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While playing Eternal Strands, I was amazed by the game's presentation but couldn't figure out what my purpose was in this magical world. It turns out there isn't much here apart from slaying the monsters and enjoying the scenery. This is Eternal Strands in a nutshell and that's not half bad.
Eternal Strands is brimming with some great ideas and even greater potential that, unfortunately, remain unfulfilled in nearly every aspect. To be fair, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say every aspect, as the game is undeniably a visual feast—a true paradise for the eyes. However, beyond its stunning presentation, superficiality defines the experience from start to finish.
Let's start with the story. Being a single-player experience, Eternal Strands's main focus is directed towards telling a good story. Apart from that, the game features a fantasy setting, and a jfantasy setting usually means a great story filled with magic, strange creatures, and whatnot. Well, all this is present in Eternal Strands. Now, you might wonder, what seems to be the problem with it?
Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. Eternal Strands features a very good story, actually; the only problem is that most players won't be patient enough to uncover it. I must admit that during the first three to four hours of the game, I had no idea where I was or why I was doing what I was doing.
The plot is so convoluted that you'll frequently find yourself questioning whether it has any coherence at all. If you make the effort to immerse yourself as much as possible, certain aspects may start to make more sense—though even then, I can’t guarantee any significant clarity.
This wouldn’t be an issue with the story if the gameplay managed to draw you into the experience—allowing the confusion in the narrative to feel less significant. However, the same problems arise with the gameplay, but more on that later. The biggest issue with the story is that the game constantly bombards you with information, overwhelming the average player’s ability to process it all effectively.
Imagine trying to watch a ten-season-long TV show starting from season six, and you might have a pretty picture of what to expect from Eternal Strands's story. Too many names to remember, and too much information to process, and when things finally start to fit together, you'll most likely lose interest in the game.
The saddest part is that the plot itself and its premise aren't bad at all, and if you're a patient person and it doesn't bother you to read walls of text and engage in never-ending conversations, the story might even satisfy you in the end, but I say again, the road to achieving it is a painful one.
In Eternal Strands, you are put into the shoes of Brynn, a young weaver who joins the group of scholars, determined to break into the Enclave, a forbidden ground, sealed away by the vail, to prevent any unwanted visitors from entering.
The Enclave is jam-packed with magic creatures, mysterious giants called the arks, and undiscovered history that is a challenge for any scholar to go inside and discover what has been hidden for centuries from the common folk.
Through a series of fortunate events, Brynn and her team successfully pass through the magical veil with unexpected assistance. From that moment, their mission shifts to uncovering what truly happened to the Enclave and the reasons behind the sudden prohibition on entering it.
As I briefly mentioned earlier, the biggest problem of Eternal Strands's story lies in its interpretation, and apart from a huge confusion you'll definitely fall into, the way the story is told is also quite unconventional, and dare I say, pretty problematic. You'll discover the story mostly through endless conversations you'll lead with your team members, and those conversations are designed in a bit different way.
Once you decide to speak with one of your team members, the presentation will shift from 3D-rendering gameplay to a comic book-like view where you'll interact with the screen and uncover the next line of text. This doesn't pose any problem in understanding the story; only it feels totally out of place like you momentarily transform into a whole different game.
Also, everything new discovered in the game will be automatically stored in your journal, and to properly understand the story, get ready to read huge walls of text that will definitely become tedious and break the game's action-oriented gameplay loop.
Much like the story, the gameplay in Eternal Strands has a couple of excellent ideas, but sadly, those ideas didn't come forth properly. Eternal Strands is an action-adventure with some RPG elements and many mechanics borrowed from many successful titles (The Legend of Zelda, Shadow of the Colossus, and more).
The combat features classic hack-and-slash mechanics, allowing you to wield melee weapons such as swords and shields in various combinations, heavy weapons for powerful strikes, and bows for ranged attacks. However, the true highlight of this game’s combat lies in its magic. As a weaver, you’ll harness three distinct types of magic: fire, ice, and telekinesis. Each type can be upgraded, offering diverse variations and strategies for every magical ability.
If anything can be highly praised in this game, it is definitely tinkering with magic abilities. It is very satisfying, for example, when you encounter a huge ark, ten times bigger than you, and when you use your freezing abilities to nail it to the ground. Or when you use fire magic that sets the entire area on fire, and because you know that will happen, you use the potion that protects you from fire and while the monsters are being turned to ashes.
Contrary to very good and satisfying magic abilities, melee combat left a lot to be desired. Even though you'll find everything in it that you might've expected: light and heavy attacks, parry, dodge and all that, it simply isn't good enough. The combat isn't balanced properly, the enemy behaviour is unusual, and you simply don't feel the power of your strikes.
