The black panther for dudes who literally get no bitches and stack zero paper
Worst of all time. Trench of the medium. Denunciation of media. Dirt standard of storytelling. Bottom of creativity. Bedrock of invention. Foot of ingenuity. Underbelly of imagination. Nadir of innovation. Worst of the worst. Failure among failures. Abyss fiction.
Sometimes there comes a game that completely changes the industry and revolutionizes everything we know about games.
Eternights is not that game.
Eternights is not that game.
If you managed to find something genuinely enjoyable in this game, without a hint of irony, then you are truly the hero of this story.
Personally, I like playing and watching things that aren't good but they know they aren't good. So, yeah, I had some fun with this game, sharing screenshots and videos of its most stupid moments. However, once I paused, took a deep breath, and reflected on it, I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this is pretty terrible."
It's an indie game, and that fact is screaming at your face every time. There are plenty of indie developers out there who, aware of their limitations, endeavor to create experiences that prevent you from either finding them or unfavorably comparing them to similar bigger titles. Crafting a game that clearly draws inspiration from Persona but only incorporates its worse aspects is a flawed approach.
The point I'm getting at here is that I've spent a considerable amount of time discussing this game, which honestly shouldn't be the case. Let's move on. We've already got a strong contender for the title of "Worst Game of the Year."
Personally, I like playing and watching things that aren't good but they know they aren't good. So, yeah, I had some fun with this game, sharing screenshots and videos of its most stupid moments. However, once I paused, took a deep breath, and reflected on it, I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this is pretty terrible."
It's an indie game, and that fact is screaming at your face every time. There are plenty of indie developers out there who, aware of their limitations, endeavor to create experiences that prevent you from either finding them or unfavorably comparing them to similar bigger titles. Crafting a game that clearly draws inspiration from Persona but only incorporates its worse aspects is a flawed approach.
The point I'm getting at here is that I've spent a considerable amount of time discussing this game, which honestly shouldn't be the case. Let's move on. We've already got a strong contender for the title of "Worst Game of the Year."
Eternights is a solid video game for what it has to offer but deserves better.
This is the type of game that many should really ask themselves if this game is for you. I’ve played many games like this during my high school days and being the big weeb that I was, this game just SCREAMS your typical ecchi anime and I don’t mean that as a bad thing personally. So if you’re expecting this to be like Persona, Eternights is similar but generally does its own thing in comparison to Persona. Eternights isn’t nearly as dense or complex as a Persona game. Eternights has a fairly simple combat system, it’s an action game that tends to make you use your abilities at the right moment but doesn’t stop from using them when you want. You’ll have a skill tree system to upgrade your abilities but it really doesn’t get anymore complex other than that. There are enemy encounters that will challenge you, overall the challenges for me weren’t that difficult but I was still getting enjoyment out of it. You go through dungeons where you fight these enemies and solve puzzles which can be very easy and some will take a bit more thinking. I love the art style of this game. And no it’s not just because it’s anime. The cool thing about art styles and visual views in video games are simply that they can make the world feel more alive and that is something I believe Eternights did a great job executing. The atmosphere and vibrant lighting in this game really just made me love the visuals of this game. And that’s not to say that some visuals were undercooked but not necessarily noticeable. Something I definitely didn’t like were the were the facial animations. Some look really awkward and ridiculous and I wish they worked more on that. And you get a slice of life aspect to this game that I really enjoyed. You get to hang out with characters you can bond with and eventually romance. You can even train with the characters you meet in which you’ll play mini games in order to upgrade your stats for combat. The soundtrack is underappreciated, I found it really cool and relaxing.
