Eternights Review (PS5): When Good Ideas Aren't Enough | Backlog Battle

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#eternights #review #videogames #rpg #jrpg #persona #shinmegamitensei #dragonquest #finalfantasy #nier #octopathtraveler2 #starfield #baldursgate3 #nonbinary

[@sikevillain]

I've been enjoying the game. I see its issues but I still really like it as the devs first attempt at an action game with neat dating sim mechanics. I love supporting small indie devs with passion so this was a no brainer anyways. It's a good game imo.

[@SlapstickJudas]

It absolutely has enough ideas and charm to justify the 10 hour or so playtime. Different story if the main thing the devs got out of persona was 150+ hour playtimes.

[@hilksonj7513]

S made by one person lol so dev

[@T29hotrod]

its like Date a Live

[@notyoursavior78]

​@T29hotrod if only you could date Droid Lady. Chani's voice actor is really good. I generally don't praise va because yes it helps but it is sorta w/e but it is amazingly good here.

[@zeroghost115]

How is it a good game then? Who gives a fuck if it's only one dude. It doesn't excuse it being shit and how they changed nothing from the demo. Also it's like 9 people not just one dude. Raise your standards.

[@cnk9822]

The main problem with Eternights is that the game tries to bite more than it can chew. Some things like the animated cutescenes look good but then the in game graphics look very rough.

[@alexjackyperson101]

But one person make the whole game is amazing, with some help from other's to draw animation scene's, storyline and little bit more. It's a good first project

[@rexalidus3871]

Don't know much about this game but my first impression is did they really just create mc with just white plain t shirt with glowing hand as his character design? He's your main dude, even the support chara at least has something more than 'just' t shirt... a weird choice...

[@BacklogBattle]

Certainly not the most memorable design. I agree.

[@Road_to_Dawn]

I doubt it’ll happen, but I’d love to see some DLC outfits get added, both for MC and for the confidants.

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

Definitely a bummer that this game fails to deliver, it's visually pretty interesting and it seems to have some good concepts going for it, but just missed the mark. Hopefully the devs get a chance to make a sequel and are able to tighten up the looser aspects of the game's design.

[@anaveragegamer359]

you should try yourself have seen other reviews where people like it

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

@@anaveragegamer359 I don't have the time and money to try every game. 🫤

[@solidwisdom8749]

Its not thattt bad, for 30 dollars you getting your money worth

[@flamehiro]

​@@DanielSantosAnalysisdemo on pc

[@elisavage1359]

@@DanielSantosAnalysisbroke boy

[@Road_to_Dawn]

I’ve been spending what little free time I have outside of work playing Eternights, and honestly, I do feel like every criticism leveled against it is completely fair. Still, I for one have been really enjoying the majority of my time with it. The action combat is fun, fast-paced, and difficult (for me at least, as one who doesn’t really play action games much), and in response to your critique about how long it takes to draw your sword, that’s a very valid complaint. I’ve discovered that if you dodge, your sword will instantly be drawn. I also often have trouble dodging at the right times and keep getting my butt handed to me. Also, there’s one scene in particular with the Ballcycle that flat out SUCKS. I wish we had a couple more hits we could take before having to try again. As far as the social system goes, characters are pretty well-written and EXCELLENTLY voiced. The problem I have with it is that so far I don’t have a good grasp on where my social stats need to be for my confidants, and what I need to be focusing on. The music is great, bouncing between some EDM-style intensity and lo-fi chill vibes, and the color palette is simply gorgeous. For the story, I’m really invested in it so far, but it also really feels like a lot of scenes are missing, with some parts feeling rushed or maybe cut out. Like with Aria, it seems like there should’ve been one or two more scenes with her between meeting her as “drone lady” and then learning her name. However, it is definitely important to keep in mind that the game is developed by a VERY small studio (from what I’ve been able to gather, it’s little more than a one-man team outsourcing some help from professionals), and with that in mind, there are definitely some cracks in the varnish. It depends on what you are able to put up with while again keeping in mind this is basically an indie game with AA aspirations. I’m really hoping we get a sequel that refines what the first game set out to do.

