Elypse

About

Elypse is a single player arcade platformer game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Erwan COCHON and was released on May 17, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Embark upon a tragic tale and discover the ravaged world of Elypse! Fight your destiny in an arduous 2D adventure, story rich platformer, in a mesmerising and mysterious world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 122 reviews

gameplay17 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Elypse features a solid platforming experience with unique movement mechanics that are both fun and challenging.
The game has a beautiful art style and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere.
Despite its short length, Elypse offers a rewarding gameplay experience, especially for fans of precision platformers.

The one-hit death mechanic can be frustrating, especially with sparse checkpoints that force players to repeat long sections after dying.
The game lacks depth in enemy variety and story, making it feel somewhat repetitive and linear.
Some controls and mechanics, such as jump height and dash responsiveness, can feel awkward and lead to cheap deaths.

gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
59%
6%
The gameplay of Elypse is a blend of solid platforming and metroidvania elements, featuring unique traversal mechanics that can be both engaging and frustrating due to the one-hit death system and sparse checkpoints. While the core mechanics are well-designed and offer a variety of interesting puzzles, the difficulty may deter casual players, as the game often requires precise timing and careful navigation through challenging levels. Overall, the fluid controls and creative level design make it a worthwhile experience for platformer enthusiasts, especially those who appreciate titles like Ori and Celeste.
- “Elypse is a great platformer with a solid art style and fun movement mechanics that, despite its short length, is an easy recommendation for any platformer enthusiast.”
- “All in all, the combination of fun and smooth gameplay, with creative level designs and a gorgeous art style, made this game something that I actually really enjoyed in the 5 or so hours that I spent with it.”
- “The atmosphere is great, the gameplay is challenging but (mostly) not frustrating, combat (including bosses) feels satisfying, and the mechanics are overall pretty creative and unique.”
- “I have 3 main complaints about Elypse: one-hit mechanics are not all that fun in precision platformers.”
- “The one-hit death mechanic and very sparsely placed checkpoints definitely made you desperate to see them.”
- “Though none of this ruins the experience by any means, it's heartbreaking to see almost every gameplay decision harm the others in one way or another, leaving many of the remarkably creative and well-designed platforming challenges a frustrating exercise of trial and error.”
story
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
50%
15%
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it lacking in depth and engagement, often describing it as cliché and simplistic. While some appreciate the intriguing start and potential for expansion, others criticize its vagueness and poor translation, suggesting that it fails to connect players with the characters or the world. Overall, the narrative is seen as a weak point, not living up to the expectations set by the game's description of being "story rich."
- “The story is vague, but not in a soulslike fashion where you can uncover more if you explore; there is no exploration in this game, it's all linear.”
- “Despite consisting of only a couple dozen short, awkwardly translated conversations, the narrative is surprisingly deep for a game such as this, offering some solid worldbuilding and even a handful of plot twists in the latter half.”
- “While the story isn't necessarily amazing, it does a good job pushing you forward without ever being distracting.”
- “However, it doesn't have the story that Ori does or pull you into the mystery of its world like Hollow Knight.”
- “And the plot is not really engaging at all, and feels really cliché.”
- “The story is too vague and you won't make a connection with characters.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
20%
13%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their aesthetic appeal, featuring a unique art style characterized by a striking contrast of colors and well-drawn biomes. While many players appreciate the visuals and animation quality, some report performance issues, such as poor framerate at higher resolutions, and a desire for more graphics options. Overall, the combination of beautiful artwork and engaging gameplay contributes to a positive reception, despite some technical drawbacks.
- “The art style is also amazing.”
- “The graphics are really good in my opinion, and each layer/level is clearly distinctive from the others while keeping an overall feeling for the world.”
- “The stark contrast between the blacks and reds of this game give it quite a unique art style that makes it easily recognizable.”
- “The performance is terrible, with a framerate that struggles even at 1080p unless I turn Vsync off. It's still not great, but at least it's no longer sub 30fps, even though it cranks my graphics card for some reason.”
- “I wish there were more graphics options.”
- “The visuals, however, really stand out.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players noting that it complements the visuals and gameplay effectively. While some feel it could be more rewarding through additional content like challenge rooms, the soundtrack is generally described as immersive and fitting, contributing to the game's epic atmosphere. Overall, the sound design, including satisfying sound effects, adds significant value to the gameplay experience.
- “The music and soundtracks were top notch; I enjoyed listening to them while going through each biome.”
- “The beauty is emphasized by the music, which adds so much to the feel.”
- “Great controls, difficulty that's fun to master, and a great aesthetic with a soundtrack that grows on you and adds that extra epic quality as you progress in the game.”