While common enemies are usually mindless obstacles on your way, the bosses are a thing of beauty, and apart from satisfying magic-wielding abilities, boss fights are probably the best part of this game. The bosses can be divided into two groups: arks—the colossal creatures that you usually must climb on to defeat them—and dragon-like creatures that require different magic plus ranged attacks to put them down.
Every boss fight requires patience, dedication, and strategy if you want to come out of the battle victorious. Ark battles take inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus and some of them feel very, very similar to Sony's hit, with many mechanics being copy-pasted, like finding the weak spots and stamina management.
The exploration, on the other hand, is a huge letdown in Eternal Strands. While exploring the world, you'll come across breakable objects, enemies, and a not-so-big number of chests, hidden in some areas usually guarded by some tough enemies. Oddly enough, all those will contain the same things: the resources used for making and upgrading weapons and facilities.
There are some documents you'll uncover in the open world related to the story, but the majority of the findings will be the resources. As I already said, the resources are used for making new weapons and upgrading your equipment, and all the resources differ in quality, meaning more quality materials, the better weapons and equipment.
Apart from making new equipment, the resources will be needed to upgrade your hub area and its facilities. In your hub area, you'll have your team members who will make sure you go out properly prepared. All of them will have functions to upgrade you as best as possible, and for that, they'll need resources.
Each time you go into the open world, you'll gather resources, and find items while trying to stay alive. Dying means you lose a hefty chunk of the loot but if you manage to return to the base you'll retain everything.
Speaking of the game's open world, we come to the segment that is definitely the best part of this game; of course, I'm talking about the visual presentation. Visually, Eternal Strands is nothing short of breathtaking. The magical realm of the Enclave is vibrant and full of colour, with views and vistas so striking they’re sure to leave you in awe.
The graphics are made to resemble a high-quality cartoon rather than a traditional video game, a style that resonates deeply with me as it beautifully amplifies the magical essence of the game world. The character designs are flawless, and the visual effects of magic, combat, fire, and ice spreading with each cast are stunningly executed. From a visual standpoint, the developers have absolutely nailed it.
From a technical standpoint, the game performs flawlessly. I played it on Xbox Series X, and since the code included the Play Anywhere option, I also tried it on PC. Despite my PC being somewhat outdated and not particularly powerful (Ryzen 5500, 16 GB of RAM, and Nvidia RTX 3060, 12 GB), the game ran smoothly at native 4K resolution and high settings, thanks to Nvidia DLSS set to quality.
It's worth noting that some graphic effects like advanced lighting and especially reflections, work way better on PC, and because of that, the game looks much smoother and dare I say prettier, therefore, if you own a powerful PC, by all means, play Eternal Strands there. I don’t say that the game looks bad on Series X, not at all, but compared to PC, I’d say not as good.
While the visual presentation deserves high praise, the sound design, unfortunately, falls short—unconvincing at best. The background music during exploration is soothing but unremarkable, and it repeatedly alternates with the same slightly more intense tracks during combat. Over time, this repetition becomes rather tiresome.
However, the biggest issue with the sound design isn’t the music—it’s the voice acting. While the voice actors deliver solid performances, the real problem lies in the writing. The dialogue feels out of place, making the language feels more like modern slang rather than language fitting for a game set in a fantasy world. If you had the opportunity to play Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the situation is pretty much the same.
Conclusion
The best way to describe Eternal Strands is as a collection of high-quality ideas that didn’t quite come together as the developers likely envisioned. The story hints at potential brilliance, but it takes too long to reveal its full depth, making it difficult to stay engaged. Similarly, the gameplay shows promise but ultimately feels unconvincing. Therefore, the first couple of hours, which are crucial in video games, by the way, will probably make you drop the game, even though, after that, you could find some enjoyment in it.
That said, it would be unfair to claim that everything feels incomplete. The stunning visual presentation is undeniably enchanting, and certain aspects, like the fantastic boss fights, truly stand out. Considering all of this, Eternal Strands is a game brimming with potential. Unfortunately, its flaws prevent me from wholeheartedly recommending it.
However, if you’re a respective owner of an Xbox Game Pass (the game is available on it from day one), it will cost you nothing to give it a try. Who knows? Maybe you’ll like it more than I do.
The Good
Stunning visual presentation- Vibrant and colourful open world
- Satisfying and diverse magic abilities
- Fantastic boss fights
- Smooth performance on both Xbox Series X and PC
The Bad
A confusing story that takes too long to reveal its depth- Dialogue feels out of place with modern slang in a fantasy setting
- Melee combat lacks balance and impact, feeling underwhelming
- Limited exploration rewards with repetitive resource gathering