[@Outrun83]

I’m still happy I’m supporting this indie dev and his first game. ❤

[@darylb889]

After playing the game I actually agree with the review. It starts off strong but it ends pretty poor with repetitive combat honestly. It probably my first 6/10 game in a long time which makes me sad. Like Mato Anomalies it looks nice but I had a very hard time completing the game. I would reccomend getting this on sale for no more than £15/$20. I hope they use the money to improve the next game they make.

[@MikoYotsuya292]

Solid game from a small company. 👍

[@roddyjack8]

One thing that disappointed me was the ending i feel we should’ve gotten a better closing and meeting the characters one last time

[@matthewbraith0411]

Agreed.

[@Zeus32522]

The game has a Very Positive rating on Steam, so it seems like people are enjoying it

[@Zeus32522]

@@raven.4815 I don't have an opinion I was just stating what I observed

[@nesoukkefka1741]

Steam review are worth checking on once the game has been release for several weeks or even month, most early on review are trolls, or people that barely started playing.

[@WolfPhoenix0]

I agree with @@nesoukkefka1741. The current reviews don't represent the game as a whole (or are just plain stupid). Give some time and then check back for the more mature reviews.

[@TheSaltyGamer969]

The premise, demo,and gameplay caught my interest, so I bought this game day one, no questions asked. I value the opinions you bring to the table when you review games, so it bums me out that it did not deliver. I'll still play it and see for myself.

[@solidwisdom8749]

Good to see a company atleast makena game thats kinda similar to persona. Characters are prety interesting and gameplay. Some people are being a little too harsh on the game, its a 7.5/10 game or a 8/10 if it was a bit longer and slightly better battle system

[@alexjackyperson101]

Yea, the game wasn't really a disappointed, it try it best to be good and great with it did

[@usmansubhani7482]

4:56 I don’t like this opinion. The pitch actually worked and the stats aren’t all that different. You can definitely unlock character specific moves, but you can definitely get to know one of the girls without thinking about the skill tree. Moreover, the skill tree is simple. You might have to make a choice early on between parry or heavy attack, but the ideas flow together really well. This opinion is why people would rather play some familiar triple A rather than an INDIE game. I’d say the focus of the game is “what will you do before the world ends?” My choice was spend some time with the girl I romanced.

[@hightopdeluxe]

I enjoyed the game but definitely recognize the issues just like you did. I’m not gonna lie I felt like the review was harsh but at the end you’re right, we want them to take this criticism and improve in the next game. I really appreciate your honesty and hopefully the developer does to.

[@Soulsworth69]

I've really been loving the game. It's not perfect but I think it's great and has some nice charm. I've really enjoyed the characters, and the combat is a bit jank but it was enjoyable for me. I've always preferred live action combat compared to turn based, it's just more enjoyable to me personally, and I'm really picky with how turn based is done in games. But I've opened up to and enjoyed some awesome games with turn based combat like Yakuza 7, Persona 5 Royal and Baldur's Gate 3 of course.

[@wood1066]

The biggest problem i have is the combat, but it gets better when you start unlocking new stuff. The characters and voice acting are really good though. Honestly this game would've been better if it was just a straight VN.

[@notyoursavior78]

The voice acting in this game has no reason to be as good as it is, also you can get into a dodge killer blow, death blow it really is cathartic.

[@juanmd26121]

I'm on Act 3, right now the game feels great, the action side it's not too complex but quite challenging on expert, both the dodge and parry system are pretty satisfying. and then you can chill by jumping to basically another type of game of the dating sim system... honestly after playing Sekiro, Lies of P and FF16 as the last games I completed, this game feels very refreshing

[@usmansubhani7482]

I like this game’s battle mechanics because the developer was like: “I can’t add too much but add the fun stuff.” There’s dodges, parry, and special moves that have different uses. There are definitely flaws, but I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a good time. It ticks all the boxes in everything that you’d want in this game. The blend is also exotic.

[@Noumakara]

It’s fun for two hours. Then i couldn’t stand the repetitiveness

[@rei-miyazaki]

What make me interested at first is the dating aspect. But after hear and see the combat mechanic, made me have second thought. Maybe when on sale i might give a try, but not right now.

[@blakefenslerjr4858]

I totally agree in every aspect of your review. Awesome review by the way 👍

[@agentraf]

Overall conclusion I'm getting from this seems to fall in line with the critique I heard from others - a pretty big case of being unfocused. I'll still give the demo a shot to see what-for for myself, as I have enjoyed games in that similar vein (Anno Mutationem is one of those, and heck, the review score spread on Opencritic looks pretty similar).