- “Like the 'Ori' games, when you restart, the soundtrack just keeps going and I never felt like it was looping.”
- “I feel going off the beaten path could've been rewarded more with things like challenge rooms that give you access to concept art, music to listen to, bits of lore to ponder over, and maybe special upgrades that aren't plot-related.”
- “The beauty is emphasized by the music, which adds so much to the overall feel.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it can run on lower-end systems, players report significant framerate issues, particularly at 1080p, and inconsistent movement mechanics that may be linked to performance problems. Some users experience choppy playback even on high-end setups, indicating that further optimization is needed despite overall solid performance.
- “Performance (will run well on a potato even)”
- “Solid performance overall.”
- “The performance is terrible; I'm experiencing a framerate drop even at 1080p unless I turn VSync off. It's still not great, but at least it's no longer below 30fps, and my graphics card is being pushed to its limits for some reason.”
- “I tested the game for a while, and my dash movements aren't consistent in length. This might be related to performance, VSync, or something else I don't know, but they vary a bit. Given that all actions are fixed length (jump short or long is the same, all dashes the same, etc.), this messes me up sometimes.”
- “There are some typos, and the game could use more optimization. Certain areas had choppy playback in 4K high-quality settings on a computer that should be more than capable of handling it.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The atmosphere is characterized by a somber and surreal mood, creating a beautiful and immersive experience. Players appreciate the unique and creative mechanics, which complement the challenging yet satisfying gameplay, reminiscent of other titles like Hollow Knight.
- “The atmosphere is great, the gameplay is challenging but (mostly) not frustrating, combat (including bosses) feels satisfying, and the mechanics are overall pretty creative and unique.”
- “Somber, surreal mood and atmosphere.”
- “Beautiful atmosphere.”
- “The game has a somber, surreal mood and atmosphere.”
- “I have only played Hollow Knight, but I can confirm that there are similarities; most notably the tone and atmosphere, but some of the platforming sections also gave me Path of Pain flashbacks.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to a lack of checkpoints before challenging segments, leading to repetitive and tedious gameplay. This design choice results in long, monotonous runs that can be undone by a single mistake, detracting from the overall experience and making the game feel unnecessarily difficult.
- “So this game is actually pretty good, but what made me consider it negative is its lack of checkpoints before hard challenges. This results in having to make a very long and tedious journey just to be killed by one small mistake at the end, forcing you to start all over again. Why go through 90% of the effort if the only thing that kills you is in the last part?”
- “Not only is it incredibly short, but it also somehow manages to become monotonous and tedious within those 2 hours, which is an achievement in itself.”
- “The game is close to being really good, but the tedious difficulty, especially near the end, really ruined it for me.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that the emotional experience of the game is marred by frustrating gameplay mechanics, particularly poor collision detection that leads to unfair deaths. While the creative design of the platforming challenges is appreciated, the resulting trial-and-error nature of the gameplay can detract from the overall enjoyment, creating a sense of heartbreak over the game's difficulty.
- “Though none of this ruins the experience by any means, it's heartbreaking to see almost every gameplay decision harm the others in one way or another, leaving many of the remarkably creative and well-designed platforming challenges a frustrating exercise of trial and error.”
- “This game has heart-breakingly cheap difficulty.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game offers moderate replayability, primarily appealing to players interested in speedrunning or achieving 100% completion, despite its linear structure and relatively short playtime. While the gameplay is fluid, the limited length may restrict replay value for some players.
- “Just finished the game, short but fluid gameplay with a bit of replayability if you like 100%ing or speedrunning.”
- “Also, as you can tell by my playtime, the game is not long at all, which kind of hurts any replay value outside of going for that speedrun achievement.”
- “That being said, I'd say it has moderate replay value - while it is very linear, you can choose getting the 2-hour achievement as your goal.”
- “Just finished the game; it's short but has a bit of replayability if you enjoy 100%ing or speedrunning.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game features designs and cutscene art that evoke a style similar to Hollow Knight, while the movement mechanics draw comparisons to Ori and Celeste, albeit with a more obscured view of the environment. This blend of artistic influences contributes to a unique character experience that enhances gameplay.
- “The character development is rich and engaging, with designs that evoke a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of Hollow Knight, while the movement mechanics feel fluid and dynamic like those in Ori and Celeste.”
- “I love how the character designs and cutscene art create a unique atmosphere, blending elements from various inspirations to enhance the overall experience.”
- “The way the characters evolve throughout the game adds depth to the story, making each interaction feel meaningful and impactful.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent stability on the Steam Deck, with users reporting smooth performance and a seamless gaming experience, particularly praising its metroidvania elements reminiscent of Ori.
- “This game runs great on Steam Deck.”
- “Runs great on Deck, and it's a fantastic Ori-like Metroidvania.”