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Elli Review: A Charming Puzzle-Platform Adventure With Rough Edges

Elli’s whimsical world and gentle puzzles make for a pleasant diversion, though awkward camera work, glitches, and limited variety blunt its appeal.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Elli is a colorful, relaxed puzzle-platform adventure whose modest puzzles and pleasant world make for an easygoing diversion. But fixed-camera awkwardness, glitches, occasional frame-rate trouble, and limited variety keep it from reaching the polish of the genre’s standouts. It is best suited to players who want a gentle adventure, not a demanding platformer.

What is Elli?

Developed and published by BandanaKid, Elli is a single-player, pseudo-isometric 3D puzzle-platform adventure. You explore a hand-crafted world, solve puzzles, avoid pitfalls, meet characters, and pursue the mysterious Ghasti. Along the way, you can collect gems and hidden coins to exchange for robes, staffs, and hats, according to the Steam listing.

The release dates differ by platform: Nintendo Life lists the Nintendo Switch version as released on January 10, 2019, in North America and Europe, while Steam lists the Windows version as released July 13, 2020. These are separate platform releases, not conflicting dates. This review focuses on the Switch release.

What are Elli’s puzzles and platforming like?

Accessible rather than demanding

The puzzles lean on spatial reasoning, while the platforming is largely easy. That makes Elli approachable for players looking for a relaxed pace, but it also means there is little sustained challenge to carry the adventure. Nintendo Life’s Switch review describes the experience as pleasant but finds its gameplay, level design, and variety short of genre leaders.

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#1 Best Overall
Minecraft - Nintendo Switch
  • Minecraft is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures
  • Explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles
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  • Includes Super Mario Mash-Up, Natural Texture Pack, Biome Settlers Skin Pack, Battle & Beasts Skin Pack, Campfire Tales Skin Pack; Compatible with Nintendo Switch only

Exploration supplies much of the appeal

The game’s colorful settings and collectible hunt give you reasons to look around between puzzles and platforming sections. Its appeal is more about spending time in a whimsical world than mastering a demanding sequence of challenges. TheSixthAxis likewise characterizes it as relaxed and accessible, while noting that the style may lose a player’s attention before the end (TheSixthAxis review).

How well does Elli play?

Its presentation and easygoing pace are inviting, but execution is uneven. Nintendo Life notes that the fixed camera and controls can feel awkward, story cutaways are clunky, and glitches and occasional frame-rate trouble interrupt the experience. These are review observations, not the results of a published technical benchmark.

Rank #2
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe - US Version
  • A variety of playable characters are available, some with unique attributes that affect gameplay and platforming physics.
  • Younger and less-experienced players will love playing as Toadette, who is brand new to both games, and Nabbit, who was formerly only playable in New Super Luigi U. Both characters offer extra assistance during play.
  • Multiplayer sessions are even more fun, frantic, and exciting thanks to entertaining character interactions. Need a boost? Try jumping off a teammate’s head or getting a teammate to throw you.
  • Features a wealth of help features, like a Hints gallery, reference videos, and a Super Guide in New Super Mario Bros. U that can complete levels for you if they’re giving you trouble.
  • Three additional modes—Boost Rush, Challenges, and Coin Battle—mix up gameplay and add replayability, while also upping the difficulty for players who want to try something harder. Players can use their Mii characters in these modes.

Those limitations matter because the underlying challenges are already light. When movement or camera framing feels imprecise, the game has little mechanical depth to offset the friction. The result is still playable and often pleasant, but not consistently smooth.

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Is Elli worth playing or buying on Switch?

If you enjoy colorful worlds, low-pressure platforming, and uncomplicated spatial puzzles, Elli offers a modest adventure that may suit you. If you want tight controls, a wide range of challenges, or the confidence of a polished platformer, its rough edges and limited variety are harder to overlook.

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Rank #3
K-Pop Rising: Dream to Shine (Amazon Exclusive with Phone Charm) - Nintendo Switch
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  • An Adventure That Suits You: Customise your character to match your style and performances: clothes, make-up… everything is possible!
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Nintendo Life scored the Switch version 6/10 in 2019, reflecting a game with charm and entertainment value that falls short in execution (Nintendo Life). That score is one outlet’s assessment, not an objective measure of quality. A current price is not established here, so check the Switch eShop before deciding whether it represents good value. Steam separately lists a Windows edition.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
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Best Value
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Rank #4
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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