Are you looking for a blast from the past? Good! Elena Temple may be the game you are looking for. Elena Temple: Definitive Edition introduces the good ol’ days of retro platformers. With many different “platforms” to play on, like the Some Toy Advanced, Maple, TOD 300, and Bell! The best ones I found were the Gameboy “Some Toy” skins as it also changes the music to the 8 Bit style. No matter what style you choose to play on, the game still feels the same on each platform. These are all different retro aesthetics you can choose to play on with the press of a button. This is great because it gives the opportunity to play in your favorite retro style. The customization options of Elena Temple are pretty great overall. You are also able to zoom into the game screen if it is too small for you and make it the size of your TV.
The platforming in Elena Temple is overall a pretty solid experience as well. The controls are tight and a lot of the areas offer some pretty good challenges. However, some of the deaths in Elena Temple do feel a little cheap and may cause some frustration. This is not something that happens to often thankfully. Some platforms move, and some disappear and need to be timed perfectly or you may fall to your death. This is where dying, isn’t all that bad. As soon as you die you will reset at the beginning of the current level you are playing on in an instant. So try and try as much as you want until you perfect that really hard jump.
Elena Temple comes with 3 dungeons with a grand total of 100+ rooms to explore. Each dungeon introduces unique and challenging elements. You choose where to go and in any order. There is a nice little map if you do end up getting lost. There are a total of 40 in game achievements which adds that extra layer to the game for play-ability. There are game modifiers you are able to unlock to play Elena Temple in different ways. Of course, like any good platformer, there are also secrets and easter eggs! Try and find them!
With the definitive edition it adds more to the game than the core game. It increases the play-ability by quite a bit. A straight arrow play through will take a few hours to beat it. But if you like to collect things and find secrets it can double or even triple your play time. Honestly, for the price point, this is worth every penny.
Conclusion:
The Adventures of Elena Temple does a really good job of recreating that nostalgia feeling from platformers of the past. Tight controls, great sound and a great challenge. Elena Temple will certainly scratch that nostalgia itch. Unfortunately there are some flaws such as some cheap deaths, and sometime frustrating areas. But overall, a good experience for the value.
8.0/10
Great!
