Review Eternal Strands: Yahtzee's Take

Q: How to get through North Section (2) in Eternal Strands?

Eternal Strands is a solid debut game from a new studio, blending gear grinding, extraction elements, and large-scale boss fights reminiscent of Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus, though it suffers from generic visuals and a repetitive late-game.

Q: What happens when you enter the next area in North Section (2)?

Eternal Strands is a solid debut game from a new studio, blending gear grinding, extraction elements, and large-scale boss fights reminiscent of Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus, though it suffers from generic visuals and a repetitive late-game.

Q: Where do catacombs change in Eternal Strands?

Eternal Strands is a solid debut game from a new studio, blending gear grinding, extraction elements, and large-scale boss fights reminiscent of Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus, though it suffers from generic visuals and a repetitive late-game.

Q: How to destroy enemies in North Section (2)?

Eternal Strands is a solid debut game from a new studio, blending gear grinding, extraction elements, and large-scale boss fights reminiscent of Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus, though it suffers from generic visuals and a repetitive late-game.

AntMag.NET

Walkthrough

1
The game features a gear-grinding loop where players mount expeditions from a base camp to open-ended areas to fight monsters, gather crafting materials, and complete objectives.
2
Combat involves chipping away at enemy health bars with elemental damage, though the author found encasing enemies in ice and attacking them to be most effective.
3
Crafting recipes are unspecific, allowing for material substitutions and reducing the need to grind for exact items.
4
Giant monster fights are a highlight, described as similar to "crawl around a big bastard's armpits, knifing his sensitive areas" affairs, serving as a more accessible alternative to Shadow of the Colossus.
5
These giant monsters must be killed once to learn a new spell, and then again in a specific way to upgrade it.
6
The game is compared to a "Fisher-Price Monster Hunter" or a theme park version, offering a less time-intensive experience.
7
The first half of the game offers a sense of exploration and discovery, while the second half becomes repetitive with story quests often involving returning to previously visited areas.

Tips

Focus on exploring the environment and collecting materials, as crafting recipes are flexible.
Embrace the giant monster fights as a core and well-implemented mechanic.
Appreciate the game as a strong foundational effort from a new developer, similar to Picasso's early realistic works before his more experimental phases.

The game is considered a very solid starting point for the developers, demonstrating a good understanding of game design principles, with the hope that they will create more unique and artistic games in the future.

100% Human-Written. AI Fact-Checked. Community Verified. Learn how AntMag verifies content