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Elementallis is a new pixel art action game from developer AnKae Games and publisher Top Hat Studios. We first reported on it a few weeks ago, and now have had a chance to try the Switch port. The game is heavily inspired by NES and SNES Zelda titles and is out now on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC, priced at $17.99. When we first started playing Elementallis, we felt it was just another Zelda: A Link to the Past clone. This was an unfair assumption as it quickly started to show its own ideas, especially around the story.
Yes, there are lots of homages paid, finding a short sword early on, getting some armour, and an old man begrudgingly sending us on a mission. However, the story is much deeper, as are the characters, and there is a great mix of different powers to obtain as you venture further. We quickly changed our tune from thinking it was a clone to seeing it as a fantastic homage that elevates the source material into something greater.
You choose your name at the start of the adventure, and you quickly learn that your parents are now missing, possibly dead, and that an old man has been raising you as you come of age. Your home is attacked, and you must rescue the old man, who then tries to stop you from going on an adventure to reclaim all the missing elements and save the world. The story does have a few twists and turns as you progress, but we won’t spoil anything else here, except to say it’s as engaging as it needs to be for this kind of retro title.
The main game is spent exploring an overworld map that is broken into sections, each with its own element: fire, wind, ice, you get the idea. And of course, it wouldn’t be a proper retro adventure if each area didn’t have a large temple that acts as a dungeon to conquer. That’s right, you guessed it, in Elementallis, each temple has a nasty boss that must be defeated to obtain its element and restore parity to that section of the world. Interestingly, each dungeon had two bosses, one being easier than the main one, and we felt this was a nice touch.
Gaining the elements in Elementallis is more than just a way to indicate progress. They grant a new power that can be switched between on the fly, thanks to a clever wheel selector that briefly pauses the game while you pick which element to harness next. It’s a great system, and the second you have a new power, your mind instantly starts to remember places on the overworld map you will now be able to reach. The pacing of the temples and granting of new powers is excellent, as is how you slowly increase your hearts and magic powers.
Speaking of magic, in Elementallis, your magic bar slowly regains power, which is better than constantly having to find potions from chopping plants. This ability is actually needed, as without the recharging of the magic, it would be easy to get stuck somewhere, as the elements are heavily relied on to open doors and generally gain access to new areas. As with any great Zelda homage, you’ll spend lots of time trying to find ways to grab heart pieces that are just out of reach, and usually, all of a sudden, you’ll have a new move that makes it easy.
The combat in Elementallis is fine, but we did notice a few moments of poor collision detection. This might just have been that we needed to improve our timing when swinging the sword, but we had a few deaths early on where enemies were not particularly close. This didn’t spoil the game, as a death will only ever bring you back a few rooms, and the saving of progress is very generous and automatic. The other aspect we enjoyed was how the enemies attacked in different ways, and towards the end, you really do have to think of different strategies to beat them.
Overall, Elementallis is a fine homage to the classic adventure titles of the 90s. It has just enough of its own ideas to help it stand out, and some of the pixel art, as well as the music, is of a high standard. It would be hard to say it’s a must-play, but fans of the genre will see the qualities it holds quickly and will enjoy the adventure. The story is also surprisingly deep in places, and the variety of temples, enemies, and puzzles is excellent throughout. If you love this type of game, don’t sleep on Elementallis. If you’re a casual adventure fan, certainly wishlist this and wait for a sale.
