Edge of Eternity review

Edge of Eternity offers an interesting plot, stunning visuals, a soundtrack co-created by  Yasunori Mitsuda, and even a Chocobo-like mount to ride around on. But despite it’s lofty goals, there are some deep-rooted decisions that keep the game from reaching its full potential. 

Role-playing games are astonishingly complex works, typically produced by sizeable teams of writers, artists, programmers, and musicians. So, when the ten-person team at Midgar Studios began a crowdsourcing effort to create a game that was inspired by the Active Time Battle system of Final Fantasy and the open-world vistas of Xenoblade Chronicles, it might have seemed that the diminutive team set their sights impossible high.

Nearly a decade later, Edge of Eternity has arrived on console, following a three-year stretch in Steam’s Early Access program. The good news is that many of the surface level blemishes have been excised. Sporadically, the game resembles a big budget effort from an accomplished studio. But too often, more deep-rooted issues still mar the journey through Eternity. Woefully, these deep rotted fundamentals aren’t easily fixed with an update.

A Timely Plot Undone by Lackluster Dialog

Undoubtedly, the game can feel relevant, with a plot that evokes some of the tragedy triggered by the current pandemic. Known as Corrosion, Eternity’s plague is capable of devasting all living things. When lead character Daryon receives a letter stating that has mother has been stricken and that he might not be able to visit her, there’s a possibility of emotional resonance.

But given the age of the project, it’s not surprising that Edge of Eternity only occasionally speaks to contemporary events. The contagion here is a result of a longstanding war against an invading alien force, released just as the citizens of planet Heryon were gaining the upper hand against the attackers. For the first few hours, your team is comprised of Daryon and his sister Selene, demonstrating that the Midgar team isn’t afraid of delayed gratification.

Yet, the writing team occasionally pushes things along too quickly. A few early deaths occur before we’ve development any kind of emotional attachment to each character. As such, these moments can seem more amusing than melancholic. But it’s the inconsistency of the dialog that really holds things back. The game can get pretty dark. But sporadically, Eternity undermines this astrosphere with a joke that misses the mark. And there’s also a tendency for hollow banter, giving us scant insight into what a character is feeling.

For those who have played a few RPGs, the character arcs will be painfully evident. Sure, tropes are ubiquitous in role-playing games. But the good ones will tweak or even subvert expectations. Little of that is evident here, with a jaded ex-military man and his magic-user sister following predictable trajectories. Although NPC dialog is a common letdown, here interactions are almost always forgettable. But worst of all, Eternity offers little closure and seems more interested in setting things up for a sequel.

Up for the Fight?

Luckily, things are balanced by a surprisingly robust world populated with cities and stunning landscapes. Sure, it’s not always wide-open and Eternity will funnel you through narrow pathways a bit too often. Likewise, monster variety is a shortcoming, with tricks like palette swaps and asset recycling to pad out the bestiary. But between gathering resources for crafting, battles against techno and organic enemies, and optional side quests, Eternity offers enough substance to fill a forty-hour span. Intermittently, the title injects variety into the proceedings, with qualities like light puzzles or playful moments where you coax a monster into overwhelming your opponents. But every component isn’t completing engrossing. Although crafting has potential, the inability to locate where specific resources are can make the task tedious.

While combat is mostly enjoyable, it seems Midgar Studios tried to incorporate too many elements into battles. Largely, Edge of Eternity’s incorporation of Active Time Battle elements works well and it’s almost always satisfying to cancel an imminent strike with a well-timed attack. Another beneficial inclusion is the occasional object from the overworld appearing on the battlefield, with turrets ballistae, and traps all offering latent advantages. The game even offers optional sub-goals to keep things interesting, challenging players with tasks such as not taking any damage.

But the inclusion of movement on hexes tends to slow down the speed of combat. Sure, you can increase the amount of damage by striking at opponents from behind. But when fighting subordinate foes, the approach doesn’t always justify the time and effort. Ideally, nuance could have been rooted in using your team to create combo attacks. Similarly, waiting for a party member’s meter to execute a magical attack can be painfully slow. While it’s evident the developers wanted to inject a risk/reward mechanic, they also should have considered the pacing of clashes.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Edge of Eternity is an amazingly ambitious effort, with a petite team intermittently capturing what makes role-playing games such a cherished pastime. Much like the genre’s archetypical underdog, it’s hard not to root for a plucky upstart like Midgar Studious. With several of the big publishers more interested in releasing substandard sequels and ports rather than tackling new ideas, it’s hard not to root for a game like Eternity, even when it periodically misses the mark.

Edge of Eternity was played on Xbox One X with review code provided by the publisher.