[@QurenTheShield]

Anno mutationem was pretty decent.

[@__BlacklotuS__]

for being made by one person, it's pretty good

[@notyoursavior78]

I did think the game would be longer than what it turned out to be apparently. I wasn't very impressed by the demo but thought it could still be a decent game. I likely wasn't going to bother getting this day one unless it turned out to be incredible, but it still may be alright and worth picking up on sale later,.This is the first video review of the game I saw though I read one review yesterday. Mato Anomalies got trashed by most people, but I picked it up on a later sale. It certainly has issues, but I ultimately enjoyed it and was glad I took a chance on it.

[@boeta9778]

Finally! You've evolve from game endorser to game reviewer who frankly mention the bad points of the game. Re-subscribed!

[@boeta9778]

It can be better if you also provide time bookmark in your caption too, which part review the story, which part review the gameplay etc

[@chickenfillets]

I remember the demo videos and suprised to hear it didn't pan out!

[@andrewwilson5154]

I play a lot, I mean a lot of games, and this year I've just about burned myself out, I've tried all the big games of this year and I just can't get into them at all. Then Eternights arrived and it's totally blown me away. It's past 3am in the morning and I'm at work in 3 hours I've literally had to drag myself off it. Eternights is a breath of fresh air, yes there's issues but not gamebreaking. The story, characters, writing, art style are all off the charts great. I'm totally smitten and for me this is the best game I've played this year by a long way.

[@aoihitori]

Thanks for the review, I was thinking to bought this game and this is my first Eternights review seen so far.

[@WolfPhoenix0]

When I played the demo, I thought the combat was the best part and the graphics were the worst part (I'm not too big on graphics but they're just so noticeable in this game). Do you think it's still worth putting this on our video game backlogs, Alex? I'm kinda 50/50 on it.

[@BacklogBattle]

With so many other games coming out that deserve more attention, I'd say wait for a sale. At $30, it's asking a bit too much.

[@WolfPhoenix0]

@@BacklogBattle Thanks, Alex! I added it to my Steam wishlist and will buy it in the next Steam sale.

[@flamehiro]

I'm having a blast with it. Has some frustrating parts but that adds tension at the same time

[@notyoursavior78]

The combat can be really viseceral when you get into it and time it right. I am playing one other spoooky game and I don't want to rush and beat this in one day or two..... But I am at true lair 2 now and the fight before I could not time any of the dodges but one. When I broke the three shields it was over. Combos and knockdowns. The tables have turned.

[@theozziepotato]

very well done review! this game doesn't really sound like my cup of tea but it's interesting to learn about the opinions and problems you present, as i find some games can be so long it can be hard to give constructive criticism. good job 👍

[@NintendanGX]

The demo left a good first impression on me overall (despite some of the more shlocky aspects), but the combat did seem a bit mindless and button-mashy. Dodge enemy, follow up with attack, maybe do some QTE's for some reason, rinse and repeat. It lacked the depth and rewarding scoring system from character-action games like Devil May Cry, which offered plenty of attack variety and encouraged you to use different moves with its Style meter, but at the very least, the feedback seemed good, and the battles were flashy. It could still be a good action RPG at the very least, and I was willing to believe the combat could improve and get fleshed out more as the game progressed, but if it doesn't get much better beyond the demo, then it's a deal-breaker for me. Might wait for a sale on this one.

[@Anni_ka]

I was kind of intrigued, and since the dev at least included one male love interest I thought I might give it a chance...but I don't really think this is for me. I can easily ignore okay or subpar writing if gameplay blows me away, but that doesn't really seem to be the case here. Still, props to the dev for doing their best, I hope they go on to make more games and improve upon their skills.

[@Pangster]

Man thisbis the first seeing alex so critical. Although valid, i can see past the games flaw because its a one man studio. I had fun regardless.

[@neotricksterzero143]

I got it on sale a few days ago and i just defeated the first boss: yeah, I wouldn't recommend this one. The combat is too button-mashy, you don't level up while fighting enemies, and the first boss was an absolute slog to fight. I really wanted to like this one because of its Persona influences but that's not enough to save this game sadly.

