Image via Idea Factory International
There are times when Ariana and the Elder Codex can feel like a fun Metroidvania. We get to customize our Librarian’s magical loadouts, after all. That lets us set up combos how we’d like. It also looks pretty good, and the combat system is generally solid. However, it’s not innovative in any way, and the story is pretty clearly telegraphed. It’s one of those adventures that ends up feeling fun enough, and I think someone who’s relatively new to the genre might find it a helpful way to build skills. But more experienced players familiar with the genre may find themselves a little bored.
After establishing the idea that someone gave humanity four Elemental Codices and three Phenomena Codices that granted them magic, then someone else vandalized them and caused that ability to disappear from the world, Ariana and the Elder Codex immediately drops us into the middle of a repair job on the Codex of Water. The Library’s librarians are working on fixing these books, and our heroine Ariana in particular has the gift of being able to go inside these damaged tomes to repair them from the inside by witnessing events from their stories and defeating monsters within them. In so doing, she’ll repair them to varying degrees and gain new abilities. Which in turn affects the Metroidvania of Ariana and the Elder Codex, as gaining magic means she might be able to access areas formerly impassible in previous books to finish repair jobs.
Combat in Ariana and the Elder Codex isn’t too different from the active battle systems in other Metroidvania games, with combos possible depending in if you use equip spells with launching capabilities, build up an opponent’s stun gauge, or use enough magic from one element to cause a burst and chain reaction. Three spells at a time can be equipped to your loadout, and you can have two at once set. The Story of the Sword standard, neutral attack can also pick up elemental effects after getting one of the four base elements from an Elemental Advent to assist in those combinations. Add to that the option to eventually strengthen the spells we know at the Library with Divina, and we can end up with quite a few options for how we handle situations. Likewise, we can also strengthen Ariana herself by crafting equipment.
The thing about Ariana and the Elder Codex is while there are these options for customizing our builds, it doesn’t feel as complex or challenging as other Metroidvania style games. There are multiple difficulty levels, of course, so you can shift things up to attempt to make bosses feel more difficult. I found the progression didn’t result in it feeling like it ever really tested me. Many of the standard enemies aren’t all that difficult, and there’s not much variety when it comes to the more general minions. The boss fights tend to feature clearly telegraphed moves and easily identifiable patterns, so it doesn’t feels as varied as similar games like the Ender Lilies or Ender Magnolia entries. The Codices we explore also don’t take us too far off beaten paths, so it isn’t like we get maps as inviting as Dracula’s keeps in Castlevania. It’s fine, sometimes even pretty, but I often found myself wishing elements were more like other games in the genre.
Perhaps if the story ended up being a bit more engaging, that might have helped. It isn’t bad! The idea of Ariana being unique when it comes to her repair abilities and the mystery surrounding her parents’ disappearance and the vandalism of the tomes felt like it had potential when I went through the introduction! …But then after finishing the initial Codex of Water repair, we actually meet Library director John Berkeley, who assigned Ariana her task. Dude looks like this and features Ryozaburo Otomo doing his usual intimidating performances like he did as Crocodile in One Piece,Ghadius in Klonoa, Jiao the Immovable in Tales of Xillia, and Astaroth in Soulcalibur, and I think you can see where I’m going with this.
In short, its story is clearly pretty predictable.
In a way, there’s a charm that comes from starting a Metroidvania like Ariana and the Elder Codex, knowing it’s a fine, solid experience. It’s not earth shattering. It doesn’t redefine the genre. You’ll clearly see what you need to do and know what’s coming. Still, it’s entertaining for what it is and while it lasts, and that’s okay.
Ariana and the Elder Codex is available on the Switch, PS5, and PC, and a demo is available.
Ariana and the Elder Codex
In a way, there’s a charm that comes from starting a Metroidvania like Ariana and the Elder Codex, knowing it’s a fine, solid experience.