I just keep getting surprised by all the great indie games that are out there now, and Afterburner Studios’ 3D Metroidvania Elta: Defy All Gods is the latest to really hit me in the gut with how good it already is. The game doesn’t even come out until 2027 (which I’m exceedingly bummed about), but after spending around an hour with its free demo on Steam, I’m already blown away by its quality, its scale, and its fun factor. Elta: Defy All Gods effortlessly channels modern God of War and Metroid Prime, too, so as a massive fan of both of those franchises, I felt right at home almost immediately. But most of all, I think it’s just as important you know that going into the Steam demo expecting to find another decent indie game to add to my wishlist, I came out wishing I could play the whole thing right now.
In Elta: Defy All Gods, players take on the role of Victus, a warrior monk whose people have spent centuries in exile from their homeworld. Tasked with finding their lost god, Elta, Victus ends up stranded on a hostile planet, where restoring the god’s power might be his people’s only hope of finding a new home. Fortunately, Elta happens to be an adorable little dragon who accompanies Victus on his journey, which involves exploring the game’s massive sci-fi world, unlocking new abilities to reach previously inaccessible areas in classic Metroidvania fashion, and beating the living daylights out of enemies with a combination of martial arts and magic. It’s a fascinating premise on its own, but what really makes Elta: Defy All Gods special is how good it feels to play. And boy, does it feel good.
Elta: Defy the Gods Is an Immensely Satisfying 3D Metroidvania
Check Out Elta: Defy the Gods’ Free Demo on Steam
When I first stumbled on Elta: Defy All Gods on Steam, I honestly wasn’t sure what I was going to get. Sometimes, indie games that look AAA on the surface end up being just a tad disappointing, but I figured I’d give the demo a try anyway. When I started a new game, though, it took no time at all for me to feel like I had just stepped into a AAA experience (that’s only $30, by the way), as everything about it immediately felt polished, durable, and impressive. From Elta‘s fluid, beefy, action-packed combat to its satisfying Metroidvania-style exploration, it’s one of those games you feel like you’d see from a developer like Santa Monica (God of War) or Vigil Games (Darksiders), but not from an indie developer who only has one other game, Dreamscaper, under its belt.
For starters, the game’s presentation makes it a feast for the eyes, featuring a stylized, painterly 3D art style with a hand-painted, graphic novel-like aesthetic that is unique and absolutely unforgettable. It really accentuates the game’s quieter, more heartwarming moments, too, which largely revolve around Victus and his newfound companion, Elta, whom I already said is just as cute as can be. Some of these moments occur in cutscenes, but it’s the little interactions between Victus and Elta while you’re just playing the game that really sell the companionship between the two. However, Elta‘s art style really complements its action as well, with vibrant flashes of color, explosive effects, and animations that make even the simplest encounters exciting to watch.
And if I’m being honest, the action side of Elta: Defy All Gods is what I really fell in love with during my time with the demo, because it’s just so good. It feels strikingly close to modern God of War‘s combat—which is a good thing, in my opinion—in that you can feel the impact of every hit, and you truly do feel like a god among the rank and file. Of course, it also resembles God of War in its environmental design in some ways, despite not sharing its familiar mythological setting. Even so, Elta: Defy All Gods eventually does enough to make it stand out from the rebooted God of War series in its combat, though I’d argue it didn’t really need to anyway.
Elta‘s art style really complements its action as well, with vibrant flashes of color, explosive effects, and animations that make even the simplest encounters exciting to watch.
Starting out, you’re given a few different basic maneuvers—light attacks, heavy attacks, and a classic dodge, perfect dodge, and counter-attack system. But as Victus and Elta grow, so does their combined strength and the abilities with which they dish that strength out. Specifically, Elta: Defy All Gods features Lost Arts, which are similar to God of War‘s Runic Attacks in how they function but are satisfying in their own right to execute. One of the Lost Arts in the demo, The Rising Spire, allows Victus to perform an uppercut that launches enemies into the air. Lost Arts like that can then be enhanced using Primordial Prisms acquired through exploration. For example, I enhanced The Rising Spire with a Primordial Prism, transforming it into Blazing Cyclone, which, instead of a standard, lofting uppercut, triggers a massive swirling tornado of fire that hits multiple enemies.
But in addition to Lost Arts, Victus can get plenty of passive and active upgrades as you progress. Defeating groups of enemies grants XP, and as you level up, you can unlock passive buffs, active skills, and new combos for Victus. Again, it’s all very similar to God of War‘s progression, but honestly, who cares? It works, and it’s fun. That’s all that matters. But there are other abilities you can unlock that work for both exploration and combat, like a grapple that can quickly get Victus from one place to the next and also yank enemy shields out of their hands to give him an opening.
Elta: Defy All Gods’ Exploration Is Classic Metroidvania at Its Best
As for the exploration, Elta: Defy All Gods has all the makings of a fantastic 3D Metroidvania, and I honestly can’t wait to see just how far it takes things in the full game. Its environments are massive, with plenty of verticality, hidden paths, and areas that require you to get a little creative with your movement abilities to reach them. While I didn’t get to actually see Victus himself pull off some of these maneuvers (as part of the demo was played with a different character), you can double-jump, air-dash, wall-run, and grapple around the world, and chaining it all together makes traversal feel almost as satisfying as combat. Of course, there are also plenty of places you won’t be able to reach until you’ve acquired the right abilities, but that’s just part of what makes Metroidvanias so addictive in the first place. And in the game’s harder-to-reach areas, there are plenty of opportunities to improve and expand Victus and Elta’s power and abilities.
One of my favorite little touches, though, is something that immediately reminded me of Metroid Prime. Elta: Defy All Gods actually has a visor-like scanning mechanic that allows you to examine objects in the environment to uncover lore and other useful information. I’ve always loved this feature in Metroid Prime, because it gives you a reason to pay attention to the world around you rather than just rush through it, and I’m thrilled to see something similar here. Considering how much history seems to be buried in Elta‘s mysterious sci-fi world, I’m hoping the full game gives me plenty of opportunities to dig into it. After all, as much as I enjoy a good fight, there’s something equally satisfying about exploring a world that rewards my curiosity.
Elta: Defy All Gods Is Already One of My Most Anticipated Games of 2027
I honestly can’t remember the last time a demo surprised me quite as much as Elta: Defy All Gods has, and I think that says a lot considering how many indie games I’ve played this year alone. Everything about it just feels so good, from the satisfying weight of its combat to the freedom of its exploration and the sheer beauty of its world. Sure, it’s borrowing ideas from some pretty big names, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, especially when those ideas are executed this well. If anything, I’m just amazed that a relatively small studio has managed to put together something that feels this ambitious, and I’m genuinely excited to see what else it has in store.
Unfortunately, Elta: Defy All Gods isn’t scheduled to release until 2027, and that might be the one thing about it I’m not happy with right now. Obviously, an hour with a demo isn’t enough to know whether the full game will live up to everything I’ve experienced so far, but I’m already convinced Afterburner Studios has something special on its hands. At the very least, I can’t recommend trying the free Steam demo enough, especially if you’re a fan of God of War, Metroid Prime, or just a really good Metroidvania. As for me, Elta: Defy All Gods has already earned its place on my wishlist, and 2027 can’t get here soon enough.
- Released
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2027
- Developer(s)
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Afterburner Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Focus Entertainment
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown
