Trending
Square Enix has built an entire cottage industry out of HD-2D by now, and with The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, it seems they're headed in a completely different direction, and truth be told, I'm actually very glad they did. Gone is the turn-based combat that's defined the studio's pixel-art output for years. In its place is a real-time action RPG that will feel way more familiar to the casual players, and I believe this is the choice that hits the mark in the centre. It's a bold swing, and having spent time with it on PS5, I can say it mostly lands.
Story
Elliot's tale is set in Philabieldia, a continent overrun by hostile beast tribes, where the Kingdom of Huther survives behind a magical barrier as humanity's last real stronghold. When ancient ruins are discovered just beyond the kingdom's walls, young adventurer Elliot is sent to investigate, and what starts as a routine scouting job turns into something far bigger once he and his fairy companion Faie stumble upon the Doorway of Time.
That doorway becomes the engine for the whole story, sending Elliot and Faie jumping between four different ages of the same world, from his own Age of Safekeeping back through the Age of Reconstruction, the prosperous Age of Magic, and all the way to the Age of Budding, where human civilisation itself is still taking shape.
These doorways and travelling between them give the world a real sense of history and consequence, since choices and discoveries in one era leave consequences in the others, which is an ingenious design. This structural trick is really clever and rewards players who enjoy piecing together lore, which is definitely a better option than reading huge walls of text or similar methods that games usually rely on.
Faie herself is a bit more divisive. She's central to both combat and traversal. Her chatter throughout exploration is something that starts as a nice distraction and time-filling mechanic, but before the credits roll, it can become a bit tedious, to be honest; I know I, more than once, searched through the option to switch her off, but such an option, unfortunately, doesn't exist.
In any case, the story in The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales isn't something that will make you reconsider your life choices or that will leave you in a state of awe, but it is decent enough and will "hold water" till you see the credits; that's more than certain.
Gameplay
This is where Elliot separates itself hardest from its HD-2D siblings, and honestly, it's where the game earns its keep. Combat is real-time and weapon-driven, with Elliot able to equip two of seven available weapon types at once, ranging from swords for quick, close-range work to chains and sickles that can trap or reposition enemies mid-fight. Swapping between them on the fly changes the rhythm of every encounter, and the shield mechanic adds a satisfying risk-reward layer on top, since well-timed parries stun enemies and send their own projectiles flying straight back at them.
Magicite is the other major system worth mentioning. Scattered across chests and hidden corners of Philabieldia, these let you customise weapons with passive bonuses and elemental effects, meaning two players running the same weapon type can end up with noticeably different builds. This might seem like something already seen in many games and nothing really groundbreaking, but for the series of games that relied on a completely different combat style, this one really feels like a breath of really fresh air.
Where the game shows some weaknesses is in dungeon and puzzle variety. Those weaknesses can be felt once you run all four ages. The puzzles start to repeat themselves, and it all starts to feel as if the developers ran out of ideas all of a sudden, which, for this type of game, is never ideal. I won't be saying that this is a dealbreaker for this game, not even close, but since I like a good puzzle in a game, much as the next guy, it is a bit disappointing.
However, the combat and its thrills, along with a beautiful world, were indeed something that made me come back for another round of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, and I believe this is something that will win over your heart as well.
Visuals, Performance, and Sound
This, for me, is where Elliot truly separates itself. If there's a rulebook for how pixelated art should look in 2026, this game just wrote it. Every environment, from the plains outside Huther to the ruined ancient structures, is rendered with a level of detail and lighting work that makes HD-2D feel like a true modern art style and not a cheap nostalgia trick. It's consistently gorgeous, and unlike a lot of games chasing this aesthetic, it never feels like the pixel art and the 3D backgrounds are fighting each other for attention.
Performance on PS5 was flawless throughout my time with it. No stuttering, no frame pacing issues, nothing that pulled me out of the experience even during busier combat encounters with multiple enemies and effects on screen at once. For a studio not always associated with buttery-smooth technical performance, that's a feat worthy of mentioning.
The soundtrack holds up its end too, leaning into the same atmospheric, slightly melancholic tone the studio has built a reputation on, and voice work across both English and Japanese tracks is very solid. I tried both languages for the sake of comparison, and I must say that both are amazing, with the Japanese being a bit more authentic, but since I don't know even a single word in Japanese, constantly looking at the subtitles simply wasn't an option for me.
Final Thoughts
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a confident, good-looking swing at something quite different for Square Enix's HD-2D lineup. The combat is satisfying, the visuals are some of the best pixel-inspired work I've seen on PS5, and the performance never got in the way of any of it. Whether the story and dungeon design paired with a bit of repeating puzzles does hold it from a higher score, this is an easy one to recommend to anyone who wants their pixel art with a bit more bite.
The Good
Truly stunning HD-2D visuals- Rock-solid performance on PlayStation 5
- Satisfying, weapon-driven combat system
- Magicite customisation adds real build variety
- Addictive gameplay loop that's hard to put down
The Bad
Faie's commentary may grow tiresome over time- Poor dungeon and enemy variety
- Puzzles tends to become repetitive more you play
