sameness” as you progress, which ultimately starts to feel a bit tiresome as you approach the end of your 15-20 hour journey.

Combat is the bread and butter here, and The Adventures of Elliot doesn’t make you wait to get the ball rolling there either. There are seven different weapon types available to you, and they all open up early on in the story. There are a handful of different variations to each weapon that are spread further out, allowing you to have a full arsenal almost right away, but always still have something to new to look for. The weapons are all equally viable for different situations, and each type can be customized with Magicite that you will collect, which can be equipped to your weapons to match your chosen playstyle.

You can have two weapons equipped at once, with each being assigned to one of your face buttons. This simple approach makes combat easy to grasp immediately, but the magicite system allows for slightly more in-depth build tinkering for those who want to min/max their damage. These weapons do more than just serve you during combat, with several of them being required to traverse obstacles impeding your access to the full map. The Hammer is used to slam down giant nails blocking your way, and bombs are used to clear rubble.

Enemies are somewhat varied, but that variety is exhausted early on. As with the environments, you will see the same things across the ages as you progress through the story. As with the environments, this is less of a legitimate complaint and more of a note. These are not bad things, but they are things that could and should be improved upon if The Adventures of Elliot manages to land a sequel/follow-up (which I think it should).

My only true complaint about The Adventures of Elliot has nothing to do with Elliot himself; rather, it is his Fairy companion, Faie, who single-handedly impeded my love of this game. She is a near-constant stream of dialogue, hinting at solutions that the player doesn’t need help with, or simply repeating obnoxious nonsense after each and every successful parry/kill you manage. Gameplay-wise, she is an invaluable asset both in and out of combat. Able to be controlled by the player (or even by a second player, although I never had the chance to test this mechanic out) to light fires, inflict elemental damage on enemies, sprint around the map, etc. You can turn down her talkativeness in the game settings, but this does little to mitigate the constant interruptions and annoyance, in my opinion. Restricting her dialogue to the story bits and gating her “hints” behind, perhaps, a button to request assistance would go a long way toward making her a valuable member of this cast, as her voice actress does a fantastic job of bringing a tiny fairy to life in a way that is believable.

Despite the repetitive environments and generally cookie-cutter storyline, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales stands out as one of my favorite games of 2026. Combat is just fun, plain and simple. If you can chain kills together without getting hit, the drop rate for items begins to rise slightly. If you get hit, this counter resets. There are even Magicite upgrades you can use that offer some forgiveness for that reset. I loved the old school, Link to the Past feel that The Adventures of Elliot evoked, and I loved just wandering around the gorgeous HD-2D environments. With such a simple hook, and gameplay that you can pick up and put down at any time without worrying about forgetting your skill combos or party makeup, The Adventures of Elliot is an easy recommendation from me.

Note: Square Enix provided us with a The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales code for review purposes.