Elephantasy
It’s said that somewhere, hidden from all but the most determined explorers, there is a miniature world where one may go to escape the worries of life. After falling from the sky, you’ve found yourself in that very same miniature world. But now that you’re there, can you ever return home again?
Snorri, the resident Wizard of the miniature world, has told you of a mysterious Tower in the Sky above his shop. Perhaps if you can collect enough Gems, you can reach the Tower, and with any luck, get back home!
Elephantasy is a small exploratory puzzle-platforming game where you play as a tiny Elephant trying to get back to their home. Collect hidden Gems to raise your Rank, borrow Items from Snorri the Wizard, explore a vast and varied pixel-art world, meet a colourful cast of characters, and more! While exploring the miniature world, you’ll discover a wide array of unique rooms and puzzles to solve using your Items, all of which give you various abilities; grow vines to reach high places, dash over seemingly bottomless pits, dive into uncharted waters, and lift the heaviest obstacles with ease! But beware; there are also strange and powerful beings in this magical world, many of whom won’t give up their Gems willingly! It’ll take all of your abilities, wits, and skill to gather enough Gems to reach the Tower!
Features:
- Charming pixel-art characters, items, and environments
- 350+ unique rooms to discover
- 6+ Distinct areas to explore
- A vast assortment of NPCs to meet and talk with
- 36 Gems to collect, in addition to other secrets
- Multiple endings
- 4 Boss encounters (3 of which are optional)
- Game speed settings, to allow players to set their own pace while exploring
Game Discussion
Steam User 1
A very good non-combat metroidvania. Very respectful of the player's time and ability to figure things out.
Steam User 1
---see where this game landed on my Metroidvania tier list beneath this review!---
It's "ok". The concept is very cool and the game has charm.
I found navigating to be somewhat unpleasant because of how this game chooses to do movement like some very oldschool games, such as Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, where you can just move left and right slowly, ascend or descend and no jumping.
Exploring the world was good fun, but whenever I had to re-tread old steps I felt like I couldn't be bothered and wanted to play something else. Your patience for that may well exceed mine :-)
For some reason the music is turned down too low in contrast to the sounds.
I think the developer made something very cool. I'm going to rec it because it did capture my imagination for a bit and I appreciate the creativity. I'd like a faster, larger game of this nature with better movement.
If you do really enjoy Elephantasy, you might also enjoy The Witch & the 66 Mushrooms. which has some similarities.
=====================
My Metroidvania Tier List (excluding Metroid & Castlevania titles)
=====================
-Not an objective list, purely how much I enjoyed the games-
S+ Aeterna Noctis |
S Tier (Truly Special) Astalon: Tears of the Earth | Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom | Hollow Knight |
S- Blasphemous 2 | The Last Faith | Cathedral |
A+ Doomblade^ | Afterimage |
A Tier (Amazing) Elderand | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Environmental Station Alpha |
A- Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights | Depths of Sanity |
B+ Blast Brigade | Haak |
B Tier (Really Enjoyed) Alwa’s Legacy | Steamworld Dig 2 | Islets | Blasphemous | After Death | Pronty^ | Mortal Manor* | Escape From Tethys | Outbuddies DX* | Monster Sanctuary | Elliot Quest |
B- Haiku, the Robot |
C+ (Fun) Lone Fungus | Ghost Song | Death’s Gambit: Afterlife | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Kunai | Kingdom Shell | Momodora: Reverie under the Moonlight | Axiom Verge | Rabi-Ribi | TEVI | Treasure Adventure Game |
C Tier (More or Less Enjoyed) Plague of Yamorn* | Aggelos | Infernax | Jrago* | MF-01 Aerostrike^ | Laika: Aged through Blood | Xanthiom Zero | Carrion^ | Flipwitch | Wuppo | The Mummy Demastered | Catmaze | Omega Strike | HunterX | HunterX: code name T | Chasm |
C- (Meh) Sheepo | Ato | Cookie Cutter | Elephantasy | Rusted Moss^ | Grime | Moonscars | The Messenger | Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth | Iconoclasts | MindSeize | Ebenezer and the Invisible World |
D Tier (Didn’t enjoy enough to play through) Castle In The Darkness | Alwa’s Awakening | Pharaoh Rebirth | Yoku’s Island Express | Guacamelee! 2 | Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse | Beholgar* | Phoenotopia: Awakening | Insect Adventure | Clunky Hero* | Headlander | Strider | Minoria* | Souldiers | Bone Appetit | The Witch & the 66 Mushrooms | Transiruby | Destroy Space Aliens | La-Mulana | Guacamelee! | 8Doors | Gato Roboto | Super Panda Adventures |
E-Tier (Didn't like) Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap | Ginsha | Dandara | Vernal Edge | Blaster Master Zero | Medusa* | Lost Ruins | Sundered | Salt & Sanctuary | Valdis Story | Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet | Touhou Luna Nights | Chronicles of Teddy | B.I.O.T.A. | Shadow Complex | Timespinner | Rex Rocket | Aquaria | Nyaruru Fishy Fight | Apotheon | Gungirl 2 | Bad Pad* | Lootbox Lyfe | Angel’s Gear* | Fearmonium | Magicians & Looters* | Tres-Bashers* | Dust: An Elysian Tale |
===================
^ = Mouse & Keyboard are STRONGLY advised.
* = Very raw indie or contains some jank or lack of polish.
---------------------------------
Steam User 1
At first I wasn't sure I'd dig Elephantasy. The player character's somewhat labored movement felt a little unusual to me, even after mapping the controls to the appropriate Steam Deck inputs. But before long, I was entranced!
Your goal is to explore the world collecting gems. There are four items you can equip that help you overcome different obstacles, but you can only carry one to start. The more gems you collect, the more items you can equip at the same time. Exploration yields rewards that enable more exploration: It's a really satisfying gameplay loop!
But what engaged me most was the map. Each little biome is visually distinct and full of puzzles and secrets. It has that Fez or VVVVVV quality that rewards curiosity: I often caught myself smiling while uncovering some of the game's surprises.
Highly recommended for fans of 2-D exploration-based platformers!
Steam User 1
Elephantasy is a cute and colorful small exploration game.
I found the way it gates you by the number of items (abilities) you can bring instead of unlocking them sequentially very interesting. You will often think about which mix of items will help you to reach certain places. It usually involves some backtracking, but the world is small enough for it to not be a problem.