[@SpeechGamer]

I have to disagree with the review. For me, the action gameplay was probably one of the strongest points of the game. Combat opens up as you develop bonds with the characters and becomes a lot more fluid and dodging was actually easy to execute as there were both visual and audio cues when you needed to do so. I found the characters to be likable, Chani specifically went into simp mode for Yuna but started to feel inferior and useless since he didnt have a power which is why he started to become abrasive, but once he got something he could use, he actually apologizes for how he acted. The mini-games were nice diversions from the gameplay loop and after playing the demo (which was about an hour in length), I feel like we got what we saw in the demo and then some. Sorry, I know you put a lot into the review, but I think the game just didn't hit with you.

[@ereviscale3966]

Exactly, Chani acts like an anime character not like a human. It makes it hard to relate to. And is it an action game with a lot of roadblocks to getting in the action? Or a dating sim/VN with underbaked combat and annoying minigames in between. Because neither system is fully fleshed out in a satisfying way. There is way too much h bad writing for an action game and it's even worse for a game full of text. This is just my opinion though!

[@zeroghost115]

The game is shit. I'm sorry but how is fighting a boss where I have to spam attacks, in order to do a bigger attack that is A QUICK TIME EVENT IN 2023! 2 or more times before actually doing damage to the boss???? This combat is atrocious and shouldn't be compared to DMC or Dark souls unless you want to laugh at how bad it is in comparison. Also that makes Chani and shitty, annoying character who acts unrealistic. Sure it's anime garbage, but it doesn't excuse the fact it's a shit character design

[@hypebeastdad]

Yeah it’s not bad. I actually like it.

[@TooMuchTuna7]

Geez this and Loop8 being bummers sucks!

[@JustJulyo]

Well that's a shame

[@HybridAngelZero]

While it's always sad to see a game not reach it's potential, the middling reviews I've seen make me appreciate the experienced touch for game design that makes the balance for titles like Persona or Scarlet Nexus work

[@LordDragonSovereign]

This is the most I have ever heard you rant about a game Alex, even if it wasn't supposed to be rant you were doing it subconsciously that's for sure, and that's okay. I'm glad I didn't pick this game up and when I first saw it I thought it was something promising too. This game doesn't know what it wants to be... I don't know what the devs were thinking.

[@spellshellmobile2046]

I was unable to handle main character's friend in demo. He was like every best friend in datingsims. Yeah it may sounds weird, but if you consume a lot of anime and VN characters like this becomes unbearable

[@trainer_xtv5617]

I love this game min is best girl

[@Olphas]

ah, too bad. I really liked the demo and bought the game because of that. Oh well, I will start tonight. But that does sound a bit all over the place.

[@MrSupersmash93]

That's stinks for both Loop 8 and Eternights.

[@eliotwildermann]

Eww whips out SWORD lol 😂

[@valk5041]

I think this game would have been better if it was an actual Visual Novel imo

[@ChicCanyon]

It lost me at 10ish hours

[@Farts911]

This game just kind of looks so mid, its wants to be the 'Persona social sim' but its too short and doesn't have time to form bonds with characters, it has action combat, but it looks no where near like a Dark Souls which it very clearly is trying to be, also the graphics are pretty ech too. It doesn't really look that interesting to me either.

[@callsignjoker1]

I don't think it looks like it's even remotely trying to be Dark Souls. Unless you mean because you have to dodge enemy attacks to avoid dying, then I guess it's exactly like Dark Souls.

[@igm1571]

If you play demo, it definitely not same like Dark Soul, and this game just inprised by Persona nothing special, the storage game itself is fine for a 29$ but you may pay more for Persona 5 is better choice overall

[@Road_to_Dawn]

I’d say it’s more trying to be character-action-lite than Dark Souls. IMO it gets the action pretty good, but dodging can feel iffy and I’m not really sure when the best time is to use stuff like supplemental abilities you get like the energy blast or ice rain and such.

[@seanbcusack]

oof. that's a shame. i was also looking forward to trying it but this review definitely killed it for me. that short and yet hyperfixated on overly complex social link stuff when they should have cleaned up the combat and the writing consistency? nope. backlog is too deep. just made a full spreadsheet of my backlog and it's 114 ps4 and switch games. :-P that includes some upcoming ones but still. deep. sinking. glub glub.