Adventures of Elliot review roundup: cool combat, meh everything else

Critics are unanimous: the time-travel is a little lackluster

The reviews for The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales are finally in, and while it doesn't quite stack up to some of the greatest games so far this year, it's another respectable performer, especially if you're in the market for a Square Enix JRPG. In the run-up to launch, it was compared to series such as The Legend of Zelda, Octopath Traveler, and Final Fantasy, which means it had to meet some high expectations.

On Metacritic, with 20 reviews logged as of writing, the game is sitting at a "generally favorable" 79 average score. This includes two scores at 90 or above, but those are countered by numerous 70s, and one score at 60. Meanwhile, Opencritic has 27 reviews logged and is averaging 82, with the game recommended by 89% of critics.

While we don't score our reviews here at Polygon, our senior gaming editor Jen Glennon considers The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales to be "an easy game to pick up and a hard one to put down," while calling it a "satisfying RPG experience that won't take over your life." However, and this is a theme that runs through many of the reviews, she came away wishing the time-travel mechanics were a little deeper.

IGN's Scott White gave it an 8/10, describing it as "a great action-adventure game that continues to prove why the HD-2D art style is among the best around." However, much like in our review, he claims that the game's time-travel mechanic, while interesting, doesn't land well and results in both enemies and environments getting repetitive.

Over on GamesRadar, Luke Kemp has given it a 4.5/5, with a tagline that reads "expansive without being intimidating, varied without being overwhelming, and familiar without being tired." He praises the dungeons, bosses, and the overall sense of adventure, and the only let-down is the "unambitious" writing.

Kotaku's Rebekah Valentine feels similarly, because her review opens up by saying that in a few years from now, when she looks back on The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales, she won't remember "most of its plot, its side quests, or any of its big story moments." However, she will recall "using a fairy to suck up many snails from different corners of a large room into a huge snail pile before chucking and detonating a bomb right in the middle of them." That gives you a solid idea of where the game's strengths lie, but as a result, she considers it "uncharacteristically, aggressively safe compared to Team Asano's past work."

Game Informer's Charles Harte also criticized the time-travel mechanic, explaining the game "doesn't make full use of its potential," scoring it a 7.25/10. He also references how Elliot is clearly so reminiscent of Link in the earlier Zelda games, and while some mechanics are improved upon, such as combat, he spent most of his time "entertained, but never satisfied."

In summary, it seems like Square Enix and Team Asano have produced another impressive entry in the genre they're so well-acquainted with, although it's unlikely to go down as the next Octopath Traveler. Sometimes, though, that's okay: There's nothing wrong with a game that is just a good ol' 20~ hour blast.