In search of secrets behind the curtain – Eternal Strands review

Today, the idea of putting together an indie studio of gaming industry veterans and making games that are somewhat similar to the creators' previous projects, but with limited budgets, is quite popular. Usually, such games don't become very popular, but experience is experience. This is the story of Yellow Brick Games. It is a Canadian studio founded by the director of the original Dragon Age, Mike Laidlaw, and several veterans of Ubisoft Quebec.

The studio's debut game features features borrowed from the team members' previous works, the BioWare game series, and the latest Assassin's Creed installments. Namely, the basis of the combat system, a world with a bunch of different races, interesting companion characters and interaction between them.

It is also noticeable that the creators were inspired by various projects to create their unique gameplay system. It includes hunting not giants, as in Shadow of the Colossus, and large beasts, as in Dragon's Dogma, and the physics of interaction with the world is similar to the last two major games of The Legend of Zelda series. What was done with a combination of such interesting sources is described in the Eternal Strands review below.

Several decades ago, the Enclave was suddenly cut off from the rest of the world. The once powerful center of magical wonders now lies in ruins. Having accidentally found a way through the impenetrable barrier, a group of Weavers - powerful magic users who combine sword and powerful spells - must uncover the secrets of this lost land.

The player embarks on a journey through the Enclave as Brynn, a scout for the Weavers. It is she who goes on an exploration of the mysterious lands to discover new territories, kill epic enemies, gather resources and information about the world that the Weavers can use to find their way home.

The whole world is a weapon

One of the main features of Eternal Strands is the combination of game world physics and magic. Players can manipulate the world with elemental forces, using them to change the physical properties of the environment. This allows, for example, freezing water, setting fire to the forest, or attracting enemies to themselves. And these are not just effects, but actual fires and frozen areas that make it difficult for enemies to advance, and can also harm the player.

Locations in Eternal Strands change with each game day, which leads to a dramatic change in weather conditions from a clear day to a blizzard or abnormal heat. In each case, it will be difficult for the player to move around and explore the world. And he needs to choose the right equipment for such situations.

There are several types of magic in Eternal Strands, each of which has unique properties and opportunities for tactical use. One of the initial abilities is Gravity Magic, which allows the player to pull objects and enemies towards them or send them into the abyss using the physical laws of the game world. Ice magic allows you to freeze water, objects, or even enemies, which makes it possible to create barriers or hinder the movement of opponents. The subsequent discovery of new elements and abilities allows you to manipulate various elements of the world around you. Each type of magic has its own specifics and the player can combine them to achieve effective results in combat or solving puzzles.

You don't level up directly; Eternal Strands doesn't have the usual character levels. Instead, you can upgrade your equipment and abilities. This improves your defense, health, and damage.

The Eternal Strands combat system allows you to choose between different types of weapons, such as sword and shield, two-handed sword, and bow. Different copies of each type can have additional effects, which creates a huge scope for a tactical approach in battle. The fire bow, for example, allows you to quickly set enemies on fire, and the freezing bow allows you to effectively fight minions and hold back large enemies. The system of combat combinations with magic makes it possible to create protective barriers and attack enemies in various ways.

Managing stamina and mana is a critical aspect of gameplay in Eternal Strands, as it determines how long you can move or cast magic in combat. Expending stamina while attacking, jumping, climbing, or holding on to large enemies affects your ability to really utilize all available mechanics.

However, sometimes this system seems unbalanced: even when performing basic actions, stamina is consumed very quickly, and its recovery is too slow. This creates difficulties in basic movements, battles with groups of small enemies, and especially when climbing epic enemies. Over time, after repeated battles, you want to avoid them. And even the reward for defeating the giants doesn't seem so tempting.

It should also be noted that although the flexible combat system seems to promise a lot of variability and creativity in combat and research, sometimes magic and physics in Eternal Strands do not work as expected. And in practice, switching between skills and weapons is not as convenient and instantaneous as this style of play requires. And in a dynamic battle, you can sometimes choose the wrong element or miscalculate the stamina, and this slows down the pace.

Loot. Craft. Repeat.

Crafting and loot in Eternal Strands are important elements that allow the player to create or improve equipment that helps in combat and survival. By collecting resources from enemies and the world around them, the player can craft armor and weapons that give them an advantage in battles. Different types of equipment have unique properties.

Weapons can deal elemental damage, and armor can be "sharpened" to resist cold or heat. Blueprints for new types of weapons and armor are scattered throughout the game world. And in fact, each piece of equipment is a template for forging and giving additional properties and different quality. It all depends on the materials that will be used to create a particular item. So, for example, there can be several identical helmets: with a high armor rating, protection from heat, and protection from cold. Or, of course, different types can be customized for specific conditions. There are a lot of variations.

However, the Eternal Strands crafting system doesn't always have a tangible impact on the gameplay style: the variety of equipment sometimes doesn't seem significant enough, and the choice between different sets doesn't always seem important to achieve the best result in battle. Bonuses from different sets of equipment are not always noticeable, which sometimes reduces interest in this mechanic. Also, the need to run around the camp to change the armor for the weather conditions at a particular location before going there can add to the routine.

