Game played: The Adventures of Elliot (PS5)

Today was a news day. The biggest hot takes were out there about Sony and its decision to shut down disc production for games starting in 2028. This is pretty wild and a radical turn for the industry, but really, this has clearly been in motion over the last few years. With the digital editions of the PS5 and the PS5 Pro not including a disc drive out of the box, all the signs were there. I definitely feel players should have options. I may have been part of the problem, adopting the PS5 Pro and being digital-first for the last few years, but I have bought a few physical editions for special releases. I am curious to see what this means for limited print companies going forward, not to mention the entire second-hand market and people on a budget. It is clearly exclusionary, regardless of the logistics and convenience.

As far as the chronicles of my adventuring with Elliot, I did push ahead with the main story, and as soon as I made some progress and got the western gate key… I fell into the void of every side activity available to me. Suddenly, I opened a new chunk of the map and needed to start collecting cats, weapon upgrades, treasure chests, and dungeons, all of it. It’s beyond a compulsion. I could have just focused on the main drama and made some real progress, but something inside me didn’t want to miss out on potential items and rewards. Even when I knew it was only going to be money, magicite, or accessories, I still kept doing them.

One aspect of Elliot that I moved on from is the cutscenes. I am holding triangle and skipping these 90% of the time, because right afterward, my fairy companion is reacting and navigating me to what’s next, and I can talk to the nearest NPC to get the gist of whatever was slowly being delivered in whatever cutscene was happening. The story isn’t uninteresting, but it’s just slowly paced, and when the rest of the game allows for quick combat, travel, and access, it’s an odd thing to drag out and layer in so much exposition to a plot that isn’t all that deep. This isn’t a deal breaker, it’s just a small miss. I am still getting the main points, and I have been watching them after bosses or dramatic moments, but with side quests and slower moments, I am just moving fast.

I have now gotten all of the fairy powers, three upgrades, found a few three-star weapons, and have 42 out of 50 cats. I have been turned off by games when there is TOO much to do (like the last act of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) and flipped to switch to just complete the main quest and ignore the side stuff, but so far I am still entertained by all there is. It’s quick combat, and the magicite system really helps make the action feel well-crafted and my own. I started using the sprint ability more to zip around the map even faster after I got its upgrade. The trial for that was beyond quick. I am just too good.

After 15 or so side quests, 30-something cats, and a few new bosses, my day was complete. I saw a lot and found a whole new era. I think I have got to be at least two-thirds of the way through the game at this point. I think if I get up early enough before work, or on the 4th of July, I can knock out the rest of the main part of the game. We’ll see. I do want to pick up that new Rhythm Heaven game for the Switch 2…