Reviews & Reception
Is The Adventures of Elliot worth it? Here is every launch review score and what critics agreed on.
The verdict in one line
A polished, faithful Zelda-like with excellent HD-2D presentation, tight combat and strong puzzle and boss design. Critics landed at an ~82% aggregate, with The Adventures of Elliot ranking in roughly the 86th percentile on OpenCritic. If you love top-down action RPGs in the vein of Zelda and Secret of Mana, it is an easy recommendation.
All Review Scores
Scores span roughly 76 to 90 across outlets. Click any column header to sort.
| Cubed3 | 90 / 100 | A must play for action RPG fans. |
| WCCFtech | 8.5 / 10 | A charming love letter to top-down action RPGs. |
| RPGamer | 82 / 100 | Rewarding exploration, tight responsive combat, stunning HD-2D. |
| TheGamer | 4 / 5 | A Zelda-like that earns the comparison and exceeds it in places. |
| Game Informer | 8 / 10 | 25 pleasant hours in the land of Philabieldia. |
| PC Gamer | 76 / 100 | Finds joy in speedrunning history. |
| RPG Site | No score | A solid, but sometimes disappointing, transition to action-RPGs. |
| Push Square | In progress | Consistently impressive presentation; a delight to play through. |
What Critics Said
A charming, love letter to the golden age of top-down action RPGs. While its narrow world design fails to capitalize on its time-travel setting, the experience holds up.
Puzzles, exploration and the wealth of combat options make this a must play for action RPG fans. Combat is phenomenally varied, fluid and rewarding.
A Zelda-like that earns the comparison and exceeds it in places. The time-era structure is something right out of Nintendo's best books, and the boss fights and best puzzles carry the game superbly.
Link did it better, but my 25 hours in the land of Philabieldia was pleasant nonetheless.
The Consensus
What reviewers loved: the HD-2D presentation, tight and responsive combat, the depth that Faie's abilities add, rewarding exploration and clever puzzle and boss design. Cubed3 called the combat "phenomenally varied, fluid and rewarding."
The common criticisms
- The four-age world map barely changes between eras, which leads to a feeling of repetition.
- The time-travel hook is underutilized until the true ending finally pays it off.
- Your fairy companion Faie over-explains — reviewers repeatedly compared her to Zelda's Navi.
Beyond the eight outlets tracked above, aggregator listings also surfaced positive coverage from IGN (8/10), Vice (9/10) and Famitsu (32/40), with Pocket Tactics and Polygon landing positive-with-caveats.