In the shadow of the colossus

In Eternal Strands, enemies are divided into different categories - from ordinary monsters to huge epic creatures that become a real challenge for the player. The game's enemy world is rich in a variety of creatures that can be fought using physics, magic, and weapons. The enemies have different levels of difficulty, from simple aggressive creatures to difficult opponents that require the player to use all available mechanics to win. Interestingly, and pleasantly, the same enemies do not become "fatter" when they appear in later locations and do not become sponges for damage.

Epic big enemies are one of the main features of the game. There are big monsters for hunting like the already mentioned Dragon's Dogma, and there are walking colossi and they play a similar role as in the classic Shadow of the Colossus. These are giant creatures capable of destroying everything in their path, and every battle with them requires careful preparation and use of the environment. For example, one of these enemies, the Arkons, has protective armor that can only be damaged in certain parts of its body, and this requires the use of special magic or physical maneuvers.

During a specific period of time (game day), each location can have one of the epic enemies discovered by the player. Defeating them allows you to level up your magic abilities and unlock new ones. However, simply emptying the health bar of such a giant is enough only at the first encounter. Later, in order to get resources for pumping magic, you need to "harvest" - find a way to open the monster's vulnerability and "collect resources."

Each of these bosses needs a unique approach and requires a lot of dexterity. Especially with endurance control. Thus, battles with epic enemies in Eternal Strands are not just a test of strength, but also of intelligence, which adds additional depth to them. Only occasionally does the game's physics lead to curious situations when a seemingly one hundred percent victory eludes you because Brynn flies off in an unpredictable trajectory from a not-so-strong punch or swing.

Challenges in a world full of secrets

The world of Eternal Strands offers a multilayered and diverse exploration experience focused on atmospheric locations and their interaction with the player's magical abilities. Each zone of the game has a unique visual style and climatic conditions, from dense forests and snow-capped mountains to hot deserts and mysterious ruins of ancient civilizations. Locations are often multi-leveled, which opens up opportunities for vertical exploration and the search for hidden passages. However, the rather primitive navigation system and map sometimes make it difficult to find the objectives of tasks. There are cases, like with games from the early 2000s, when you seem to know where to go, but you hit a dead end.

The tasks are designed to motivate the player to interact with the environment and use their magical abilities to solve puzzles, collect resources, or overcome obstacles. Story quests are combined with side quests that not only enrich the story of the world, but also allow you to get rare resources, upgrades, or access to new areas. This makes world exploration an integral part of the gameplay, encouraging players to find their own ways to solve problems and discover secrets.

Along with this fresh approach, there is also a problem with the tasks. Many of the story missions in Eternal Strands look like side missions, or are simply not interesting. Because they often require you to find an item on the location or collect several items. Then they need to return to the base to talk to their party members, and then repeat the previous steps. Combined with the imperfect navigation system and the need to fight the combat system during routine skirmishes on the way to the target, this eventually becomes tiresome. unfortunately, this repetitiveness hides a rather interesting lore and plot of the game, which is full of mysteries and unexpected (or even expected) twists and turns.

A base where party members are gathered is important for planning missions and forays into the world. Each of them allows you to upgrade weapons and skills. You can also level up your camp and teammates, which opens up access to new upgrades and resource trading, makes crafting easier, allows you to control the weather in your locations, and more.

Companions in the camp can also give side quests and reveal lore and plot in dialogues. Some of these dialogues offer the possibility of choosing Brynn's lines. As if to hint that the player influences the course of events with this choice. However, it is unclear how this influence manifests itself and whether it exists at all.

I would like to pay special attention to the audiovisual part of the game. At first glance, the art design of Eternal Strands seems to be a cartoonish one, but when you get to know it in person, it reveals itself through detail and interesting solutions for locations, characters, and enemies. The rather simple but well-detailed environment makes you admire the locations. The introductory screensavers for each new location look especially good. And pleasant music helps to immerse yourself in the fantasy atmosphere. The 2D dialogues and animated cutscenes that look like a comic book also look great.

So what's the bottom line?

The gameplay of Eternal Strands combines interesting physics and magic mechanics that allow players to create and destroy, and create an immersive world exploration and combat experience. However, despite the huge potential, some aspects of the game remain imperfect.

Physics, magic, and looting are interesting elements, but some of them are not quite finalized. The game offers deep possibilities for experimentation, but due to certain shortcomings in the implementation, the overall impression is not as good as you might expect.

The source of some of the problems is the strange progression of abilities. Some of them are unlocked in relation to the development of the plot and feel a bit late. If they had been available earlier, they would have made life much easier and reduced the frustration of fighting, moving, and boss battles.

However, even now, if you close your eyes to some of the shortcomings, some of which can be fixed with the first day patch or later updates, Eternal Strands can bring a lot of fun and new experiences. Moreover, there is a demo version of the game on Steam, and on Xbox it will be included in the Game Pass subscription immediately upon release.