The Adventures of Elena Temple

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

The Adventures of Elena Temple is a Puzzle-Platformer released in 2018 on PC and Nintendo Switch, with a “Definitive Edition” releasing in 2018 on PC, 2019 on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and 2022 on PlayStation 4. For comparison’s sake, the Definitive Edition contains two additional smaller campaigns that roughly double the size of the game, along with some additional options. This game has players taking the role of the titular Indiana Jones-esque gun-toting tomb-raiding adventurer as she tries to escape from the latest den of antiquities she’s found herself in, ideally snagging plenty of treasure in the process.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention this game’s framing device, which presents the game as a museum of different versions of the game, detailing this game’s history being ported to numerous fictional platforms, all knockoff versions of real-world game platforms (the Some Toy as opposed to the Game Boy, or the Maple instead of the Apple) or other purportedly obscure game platforms, with the details of the game’s history describing the increasing frustration and poor luck of the game’s designer who keeps releasing the game in places no one will buy it.

What this amounts to in a functional sense is that players can opt to select from one of various color palette and background combinations with which to display the game, such as the green-on-black visuals of older computers, the puke green palette of the original Game Boy, and so on. None of these have more than four colors or deviate from pixel art visuals, so don’t expect to see anything as advanced as, say, Nintendo Entertainment System visuals represented here. Likewise, the game’s visuals are backed by a chiptune soundtrack that fits the retro style of the game well, though it doesn’t change with the “platform” as you swap your palette or background.

The Adventures of Elena Temple’s map is laid out a bit like a Metroidvania, but don’t expect to gain new abilities as you progress through it. The single-screen rooms on the map contain a variety of platforms, enemies, traps, pressure switches that cause various changes in the environment, and other obstacles to try to get past. You’ll also come across bullets to refill your gun, coins to collect, and the treasures that you’ll ultimately need to pick up to make your escape and complete the game.

Elena’s abilities are somewhat limited. She can jump but cannot vary her jump height… though sometimes her jump is inexplicably shorter than others. She also has the aforementioned gun, but can only hold on to two bullets at any given time. And while it only takes one hit from any trap or enemy to kill her, death just means respawning at the last room entrance or pickup you encountered, so you won’t be set back very much.

Puzzles in this game tend to require players to either be observant of the room they’re in to look for switches or weak walls to destroy, or to be thoughtful in their use of the gun’s extremely limited bullets, especially since enemies respawn whenever you leave a room and return.

Overall there’s some clever puzzle design here, but this game has its problems too. I already alluded to how this game’s platforming is frustratingly clunky and inconsistent. In addition to this, the decision to arrange the map like a Metroidvania seems like it just pads out the game with players trying to backtrack to reach areas they haven’t been to yet, since in this game there are no new abilities to justify that backtracking.

Overall, despite all its flaws, I can’t be too harsh with The Adventures of Elena Temple. There’s some good Puzzle design here, even if the Platforming isn’t up to the same standards and the level design is unnecessarily labyrinthine in a way that wastes the player’s time. But given the game is priced at a mere $2 (or $4 for the Definitive Edition), this seems worth the low price of entry. Just keep your expectations in check and I think you’ll be pleased with what you find here.

tl;dr – The Adventures of Elena Temple is a Puzzle-Platformer about the titular tomb-robbing Indiana Jones-style adventurer. The platforming here is pretty poor, and the Metroidvania-style level design without the improving abilities of a Metroidvania is just wasting players’ time. But despite this, the decent Puzzle design and overall charm of this game make it well worth its budget price tag.

Grade: B-

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