Review in Progress: The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (PS5) – A Delightful Revival of Classic Action RPGs

Honestly, the biggest problem with ‘The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales’ is its title – which actually isn’t a bad way to begin talking about it.

Square Enix’s newest game blends retro pixel art with modern graphics in an action-packed role-playing adventure. It plays a lot like the old Legend of Zelda and Mana titles.

It feels surprisingly nostalgic, even though it includes all the features you’d expect from a game released in 2026. It’s a really appealing blend of classic and contemporary elements.

I’m still reading The Adventures of Elliot, so this isn’t a full review yet. However, I’m excited to find out how the story ends!

Okay, so at first I was worried – the story started with pretty typical characters and reasons for doing things. But honestly, it really surprised me! As I played more, the plot went in some genuinely interesting directions. I’ve actually gotten super attached to the main characters, and there are a couple of unexpected twists that just made the whole quest so much more exciting.

You control Elliot, a seasoned adventurer who isn’t afraid to explore dangerous lands full of monsters, all for the chance to find valuable treasure.

Humanity is barely surviving in a world constantly threatened by dangerous, tribal creatures. People live safely inside a magical barrier, and it’s brave explorers like Elliot who venture out to find resources and knowledge that keep everyone alive.

Okay, so I started playing, and my character, Elliot, gets asked to do this favor for royalty. Figured it’d be an easy intro quest, but nope! Things got weird pretty fast. It didn’t take long before the game threw time travel into the mix – that’s when things really started getting interesting.

As a fan, I was really intrigued by the game’s setting! It all happens on one big map, which is cool, but the really neat part is you get to explore it through four totally different eras. It feels like getting four games for the price of one!

The game functions as you’d anticipate. Locations like dungeons and other areas change depending on when you are in the timeline; for example, crumbling ruins that are hard to reach in the present could become a high-tech maze in the past, before society collapsed.

The game’s fast travel isn’t limited to locations; it also lets you travel through time. Once you’ve discovered a fast travel point in a specific era, you can easily jump back and forth between different periods.

At first, the game is pretty straightforward. It walks you through the story, jumping between important moments and letting you explore towns and dungeons. But as you play, it gets more interesting! You start unlocking new weapons and magic, which really opens things up and makes progressing much more complex and fun.

Sometimes you’ll need special items to reach new areas, which means you might have to revisit old locations.

Generally, revisiting areas isn’t too frustrating thanks to map markers showing important obstacles. However, managing everything across the four different time periods can be complex. Switching between timelines becomes quite repetitive, particularly as you get closer to finishing the game.

However, the benefits you receive are usually worth the effort. The Adventures of Elliot keeps you motivated with consistent improvements, whether it’s through better weapons, helpful items that change how you play, or even just increased health.

I really enjoyed the game’s pacing; it’s generally excellent, which unfortunately makes the repetitive backtracking feel more noticeable. The writing is strong, with memorable characters and a concise style. The world is just the right size – I never got bored exploring, and there’s always something interesting to discover around every corner.

The game is really fun to play. It has smooth, responsive controls, quick movement, and exciting, fast-paced combat, making The Adventures of Elliot a genuinely enjoyable experience.

There’s plenty of fighting in the game. The world is full of creatures, making it easy to get lost in the enjoyable flow of combat.

As a fan, I’m really loving how impactful Elliot’s attacks feel – they’ve got a great weight to them! And the game does a fantastic job of keeping combat interesting, constantly adding new moves and abilities. Plus, the enemy variety is awesome, and the boss battles? Seriously creative and a real highlight of the whole experience.

The combat system is straightforward but works well. Elliot can hold two weapons at once, and you can quickly change to any weapon in his arsenal using a menu that briefly stops the action. As the game progresses, there’s a lot of variety in how you can approach fights.

Elliot carries a shield that’s essential for defense. While you can use it to block almost any attack, taking too much damage will break the shield, leaving Elliot exposed for a brief period.

The game truly shines when it challenges you to use all your equipment effectively. Later battles are surprisingly difficult – even devious – and require you to carefully choose the right weapons and master precise defensive timing.

Honestly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the combat in The Adventures of Elliot. It’s not overly complicated, but they built it up so well across different fights that it just works. I didn’t go in expecting the action to be a highlight, but it genuinely feels really good and satisfying to play.

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2026-06-17 15:08