Eternal Strands review

Innovation was abundant during the seventh console generation. Sure, the visuals of the Xbox 360 unmistakably surpassed the capabilities of its predecessor. But the early 2000’s was also an era where new kinds of gameplay first materialized.

This is when titles like Second Sight, Psi-Ops: Mindgate Conspiracy first flaunted rag-doll physics. This technological advancement permitted protagonists to move massive on-screen objects around, often solving navigational puzzles by building improvised pathways. Twenty years on, Destroy All Humans’ ability to pick up a pesky soldier and yeet him into the horizon remains one of gaming’s most cathartic moments.

Kill and Sporadically Bury Opponents

Remarkably, there are moments when Eternal Strands nearly channels the same level of delight. Across this thirty+ hour trek, you’ll face off against nine towering bosses known as Arks, who rival the enormity of Shadow of the Colossus’ adversaries. And like those marching AT-ATs in the old Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back game, there are two ways to take them down. Uncovering their unique weak point (habitually hidden by layers of armor, scales, or wings) can provide the skilled with a swift victory and augment your abilities. Alternatively, you can wear down their health by harnessing your creativity.

Even when facing hordes of subordinate enemies, Strands extends a wealth of offensive opportunities. It’s possible to defeat adversaries with either your bow or one-handed sword, with the latter letting you use a shield to defend yourself from attack. But harness the ability of Weaver’s Grasp and you’ll be able to use telekinesis to dig boulders from the ground before propelling them at pursuing enemies. When multiple opponents assault, a viable strategy is to exploit the environment, dropping an antagonist into a deep gorge.

Chill Out, If You’d Like

Alternatively, you can lob the seed of flammable flora at foes, triggering a conflagration that spreads across the ground, charring everything it touches. Combine the two abilities and you can torch a tree, before lobbing the fiery branches at opponents for extra damage. Pleasingly, you’ll also start the game with the ability to create giant clumps of ice, which can be used to confine enemies. Witnessing damage stats accumulate while they writhe around in their snow-prisons is perpetually satisfying.

But what isn’t as gratifying is how Eternal Strands doesn’t provide you with essential information. You can climb any surface as you long as their energy in your Breath of the Wild-style meter. But occasionally, you might accidentally scamper into areas where you’ll receive heat, cold, or even poison damage.  The game urges players to craft different armor sets from the myriad of materials dropped by enemies and scattered about. But you’re never given a precise assessment of the effectiveness of your crafting. Sporadically, Eternal Strands even tosses randomized weather events at you. So, when a strand ability is boosted by a capricious climate, it’s a blessing. But when you’re ill-prepared for a cold front, the variability can feel like a curse. And while we’re on the subject of annoyances, invisible, poison-spitting adversaries are an inexplicable design decision.

Surmounting the Arks

But minor irritations like having to switch between weapons and frequent trips back to camp tend to fade into the backdrop when fighting the game’s massive Arks. Channeling the David-and-Goliath confrontations of Shadow of the Colossus and Dragon’s Dogma, these faceoffs will have you clinging onto each thrashing monstrosities, as you wait for an opening to attack a weak spot. A convincing sense of scale can intensify a boss battle and here Strands succeeds, at least until you learn an Ark’s susceptibilities.

While developer Yellow Brick Games seeks to support these showdowns with narrative urgency, the storytelling leans too hard on fantasy trope. An opening cinematic depicts a group of magic users called Weavers taking refuge in a walled city while the rest of the continent succumbs to war. But the exposition feels like a succession of proper nouns (the Enclave, the Surge, the Veil) used to convey an otherwise simple story. To make matters worse, the game’s protagonist Brynn and her fellow Weavers are mostly one-dimensional. There are a few interesting quest lines, but mostly the banter is forgettable, and the game’s villain isn’t very memorable.

Conclusion

Like one of the game’s own titans, Eternal Strands intermittently exhibits exceptional strength. Undoubtedly, these showcase confrontations are potent, and you might find yourself gripping your controller like Brynn clutches onto their hides. But for every mechanic that Strands does admirably, others feel inelegant, as if the game didn’t get the amount of polish it deserves.

Eternal Strands was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.