The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales

Make no mistake, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a beautiful game top to bottom. Combat is phenomenally varied, fluid and rewarding, alongside customisable perks and buffs for Elliot’s extensive arsenal of weapons. The world map is impressive to an extent, but there is a bit too much repetition across the various time periods, including having the same enemies. Nonetheless, puzzles, exploration and the wealth of combat options make this a must play for action RPG fans, and should certainly scratch the itch for those looking for a combination of HD-2D and old-school top-down Zelda games.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a fantastic, fleshed out experience, with wonderful combat and absolutely jaw dropping visuals.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales looks like a game that relies entirely on its story, but it is actually a top-notch action game! It looks fantastic and takes us on one exciting adventure after another. Anyone who enjoys action and wants JRPG charm without the usual seriousness should definitely check this game out.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales serves as 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 is heavily elevated by a snappy and surprisingly deep combat and a flexible character customization system, making the game one worth experiencing for fans of the genre looking for a modernized take of a classic formula.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is thoughtful and optimistic. Its storytelling is charming, swaying between the larger world-saving beats and more personal stories.

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.

A visually striking HD-2D action adventure with flexible combat, time-travel exploration, and clear nods to classic Zelda games. It does not reinvent the formula, but its weapons, magicites, and Faie’s abilities keep the journey engaging.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales certainly lives up to its name, offering an enchanting interlude—reminiscent of the finest fairy tales—amidst the myriad titles released this year. Once again, Square Enix proves it has a gold mine in the HD-2D style, an art direction that stands as one of the most influential creations of recent years. Here, the ever-helpful Elliot takes center stage in an adventure that is both classic and nostalgic, yet above all, remarkably executed and told. Certain moments truly stand out, thanks primarily to the high quality of the writing—whether in the main storyline or the side quests. This is precisely where the Square Enix title might surprise and move you, just as it did me, from start to finish.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is 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. It’s an easy game to dive into for a spell here or there or sink hours in, and it’s one I’ll be recommending to anyone who has ever enjoyed a certain mute hero. However, I’ll do so with the recommendation that the volume be turned down once you meet a certain should-be-mute fairy.

His journey is one that's worth experiencing, too. The combat is engaging, the dungeons are fun to explore, and for as much as I disliked the manner in which the Magicite system was presented, I did like experimenting with certain builds. Plus, unlike some of Team Asano's previous offerings, this game doesn't overstay its welcome. I was able to roll credits in under 15 hours, which isn't something I was able to say about the Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default games. For anyone who loves old-school Zelda-style action games, Elliot's story proves to be an adventure worth embarking on.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is an uneven, but ultimately satisfying title. An incredible soundtrack, solid gameplay, and, at least for me, fantastic visuals help carry it — despite the grind needed for its true conclusion.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is not a game to play if you're after strategic, challenging combat, nor if you want a deep, life-changing story. Instead, it offers a vast and beautiful world that rewards exploration and curiosity; one that left me time and time again with a smile on my face.

The Adventures of Elliot is an endearing and accessible game for all ages, and a shining example that Square Enix hasn't lost their magic touch for crafting adventures that evoke the spirit of childhood wonder.

Belief in brevity helps an infectious passion shine through well-worn locales and plotting.

I would love to see a sequel to The Adventures of Elliot, because so much of the foundation that is here can work if refined. Similar to Octopath Traveler 1 to 2, Team Asano could make something special a second time around, but right now The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales leaves too much on the table. The promise of adventure that never reaches its full potential.

A game that perfectly captures the concept of “adventure,” though there are some minor issues with other aspects. Overall, it's fun and easy to recommend.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a surprisingly strong first attempt at reaching into this genre from a studio not known for it. The combat is snappy and fun, with loads of build customization and ability tailoring to your style. The dungeon designs are well-crafted homages that allow room for creative problem solving, and the HD-2D visual style is lovely for this type of game. I was left wanting for a story I cared more about, with characters that were more three-dimensional, in a world that felt alive and took better advantage of its time-travel concept. Those factors make the game fall short, but it creates a foundation that I hope Square Enix builds upon.

The potential of The Adventures of Elliot is undeniable, but it’s never fully realized. Its highly repetitive world-building and gameplay, weighed down by a limited roster of enemies, end up overshadowing the few good ideas that Square Enix’s Zelda-inspired game brings to the table. Still, it’s a very solid adventure that will keep you entertained for 20 to 30 hours.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales shows Square Enix taking some bold new directions, but they aren’t fleshed out enough. The overall story and side quests are great, and the Magicite system gives us some nice customization on how we use our weapons. However, it doesn’t stop the combat from feeling basic and repetitive, and there are some little holes here and there in the story experience. And while I love the visual style, there wasn’t enough distinction between the eras to make it feel unique the longer we play. There is still a fun game here, but each part of the game feels like there’s something missing.