A new IP enters the market soon and it says that HD-2D is here to stay.
With the popularity of the Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default series, Square Enix has embraced this style of graphics. However, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales aims to bring HD-2D out of the turn-based world and into real-time combat.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Square Enix title without skill trees, equipment upgrades, and silly side quests. This game absolutely caters to casual and crunchy gamers — you don’t necessarily need upgrades, but you can absolutely min-max.
Square Enix invited me to HQ for a hands-on preview and offered more insight into the game. Overall, The Adventures of Elliot was fun, colorful, and oddly cozy. I’m genuinely looking forward to the summer release.
The Story
As the title suggests, The Adventures of Elliot’s story spans across one thousand years.
In the present day, the Age of Safekeeping, Princess Heuria of Huther is inflicted with a curse (classic fantasy). To lift the curse, Elliot and Faie must travel throughout history through the Doorway of Time. But something sinister lurks under the surface.
The four periods are the Age of Safekeeping, the Age of Reconstruction, the Age of Magic, and the Age of Budding.
While locations stay the same (or significantly similar), each period feels like its own world. Together, they make up the history of Philabieldia — the backdrop of this epic quest.
The Gameplay
The hands-on preview featured content from the Age of Reconstruction, where the humans of Philabieldia live without Princess Heuria’s protective magic. Though humanity has survived the fall of magic, it’s not a prosperous time in the continent’s history.
In just one out of four ages, there was plenty to do and explore. Combat was easy to pick up and adapt to. I didn’t have any issues with responsiveness or lag – any mistakes I made were my own because I button-mashed instead of learning the timing.
Elliot can take five actions: normal attack, charge attack, guard, Fairy Action, and flee (unless it’s a boss fight). Yeah, you can just run away and hide. I did that plenty of times in caves. Sometimes, you don’t want to deal with the mushroom snails that turn into MORE mushroom snails.
Customizable Combat
There are two main features for combat: weapons and Magicite.
Elliot will gain multiple weapons throughout the game, such as bombs, bow and arrow, and boomerang. You can quick access a primary and secondary weapon, which you can swap out quickly and easily.
Each weapon has its associated Magicite, which grants buffs and extra effects to the weapon. For example, one of the sword Magicite abilities grants faster shield regeneration when launching a successful counter attack.
I love the options and the upgrade system because this ensures that weapons scale to the game difficulty. You aren’t forced to choose a weapon you don’t like out of necessity. Instead, you can build the combat around you as a player.
Fairy Actions
Babygirl Fae (this is what I’m calling her, she’s a sweetheart and very helpful) resides in the bottom left corner of the screen. She provides Elliot with Fairy Actions, granting him buffs and special abilities.
However, you need to use these abilities strategically as each has a cooldown time and area of effect. For example, I really took to warping around the map. If you level up the warp ability enough, then you get the bonus of stunning enemies in the area where you warp to.
Fairy Actions can assist in combat as well as exploration and puzzle solving.
Also, if you glide really fast into a barrier, you will take damage. You have been warned.
Exploration Encouraged!
This is where the game feels like Stardew Valley, minus the farming. Think of it like the Stardew mines, but it’s the whole game and you have a little fairy friend who sets enemies on fire for you.
Despite being a semi-open world, The Adventures of Elliot masterfully toes the line between feeling trapped and overwhelming the player. Since the continent doesn’t change, the maps stay the same across the Ages. But each Age has subtle (and overt) changes, keeping the landscape fresh.
Personally, I love games that both encourage and reward players for returning to early game areas. In this game, certain puzzles, paths, and side quests are restricted to certain Ages. However, there is one quest that spans across a thousand years.
Cat Collection.
That’s right. There’s 55 cats to find. Yes, they all meow. Yes, Elliot pets the cats. And yes, you get rewarded for finding the cats.
I enjoy the gameplay and the mechanics and the weapons and the platforming. But I am going to play for the cats.
The Demo
Because I’m a master procrastinator, I waited so long to post this that I managed to play the demo!
The Prologue Demo is available on all platforms and features different content than the hands-on preview. I spent about two hours playing and did not complete it. But I also did every side quest that appeared and took my time exploring everything.
As the title suggests, the demo starts the story. At the recommendation of a friendquaintance, Elliot is summoned to the king’s court for adventuring. Here, Elliot meets Princess Heuria, where she becomes his remote adventuring companion through the power of magic.
They’re really cute. I ship it.
We get a great introduction to Elliot as a character and the world he lives in. It sets the tone wonderfully, welcoming players into a vast fantasy world while not taking itself too seriously. The game hits cheesy fantasy tropes, like having someone die who’s about to get married, without feeling too goofy. It’s a great balance.
The demo also gives a great feel for the gameplay itself. There needs to be surprises, the demo can’t show its entire hand, but gives you enough to get used to different weapons and the Magicite system. If you’re interested in this game, I highly recommend trying the demo.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales launches on June 18, 2026. It will be available on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC through Steam.
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