When I first laid eyes on The Adventures Of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, I immediately understood why Square Enix chose to reveal it the way they did. Before I even saw combat or heard dialogue, the art style did the heavy lifting. The game is stunning. But what surprised me most wasn’t simply that Square Enix had created another gorgeous HD-2D title. It was that they’d finally taken that visual style and applied it to a full action RPG. I recently got the chance to go hands-on with the game and see a bit more of what it has to offer, outside of the already available demo available on the Switch 2, and I came away very impressed by what I’ve seen so far, and very keen to see more of Elliot’s upcoming adventure.
Up until now, HD-2D has mostly been associated with turn-based adventures and tactical strategy games. We’ve seen it define titles like Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy and the HD-2D remakes of classic Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Those games used the style brilliantly, but they all played at a slower pace. The Adventures Of Elliot: The Millennium Tales feels like the next evolution of that idea. This is HD-2D in motion. Fast movement, real-time combat, environmental puzzles, dungeon crawling and exploration all wrapped inside a world that looks like a living diorama.
The game follows Elliot, a young adventurer who sets out across a dangerous fantasy world alongside a fairy companion named Faie who acts as both guide and partner throughout the journey. From what I’ve played so far, the setup feels deliberately reminiscent of classic fantasy adventures from the 16-bit era, particularly old-school Zelda titles. That influence becomes obvious almost immediately, and I don’t think the developers are trying to hide it. In fact, the game seems proud of those inspirations.
The fairy companion is the clearest example. Floating beside Elliot during exploration and combat, Faie constantly reminded me of the companion characters that helped define older Zelda adventures. She provides hints, story context and gameplay support while also helping establish the tone of the world. Thankfully, she never crossed the line into becoming annoying during my time with the game. Instead, the relationship between Elliot and Faie feels surprisingly warm and natural.
The currently released trailers, and also the game’s title have already talked about how Elliot’s story is going to take place in different time periods and span a 1000 year period. During my time with the game, I was mostly left to my own devices to see and do what I wanted, and got to experience 2 of the available periods, The Age of Reconstruction and The Age of Safekeeping. Without spoiling too much, it was really cool to adventure through an area, learn a bit about it’s people and history and then get jump to another time period and get to play those events or experience a different viewpoint. It’s not a new concept by any means, Chrono Trigger and even Dragon Quest 7 have done similar things in the past. But it’s a storytelling trope I enjoy and am keen to see more context of the events in the final game.
Exploration plays a huge role in the experience. I spent much of my time moving through forests, caves and dungeon-like areas filled with environmental hazards, branching pathways and hidden secrets. There’s a strong sense of discovery to everything. The game constantly nudges you toward poking around corners, revisiting areas with newly acquired tools and experimenting with the environment.
That Zelda influence comes through strongest in the structure of progression. Dungeons aren’t just combat gauntlets. They’re puzzle spaces built around item usage and navigation. I encountered switches, traversal mechanics and obstacles that required specific tools to overcome. Weapons themselves also feel heavily inspired by classic Zelda equipment. Elliot can wield a boomerang to stun enemies or activate distant mechanisms, while throwable bombs are used for both combat and puzzle solving. None of these ideas are new, but the way The Adventures Of Elliot combines them with the HD-2D presentation gives them a fresh identity.
Combat is entirely real-time, and that changes the feel of the HD-2D formula dramatically. Instead of menu navigation or tactical positioning, fights are immediate and direct. Elliot attacks quickly, dodges incoming strikes and swaps between tools depending on the situation. Enemy encounters feel active and engaging rather than turn-based exercises in strategy. There’s a satisfying rhythm to combat that makes even smaller encounters enjoyable, swapping between weapon types, unleashing charged attacks, shielding when needed and even using Faie’s abilities if required.
The only point of frustration i encountered during my time is not having Elliot’s equipment split into weapons and tools, and allowing me to quick select a tool using a trigger or additional button. I’d love to be able to keep my sword and spear equipped as my primary and secondary weapon and also be able to quick select and unleash a bomb or throw the boomerang without having to go into the menu, unequip one of my weapons, equip the bomb, throw the bomb down, and then have to remember to go back into the menu and reequip my weapon otherwise run into a nice surprise in my next combat where I try to swing my sword, but instead throw down a bomb. It’s a process I’m sure I’ll get used to, but it would still be great to see the process streamlined.
What impressed me though was how readable everything remains despite the visual complexity. The HD-2D style can sometimes become visually overwhelming with all its lighting effects, particle work and layered environments, but here it remains clear in motion. Enemy attacks are easy to track, movement feels responsive and environmental interactions stand out naturally.
The dungeon design especially benefits from the perspective. Because the environments use layered depth and dynamic lighting. Torchlight flickers across stone walls, water reflects ambient lighting beautifully and tiny environmental details make the world feel handcrafted.
The sprite work is phenomenal. Elliot himself is packed with expressive animations, from subtle idle movements to flashy combat actions. Enemies are similarly detailed, and boss-like encounters I got to see in particular look fantastic. But it’s not just the sprite art carrying the presentation. The painterly character portraits are gorgeous. Dialogue scenes use illustrated artwork that gives characters far more personality and emotion than standard RPG portraits typically manage.
Even the menus and UI deserve praise. The map screen looks like something pulled from an illustrated fantasy storybook, while inventory menus and interface elements use textured designs that match the world perfectly. Nothing feels sterile or overly modern. Every part of the presentation contributes to the atmosphere.
The soundtrack also deserves mention based on what I’ve heard so far. The music leans heavily into sweeping fantasy melodies with softer emotional tracks during quieter moments. Combined with the visual style, it creates an atmosphere that feels nostalgic despite being a brand new game.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the voice acting. The English performances are genuinely strong. Characters sound believable, conversations flow naturally and emotional scenes land effectively because the cast commits fully to the material. Elliot himself comes across as earnest and likable without sounding overly exaggerated, while the fairy companion delivers a performance that balances charm and sincerity well.
Importantly, the performances feel grounded. Fantasy RPGs sometimes fall into theatrical delivery that makes dialogue sound a bit unnatural, but The Adventures Of Elliot doesn’t seem to have that problem, at least from what I’ve witnessed. The voice direction feels polished. For players who prefer the original language track, the game is also fully playable in Japanese.
Still, despite all of its strengths, the first thing anyone is going to notice about The Adventures Of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is that striking art style. It immediately grabs your attention. The second thing they’ll notice is how deeply the game draws from classic Zelda DNA. But rather than feeling derivative, it feels affectionate. The developers clearly understand what made those games special.
There’s a comforting familiarity to exploring dungeons with a fairy companion at your side, uncovering secrets with a boomerang or blasting open hidden pathways using bombs. Yet the HD-2D presentation transforms those familiar mechanics into something visually unique. It feels like an old-school adventure game reimagined through modern technology rather than simply recreated.
From what I’ve played so far, The Adventures Of Elliot: The Millennium Tales feels like one of the most exciting evolutions of the HD-2D formula yet. Square Enix has already proven the style works beautifully for turn-based RPGs and strategy titles. Now they’re showing it can support fast-paced action and exploration too.
If the full game can maintain the level of quality I experienced during my preview session, this could end up being something genuinely special.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales launches on June 18th 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2.
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