Elephantasy

An utterly exquisite Metroidvania/Puzzle Platformer with an interesting way of progression. In a typical Metroidvania, you normally get your upgrades in a sequential order, but Elephantasy does away with that with its unique "borrowing" system. It's a bit limiting at first since you're only allowed to carry one item at a time (though, you're allowed to borrow more once you've crossed certain gem thresholds.) There's a huge benefit to this system however and it all boils down to one word: FREEDOM. Instead of following a linear path, you can carve out your own by essentially picking and choosing your upgrades. It's quite liberating to be able to tackle these puzzles in any order I'd like.
In regards to the aforementioned puzzles, they're quite fair. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that they're easy or anything, Elephantasy's got its fair share of head scratchers, but they're pretty reasonable. I didn't have to rely on any outside help, and honestly, I think I prefer it this way. There are so many puzzle games flooding the market that don't actually have "puzzles" but rather poorly written riddles that are there for the sole purpose of padding out game length. But not Elephantasy, this one actually stands above the rest. It was a joy to unravel this puzzlebox of a world.

Overall a fun game, but a few minor points of annoyance.
The art, music, and atmosphere of Elephantasy are immaculate. The consistent, cute aesthetic lends itself well to the lighthearted vibe of the game and encourages you to explore further. The exploration feels great. There are a lot of little mysteries you'll pick up on and know you don't yet have the knowledge or tools to explore further; revisiting past areas with a new eye quickly helps the world to feel familiar.
My gripes:
Tiles should not be subdivided. This is maybe a necessary element for some puzzles, allowing you to stack things in a staircase, or grow flowers with an offset, but more often it provides friction to otherwise smooth movement. You accidentally grow a flower on a half tile? Sorry, I guess you'll just fall off it. You're trying to move from a ladder to a 1x tile opening? Nope, half a tile too high. Now too low. I think this mechanic should've been reviewed; either be generous and allow for half tile forgiveness, or remove it entirely.
Game speed is too fiddly a mechanic, controlling precision of movement, difficulty, and tedium. Tiles being subdivided is more of an issue at higher game speeds; at lower game speeds, backtracking feels tedious. Do you turn it lower for new areas, then higher for old ones? This section requires more precise movement than the last. Adjust it again? Getting back to the boss requires some platforming, but the fight itself feels like it's not built for the reaction time you'd need at high speeds. More adjustment? It's a lot of menuing. I think the game should've been designed around a specific game speed and leave it at that. No fiddling in the menus, and make the movement feel good at that game speed.
Fast travel comes too suddenly, too late. Collecting the few remaining gems means traveling all across the map. Same for the puzzle with the strange pot. The second to last thing I did was to collect all the moles. Your reward? Fast travel across the map. By that point I hardly needed it, though it would've been such a boon to have early; it would've saved lots of backtracking. I didn't find out about the teleport to the shop until about halfway through the game. I think fast travel should have been drip-fed as opposed to given all at once, and should've arrived earlier. Maybe Snorri gives you the shop teleport at rank 2 or something. Maybe after every boss you unlock a warp from the shop to their area or something. I don't know. But players will have vastly different experiences based on how quickly they find and complete the mole puzzle; I wish I'd have solved it early.

Really love this game! It's a smart little puzzle adventure with a cute 8-bit art style.

While the game might present itself in a rather innocent fashion, don't be fooled! This game might be minimalistic in style, its content is of great quality and rich depth.
As a cute elephant, you wander around in a retro-inspired, pixelated world, searching for a way to progress. Progression is very similar to The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, where you buy equipment to open up new areas becoming stronger. In this game, however, you set out to gather gems, which will allow you to carry more of the several items you can borrow at the start. At first, you can only pick one item at a time, but as you gain more gems, you'll be able to carry several new combinations, opening up new places on the map.
In addition, there are several secrets scattered around the world - which is interconnected in a metroidvania-like way - some of which are hinted at by NPCs or signs, while others leave you completely to your own wits to figure out. While I didn't have the patience to find every single secret, the ones I did find were very satisfying.
Unlike most modern metroidvanias and zeldalikes, Elephantasy does not feature any combat. Don't expect a very action-packed adventure here; the game really is mostly about figuring out how to progress, how to get to that key or gem that's just out of reach, etc.
The music, while great and fun, does get a little repetitive over time. The instrumentation isn't incredibly varied and thus can begin to sound very samey after extended playtime. The loops are also relatively short, or at least that's how they felt to me. Staying too long in one area can become slightly annoying for that very reason.
All in all, this is a great, minimalistic game, with surprising depth, both in the story and gameplay. It plays like a mix of metroidvania (interconnected map, secrets), Zelda games (borrowing equipment) and platformers such as VVVVVV (platforming as a puzzle). I recommend it strongly, but do keep in mind that its presentation is rather sober. Don't expect any crazy graphics or emotional cutscenes. With that said, enjoy!

A short and sweet metroidvania that is meticulously crafted within it's limitations. Fun and cute all around!

short fun cute game

good game