First off, this is my type of game. A 3D Metroidvania with a distinct art direction, and a real focus on combat and platforming. Outside of the visual style and setting, I can’t say Elta does anything particularly new. But what it does, it does well.

Salvation Among the Stars: A Cinematic, Wordless Setup

The story is vague so far, centred on a race of martial aliens. The original sci-fi setting leaves room for a lore-rich world. It’s a cool concept, and the opening CGI cutscene sells it. There’s potential for a decent story here, though the demo alone doesn’t make clear how much of a focus it will be.

The opening cutscene is surprisingly well produced, depicting the alien race recovering from a centuries-old war and searching the stars for “salvation”. It’s narrated in a guttural alien language, translated through subtitles, which adds to the atmosphere. Despite its clear indie vibe, the production value feels closer to a double-A title. It’s genuinely impressive, with cinematic pans of the alien spacecraft as it drifts through an asteroid belt and a well-choreographed sparring scene between the protagonist and other aliens.
The following in-engine cutscenes rely on visual storytelling, and it’s done well here. There’s no voice acting outside the intro, but the dynamic between the unnamed protagonist and his cute little dragon companion still manages to spark intrigue. Outside of the occasional cutscene, exposition is delivered through scanning parts of the environment.

Weighty Hits and Flashy Combos

It looks and feels great to play. Gameplay is pretty standard fare, but it’s tight and responsive, with excellent animations, especially in combat.

The tutorial starts you off centuries ago, as a powerful character with a plethora of skills and abilities to play with as you get a taste for the gameplay loop: combat and platforming.
After the flashback tutorial and the opening cutscene, you’re placed in the shoes of one of the protagonist centuries later. You exit the wreck of your spaceship after crash landing on an icy planet and are given the reins to explore. That’s pretty much the extent of the setup for this demo.

Combat seems to be the focus and where the demo really shines, with cool animations, weighty, impactful attacks and awesome, flashy abilities. You are pitted against, and well equipped to deal with, multiple foes at once.
Kinetica is a nice touch, a menu that lets you pair combat moves with elemental effects. For example, you can add fire to the cyclone ability to create Blazing Cyclone, a cyclone attack imbued with flames that applies burn damage over time.

Platforming is also a core part of the experience and it works great, surprisingly fluid and intuitive, despite the protagonist’s bulky build as you jump, glide, grapple and wall-run across the map.

One caveat: the demo lacks challenge. Combat and platforming were easy, and I got through it pretty effortlessly. That will likely change in the full game, but it’s worth mentioning. I also had to sit through a loading screen every time I saved. It’s a small gripe, but it makes the game feel a little dated. Saving seems to be exclusively manual. I didn’t see any autosaves, perhaps they’re going for an intentionally old school vibe.

Backtracking Worth the Trip: Maps, Skill Trees, and a Hungry Dragon

The game leans hard into Metroidvania tropes, with inaccessible areas you have to backtrack to once you’ve got the required abilities, e.g. grapple hook and glide. Backtracking is rewarding, and optional routes you can unlock lead to resources for the skill tree and stats.

The map is very Metroidvaniaesque, and well designed. Explored, unexplored and locked routes are clearly marked via the colour scheme (red for inaccessible, gold for unexplored, etc). Being 3D, it’s easy to navigate, much like Respawn’s Jedi games.

Outside of exploration, you progress through skill trees that unlock new skills and combos, earned by defeating enemies and finding resources. The demo opens two of them: Mizra’s Astral Fist, which focuses on combos, and The Spirit of Edinnu, which unlocks new combat abilities. Three others stayed locked. Experimenting with new combos and abilities was fun and empowering, and you can also collect resources around the environment to feed your dragon and upgrade your health. It left me eager to see what more the full game will have in store.

Watercolor Worlds and a Soundtrack With Punch

Elta features a signature art style that blends 3D watercolour with cel shading. Its vibrant, blocky direction — evoking a mix of Absolver and Darksiders — complements the picturesque environments, alongside distinctive character and enemy models.

Sound design is pretty brilliant. Combat and environmental effects are cinematic and immersive, and they really sell the impact of each blow. The soundtrack is atmospheric and orchestral, and it fits both the sci-fi setting and high-octane moments.

Easy, Familiar, and Already on My Wishlist

This demo is not showcasing a new kind of game, but it is shaping up to be a solid entry in an under represented sub-genre. We don’t get enough 3D Metroidvanias, and this one feels familiar and mechanically sound, with combat that has weight, platforming that works, and production value you wouldn’t expect from an indie title.

Despite my minor critiques, I came out wanting more. I have wishlisted it, and I will likely preorder. At a budget price of £24.99, I think the full experience will be of great value. I just hope the full game is more challenging.