Getting Started

This guide covers everything a new player needs to know to begin The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, from downloading the free demo through the first hours of exploration and combat.

Where to Begin: The Prologue Demo

Before buying the full game, players can experience the opening chapter for free via the Prologue Demo, available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The demo covers the game's opening chapter, lets players explore the world of Philabieldia, hunt for weapons and magicite, and progress through the main quest, with some limits on accessible areas compared to the full game.

Crucially, save data from the Prologue Demo carries over to the full game, so any weapons, magicite, and story progress made in the demo will not be lost. There is no need to start over at launch.

Players who preorder the game (or purchase it before the deadline) receive Elliot's Departure Pack: a Departure brooch accessory and an Attack up sword magicite piece. See Editions and Preorder Bonuses for the full breakdown of available editions.

Basic Controls

Players control Elliot directly in a top-down perspective. The core actions are attacking, charging a special attack (by holding the attack button), blocking frontal attacks with the shield, and moving around enemies to position effectively. Combat is real-time, so reading enemy movements matters.

Elliot can carry two weapon types simultaneously, selected before entering a fight. During combat, the two equipped weapons are swapped through a radial shortcut menu (Square and Triangle on PlayStation, equivalent buttons on other platforms). Choosing the right pair for a situation and knowing when to swap is central to the combat system.

Faie's Role

Faie flies alongside Elliot throughout the game. In single-player, she is directed with the right analog stick and automatically picks up dropped items and assists in combat. In local co-op, a second player takes direct control of her.

Faie can revive Elliot if he is defeated, but each revival costs tul (the game's currency), and the cost increases with each subsequent death. Revival costs reset when Elliot reaches an adventuring guidepost, except on Very Hard difficulty. On lower difficulties, reaching a guidepost clears the debt, so guideposts serve as both fast-travel points and debt resets.

Early Goals

Explore Off the Main Path

The main story quest provides a clear direction, but the game is designed to reward detours. More powerful weapon tiers are hidden in dungeons, caves, and ruins away from the critical path. Hunting stronger weapons early improves combat considerably, and the same areas often contain magicite fragments.

Learn Faie's Magic at Shrines of the Mystic

Shrines of the Mystic are scattered throughout Philabieldia. When Elliot and Faie find one, Faie learns a new magic ability. These abilities (covered fully in Faie's Fairy Magic) change what is possible in both combat and puzzle-solving. Ignite lights torches and melts ice; Warp teleports Elliot to Faie's position; Vacuum pulls in enemies; and so on. Each new ability also unlocks a scored minigame called Faie's Magic Lessons, where good performance earns in-game music records.

Build a Magicite Loadout

As exploration turns up magicite fragments, players can bring them to shops and spend tul to form complete magicite pieces. The result is partly random, but players choose the weapon type. Rarer results produce stronger effects and cost less to equip, so it is worth forming magicite repeatedly if tul allows. Full details on the system are in Magicite.

Use Guideposts

Adventuring guideposts serve as checkpoints, fast-travel hubs, and difficulty-change points. Once a guidepost in any age is discovered, Elliot can warp there freely. Reaching a guidepost also resets the tul cost of Faie's revival (on Easy, Normal, and Hard).

Choosing a Difficulty

The game offers four difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. Difficulty can be changed at any guidepost mid-game, so players can adjust freely. On Very Hard, revival costs do not reset at guideposts, making resource management meaningful throughout. Full accessibility options are covered in Accessibility and Options.