It took me almost the entire length of the Elta: Defy All Gods demo to put my finger on which game, or games, it reminded me of. Most people probably don’t remember Clash: Artefacts of Chaos, though more will likely recall Xbox One exclusive ReCore. Those two games kept popping back into mind while playing, and, well, neither is a title anyone wants to be repeatedly reminded of.
I don’t necessarily have to play as a human being to invest in an adventure game. Biomutant was entertaining enough and you play that as an unidentified rodent mongrel thing, while most have fond memories of (some of) the Abe’s Odyssey games where you play as an ugly, farting alien. I get that adversity is universal and overcoming it is a touchstone most of us can connect to, but just as when I played Clash: Artefacts of Chaos, I was really struggling to care about the burly but slightly boring protagonist of Elta: Defy All Gods.
What I could glean from the intro is that your race escaped genocide centuries ago by taking to the stars, and now the time has come to return to your ancient homeworld and they’ve picked you to do it. Your character is introduced in a strange way, as he stands in an arena beating the snot out of all comers to such an extent that I assumed this was a bad guy or mentor and you were one of the skinny guys getting his arse beaten. See, the tutorial level takes place during the original fall of the world, casting you as a different dude with a broader suite of powers and abilities.
Elta is a 3D Metroidvania, you see, so you’ll unlock new powers and traversal abilities as you progress. Early on you’ll meet one of the titular Elta, an adolescent dragon god who gives you the ability to use grapple points while also looking really cute. It will also eat red crystals, two of which will permanently boost your HP.
Combat is simple and fairly repetitive at this point, though it may develop as the game progresses. You employ heavy attacks and light attacks, a perfect dodge allows you to counterattack, and the grapple can pull shields off enemies as well as let you interact with certain environmental switches. It’s fairly generic, inoffensive stuff at this early stage, and very little of Elta: Defy All Gods feels stand-out.
One thing that is quite unique is the art style, though again this reminds me of the weird, almost painterly quality of Clash: Artefacts of Power. Elta looks like a moving comic book, with stylised visuals that seem at odds with the fairly pedestrian design of the protagonist and enemies.
I’ve only experienced a small chunk of Elta: Defy All Gods so far, and while I wasn’t blown away, there’s a charming enough Metroidvania here if you’re looking to scratch that particular itch. The combat is snappy and weighty, if a little basic, but if you can click with it there’s a pleasant enough story and world to explore so far. We’ll know more when Elta: Defy All Gods launches in a few months.
Elta: Defy All Gods is set to launch on PS5, XBOX, and PC via Steam on February 2nd, 2027.
