Elsie Review - Screenshot 1 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

The roguelike genre has always been a bit of a tough nut to crack for many gamers. It’s not hard to understand why: procedurally generated environments and enemies generally don’t appeal quite as much as something that’s been carefully crafted with purpose. As such, if a roguelike is going to succeed, you best hope that the actual mechanics are rock solid. Thankfully, then, although Elsie doesn’t have a whole lot of original ideas to call its own, the Mega Man X-inspired gameplay is absolutely stellar, making for an experience that is effortlessly engaging and addictive.

Taking place on the colourful planet Ekis, you take on the role of the titular protagonist, an android who is tasked with locating and saving a group of ‘Guardians’ who disappeared prior to Elsie’s creation. As far as plots go, it’s serviceable, but like a lot of roguelikes, it sort of fades into the background as you progress through, allowing the mechanics to shine through. That said, the NPC design is strong, with some solid voice acting implemented during key story breaks, and we relished every visit back to the main hub world to catch up with our pals and storekeepers.

Elsie Review - Screenshot 2 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

The bulk of the gameplay sees you engage in runs that take you across multiple biomes, starting with the cyberpunk-inspired Eclipse Skyport. Your objective is pretty straightforward: make your way through the level intact, destroy a selection of robot enemies, and defeat the boss before proceeding to the next biome. Periodically, the game will lock you in arenas and you’ll need to fight waves of enemies. Succeed and you’ll be granted an upgrade along with the opportunity to rest up and purchase additional perks.

Of course, being a roguelike — or roguelite, technically — nothing is handed to you on a silver platter. Anything worth obtaining, whether it be one of the game's healing bonfires or upgrade stations, will need to be earned. To do this, you take part in a few runs, grab some money, and use this back at the hub world to unlock permanent upgrades. It’s a slow and steady process, but the game is almost constantly rewarding you in smaller ways - a slight damage buff here, or a speed boost there. It’s immensely satisfying stuff, especially when you get to the point where you’re able to defeat a boss character within mere seconds of the encounter starting.

Elsie Review - Screenshot 3 of 4

We mentioned that the gameplay is reminiscent of Mega Man X, and that’s absolutely true. Elsie comes equipped with a rapid-fire weapon by default, and this very much feels like a beefed-up version of X’s arm cannon. You can also gain new weapons via the hub world, such as a nifty shotgun that balances ferocious damage with a short range of fire.

Aside from your weapons, however, Elsie is remarkably agile and able to jump up walls, dash into enemies to deal damage, and slam into the ground from above to cause a small but deadly shockwave. It feels fast, fluid, and — dare we say — exactly how Mighty No. 9 should have turned out. Sorry, Inafune.

One of Elsie’s key abilities, however, is also one of her most frustrating. You have the option to parry your enemy attacks, and while it certainly works in a mechanical sense, something just feels off about the whole thing. Executing a parry results in a subtle visual effect along with a very brief moment in which the music and sound is dulled, but stylistically, this feels like a weird choice. It’s difficult to convey without seeing it yourself, but it almost feels like you failed to execute the parry. We might have expected something a bit more grandiose to indicate success - a flash of light or something. It’s strange, and it’s something we hope gets addressed in a future update.

Elsie Review - Screenshot 4 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

While we’re on the subject of frustrations, we do have to mention that while the game runs exceptionally well for the most part, there are some brief moments where slowdown is noticeable during more intense encounters. It’s not terrible, but given the nature of the gameplay, any disruption to the performance can potentially negatively impact your run. Again, we suspect this is something that can be bolstered in a future patch, but it’s worth considering if you’re looking to jump in now and your tolerance for dropped frames is low.

Given how exceptional the game looks and sounds, we honestly thought the performance issues would be a lot worse. Make no mistake, this is one of the most stunning pixel art games on the Switch. The use of colour makes for some truly unique locations and enemies, while the fluid animations are some of the very best we’ve ever seen. The same goes for the music, too: the individual scores for each location are fantastic, and there’s a lovely contrast between the relaxing, whimsical theme of the hub world and the more intense, upbeat tracks found within the combat areas.

Conclusion

Elsie has few original ideas to call its own, instead relying on tried-and-tested roguelike mechanics as a foundation for its excellent Mega Man X-inspired gameplay. This is a fast and fluid experience bolstered by wonderful visuals and a killer soundtrack. A few minor performance issues do dampen the experience slightly, while we found the parry mechanic to be a bit, well, off, but these issues aside, Elsie is a remarkable achievement that will get its claws into you quickly and won't let go.