Final Format

Eternights is a dating and relationship game set against the backdrop of an engineered pandemic with apocalyptic consequences. You build bonds with a group of talented individuals who are key to your success. As you strengthen these bonds, you unlock abilities that aid your cause in combat. There is action-based combat and unfortunately, it’s the weakest element of the game despite taking up most of the time you’ll spend with it.

The best parts of this game center on the protagonist and his relationships with the group. The mechanics are fairly straightforward, with now popularized in the genre day/night cycles limiting the time you can spend with each character. During each day you can choose to spend time with someone, and in the evening complete a task or training session with them or another character. Daytime events build your bonds, while evening events boost your stats. I focused on Yuna, a pop star and the de facto love interest. There’s a lot of charm in these events, though they sometimes stray into stereotypical anime territory.

Yuna

Chani and Yuna have the strongest character arcs, but Min, Sia, and Yohan feel underdeveloped. There’s good variety in the characters’ personalities, and although we get some backstory for each, it would have been nice to see them evolve more from start to finish. The English voice actors fit well with each character and deliver good performances throughout.

I should briefly talk about the combat system and general gameplay outside of the social aspects, as it makes up a large part of the game.

I knew going into Eternights that I might struggle with the action combat system (for better or worse, my long-standing preference is for turn-based combat).

And I did. I almost quit playing after an hour, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

The combat system is based on timing a “perfect dodge” and then executing a combo within a short time limit afterward. The dodge requires a precise button press when an enemy flashes red just before they attack. While this is a common mechanic in games today, I found it inconsistent. Although I improved over time – not all of the issues were on the game – there were moments, even near the end, when I wasn’t sure why I was missing the timing.

Perfect Dodge

The game features an “easy” difficulty setting, which I used from the outset and at first questioned if it had made any difference. But, as you progress and upgrade your HP and defense stats, the combat does become easier – timing notwithstanding. However, the levels get longer and filled with more enemies which sadly becomes very tedious. Your mileage may vary if you do find enjoyment in the combat, but it will not improve the corridor, battle, corridor level structure.

All in all, I did find the story to be interesting and felt emotional connections to the characters, Yuna, Chani and Min especially. The quality in many aspects belies the small team that made the game, and regardless of it’s flaws it’s a great achievement. I look forward to the next game from Studio Sai.

TAGS: Eternights