It is often said that imitation is the highest form of admiration. Eternal Strands borrows gameplay elements from highly praised titles like Shadow of the Colossus, Zelda, and Monster Hunter, blending them into a dynamic and entertaining concept. Don't let the cartoonish presentation and lower price fool you—Eternal Strands is much more complex than it initially appears. Suppose you belong to the growing number of players frustrated by repetitive and monotonous games that play it safe. In that case, Eternal Strands' sheer amount of creative freedom might be your perfect gaming therapy.
Watch our Dynasty Warriors Origins review if you want another slightly more expensive game!
The Story of Eternal Strands
The game places players in the magical shoes of Brynn, a young warrior who, along with her companions, seeks to penetrate the mystical Enclave. This inhospitable and seemingly abandoned place was once a center of prosperity and magic.
Although not an open-world game, the Enclave is magical and highly diverse, featuring large zones with various biomes such as swamps, plains, urban areas, and dense forests. Once they reach the Enclave, Brynn and her crew will soon realize that it is now ruled by fierce dragons and the so-called Arks, massive giants that once represented the pinnacle of magical architecture. Facing such formidable foes, Brynn is armed with a bow, sword, and a magical scarf that grants her the ability to wield fire, ice, and kinetic powers.
Though the premise sounds interesting, the story serves as a backdrop to provide players with an initial motivation and narrative purpose. Eternal Strands place all its bets on gameplay, so don't expect much beyond a basic setup. The characters are flat, generic, and uninteresting, and while most dialogues are well-voiced, they are presented through long blocks of text that you will be eager to skip.
The Gameplay
Luckily, most of the narrative unfolds through gameplay, mainly through magnificent battles against one of the nine boss enemies. Their design, presentation, and combat mechanics are directly inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, ensuring a fun experience. Besides the large bosses, various smaller enemies are scattered throughout the game, which Brynn must defeat to progress.
Eternal Strands lacks a traditional progression system with a skill tree unlocked gradually by leveling up. Instead, your stats depend entirely on the quality of the equipment you wear. You craft this gear in your base, and its effectiveness depends on material quality, compatibility, and similar factors.
The preparation and progression system will be highly familiar to players who have played Monster Hunter. You can also gradually upgrade your base, using storage chests for resources and crafting more powerful weapons and armor, such as a fire-infused bow, a heavy ice sword, or a shield that radiates flames
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The Battles Systems of Eternal Strands
You can traverse the various zones of the Enclave on foot or via numerous portals. The number of different zones ensures variety, and it's worth mentioning that Eternal Strands incorporates a more advanced seasonal system alongside the usual day-night cycle. Weather conditions are not just a visual feature but directly impact gameplay—your fire and ice powers will be weaker or stronger depending on the environment, and enemies will use different weather conditions to make Brynn's life even harder.
As exciting as battles against giants and furious dragons sound, the game's true stars are the physics and fluidity of the world around you. Interaction with the environment and enemies blends seamlessly with the player's powers, so I sometimes couldn't wipe that amazed but goofy smile off my face. For instance, struggling against airborne enemies that keep flying out of reach? No problem—I can freeze their wings or bind them to the ground.
In another scenario, I used my kinetic powers to uproot a tree, set it on fire, and launch it like a flaming projectile at a giant I was fighting. With just a few button presses, ordinary objects can become your greatest allies—or your worst enemies. I got carried away using fire abilities more than once, only to watch half the map turn into an uncontrollable inferno! Unlike many other games with similar magical abilities, here you truly feel the elemental properties of your powers.
How Do The Powers Work?
For example, if you want to counter a fire attack with ice, you must consider that fire melts ice, requiring significantly more effort to make the defense successful. I attempted to deflect a rock hurled at me on one occasion using telekinesis. Instead of stopping mid-air, the rock gradually slowed down due to its mass and inertia, showcasing an impressive physics system. When you add destructible environments—where rocks get torn from the ground and hills, towers, houses, and entire rows of trees collapse—it becomes clear that the entire world of Eternal Strands is one giant sandbox of creative possibilities. These details are scattered throughout the game and provide those sweet yet epic moments where you feel like a cross between Gandalf and a medieval Jedi.
The world's physics are integrated into every aspect of gameplay and play a crucial role beyond combat. You can create ice bridges over chasms, start controlled fires to remove obstacles, use kinetic abilities to shift stone ruins and develop trampolines for better movement and tactical positioning. An additional layer of freedom is the ability to climb any object in the game, which is limited by a stamina gauge similar to Zelda.
Countless possibilities and combinations arise naturally, especially since the game never holds your hand. It grants you powers, explains their essential functions, and leaves the rest to experiment with. This approach rewards ingenuity and encourages curiosity while providing a strong sense of accomplishment with each self-discovered mechanic. Throughout my playthrough, I constantly thought of new ways to use the world's physics, which I consider an outstanding achievement.
On The More Technical Side
All of this sounds fantastic, but Eternal Strands suffers from some issues. Boss fights are generally well-executed, but there are occasional Shadow of the Colossus-style bugs where you mysteriously end up on a completely different part of the enemy than intended. This problem is especially noticeable when fighting dragons, as their proximity to the ground and multiple limbs often result in awkward climbing moments. More than once, I found myself comically clinging to a dragon's leg, thinking I was slicing its wings.
Outside of boss fights, enemies are pretty uninspired and tedious, which isn't helped by the clunky sword combat. Fortunately, you can rely on magic and environmental manipulation, which I highly recommend.
In Conclusion
Completing the primary campaign will take around 15-20 hours, with additional side quests available through interactions with NPCs in your camp. In our PlayStation 5 test version, the game ran smoothly without significant issues. However, large fires sometimes caused slight frame drops, and with so many physical objects in play, occasional odd glitches—like trees spinning wildly—were present.
If Eternal Strands has intrigued you but you're still on the fence, you'll be pleased to know it's available on Game Pass from day one. Given its accessibility and lower price point, I recommend Eternal Strands, especially to players who have always wanted to shove an iceberg into a fire-breathing dragon's mouth. It's not a game you'll remember for years, but it's a fun distraction while you wait for something better.
Rating: 7.8/10
It is a highly entertaining gameplay-focused experience with creative mechanics and a robust physics system, but with a forgettable story and some janky combat moments.
Recommended Age: 12+
The game's mechanics encourage creativity and problem-solving. Still, the combat, while not excessively violent, includes battles against large creatures with intense animations, making it more suitable for preteens and older.