What parents need to know
Eternal Strands puts us in the shoes of Brynn, a weaver, that is to say a warrior who knows how to manipulate magic and the elements.
With his band of adventurers, Brynn finds himself caught in the heart of the Enclave, the ancient cultural capital of his people that has been cut off from the world following a magical cataclysm.
At the heart of this city are a ton of treasures and mysteries, but most importantly, a horde of dangerous enemies.
To fight them, Brynn can use a variety of weapons and armor that can be upgraded with the resources gathered through our tribulations.
Brynn also has spells that interact with the physics of the world. For example, we can set the grass under our enemies’ feet ablaze with our fire spells, use our telekinetic powers to throw debris at opponents (or to throw our opponents down cliffs) or pin them to the ground with the ice wall.
The use of these powers is all the more important because each portion of the Enclave hides a giant enemy that will test our mastery of the different combat mechanics. For example, you can force a flying enemy to stay on the ground by covering his wings with ice, then climb on his back and cut off his horns to make his headbutts less devastating.
Details
Level of experience required
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Evaluation
Since a large portion of the game consists of facing enemies in combat, there is some intrinsic violence. That being said, the fight remains colorful and cartoonish, and there are no particularly scary blood or segments.
Nothing to note.
The dialogues are played by actors, which will help less reading players understand.
That being said, the level of vocabulary can be quite high, and Eternal Strands adopts a fantastic vocabulary specific to its universe.
Our character is empathetic and tries to help those around her as best she can.
Battles require a good level of dexterity with the controller. You can sometimes be surprised by a physics that is a little unpredictable.
Eternal Strands is cheaper than a regular-priced game ($49.99 CAD/€39.99) while still offering a generous amount of content. There are no microtransactions or other fees.
Local game modes
Single-player story mode.
Online Game Modes
None.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
None at this time.
Our opinion
Eternal Strands is the first game from Quebec City studio Yellow Brick Games, and what a calling card for the young studio!
Eternal Strands is an ambitious game given the small size of the team, and at almost every level, the ambition has paid off.
First of all, we have to talk about the game’s physics system, which will undoubtedly remind us of Zelda games on Switch. Without reaching such depth, the game system of Eternal Strands still offers us interesting options that make the confrontations varied and surprising, and that will reward players with a creative mind.
Zelda isn’t the only track that inspired Eternal Strands; you can also feel the DNA of Shadow of the Colossus, a classic released many years ago on Playstation 2. Clashes against giant enemies steal the show. It’s nice to climb on them to break their armor and expose their weak spots, or to reduce their offensive abilities by breaking parts of their body.
Even if you often have to face the same titanic enemies, you don’t get tired of them since these confrontations remain exciting.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of confrontations against regular enemies. These are not varied enough, and do not sufficiently solicit our mastery of magical skills. The confrontations are not unpleasant as such, but they are repetitive and you quickly end up avoiding the fights that are not necessary to progress.
That being said, Eternal Strands is worth a visit. The title presents us with a lineup of endearing characters and an impressive combat system for the first title of a small team.
We can’t wait to see what this new player in the industry has in store for us!
