Elementallis

Great Zelda-like game that takes a lot of inspiration from A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening and adds its own sauce on top to make it better. The unique part of the game is that you have 8 different elements, all having their own effects. They all have their own effect in both combat and in overworld travel, allowing you to find what works best for you. For example, Fire sets enemies ablaze in combat and can burn bushes away in the overworld. On the other hand, Nature creates a plant that siphons health from nearby enemies in combat and creates upwards vines in the overworld. What I like additionally is that elements synergize with each other. I won't spoil all synergies here, but as an example, Water can be used on top of a Nature plant to increase its health siphoning effect and area-of-effect. The game features 8 dungeons (one for each element) plus a bunch of optional mini-dungeons, each unique in their mechanics and puzzles. The dungeons are very reminiscent of the aforementioned Zelda games as well, known for their great 2D dungeon design. Enemy design is very good. Many enemies are weak to specific elements, forcing you to interact with the mechanics of the game and giving a great sense of progression once you obtain an element. The combat itself is pretty well-done too, although it did take me a while to get used to that swinging your sword hits the tile in front and left/above that tile (depending on orientation) but not the tile right/below it. While that makes perfect sense physics-wise (if you are right handed, swinging your sword will not hit anything on your right), it does not make sense from a gameplay perspective where one would expect your attack to hit the three direct tiles in front of the character. The overworld, while a bit confusing at times, has secrets left; right; and center. However, because there are 8 elements in the game, it can sometimes force you to backtrack to all previous locations once you unlock an element to get all the items. There are predetermined teleport points in the overworld to move around faster, which alleviates this a bit, but those teleport points are a bit hidden sometimes. Each region is very colorful and has its own distinct tileset, making them each to recognize and they look amazing. The music is definitely a highlight. It is really well-made and each region's music fits that region incredibly well. Overall, I think this game is a must-play for anyone that has been waiting for a new Zelda-like game since A Link Between Worlds from 2013.