Story wise, I had a few mixed opinions. I liked the story and the direction it was heading. It quite literally does have the kind of plot for an anime or manga but I felt like this story was a little too straightforward. For a story I did like, I just feel like there really wasn’t a big climax. When you get near the end of the story and can feel it coming and it’s just over. And that’s not to say the characters aren’t interesting because they are. I really liked Yuna and I thought at one point I would even romance her but Min was more of my kind of girl. For me Min is by far the most brave character in the game. We also Sia who’s very optimistic and we have Yohan who has some of the best voice acting, I just don’t swing that way with dudes, honestly. And we also have Chani who I feel like he redeemed himself to a certain extent and I wish there was more to him than that. We have more characters but they overall don’t have any depth to their characters. They have reason to be in the story but nothing that interesting or deep. It’s overall a basic and generic story. Besides all of that there is a lot of lewd humor for this game that will bother some people. And without saying much about the ending, it at least made sense and gives me closure. Not everyone will feel the same about the ending. So to speak, it’s arguable that this is one of those “opening endings” kind of thing.
Eternights is cool and a solid game and that’s great for a game that only cost me $30, unfortunately it does feel pretty dull at times. While the combat is at least fun it’s rough around the edges. If you’re looking for a short and fun game to play then I highly recommend Eternights but then again, don’t forget to ask yourself if this game really is for you. I can see a DLC or even a sequel for Eternights but even if there isn’t then I’m at least satisfied with the experience I got from Eternights.
This is the type of game that many should really ask themselves if this game is for you. I’ve played many games like this during my high school days and being the big weeb that I was, this game just SCREAMS your typical ecchi anime and I don’t mean that as a bad thing personally. So if you’re expecting this to be like Persona, Eternights is similar but generally does its own thing in comparison to Persona. Eternights isn’t nearly as dense or complex as a Persona game. Eternights has a fairly simple combat system, it’s an action game that tends to make you use your abilities at the right moment but doesn’t stop from using them when you want. You’ll have a skill tree system to upgrade your abilities but it really doesn’t get anymore complex other than that. There are enemy encounters that will challenge you, overall the challenges for me weren’t that difficult but I was still getting enjoyment out of it. You go through dungeons where you fight these enemies and solve puzzles which can be very easy and some will take a bit more thinking. I love the art style of this game. And no it’s not just because it’s anime. The cool thing about art styles and visual views in video games are simply that they can make the world feel more alive and that is something I believe Eternights did a great job executing. The atmosphere and vibrant lighting in this game really just made me love the visuals of this game. And that’s not to say that some visuals were undercooked but not necessarily noticeable. Something I definitely didn’t like were the were the facial animations. Some look really awkward and ridiculous and I wish they worked more on that. And you get a slice of life aspect to this game that I really enjoyed. You get to hang out with characters you can bond with and eventually romance. You can even train with the characters you meet in which you’ll play mini games in order to upgrade your stats for combat. The soundtrack is underappreciated, I found it really cool and relaxing.
Story wise, I had a few mixed opinions. I liked the story and the direction it was heading. It quite literally does have the kind of plot for an anime or manga but I felt like this story was a little too straightforward. For a story I did like, I just feel like there really wasn’t a big climax. When you get near the end of the story and can feel it coming and it’s just over. And that’s not to say the characters aren’t interesting because they are. I really liked Yuna and I thought at one point I would even romance her but Min was more of my kind of girl. For me Min is by far the most brave character in the game. We also Sia who’s very optimistic and we have Yohan who has some of the best voice acting, I just don’t swing that way with dudes, honestly. And we also have Chani who I feel like he redeemed himself to a certain extent and I wish there was more to him than that. We have more characters but they overall don’t have any depth to their characters. They have reason to be in the story but nothing that interesting or deep. It’s overall a basic and generic story. Besides all of that there is a lot of lewd humor for this game that will bother some people. And without saying much about the ending, it at least made sense and gives me closure. Not everyone will feel the same about the ending. So to speak, it’s arguable that this is one of those “opening endings” kind of thing.
Eternights is cool and a solid game and that’s great for a game that only cost me $30, unfortunately it does feel pretty dull at times. While the combat is at least fun it’s rough around the edges. If you’re looking for a short and fun game to play then I highly recommend Eternights but then again, don’t forget to ask yourself if this game really is for you. I can see a DLC or even a sequel for Eternights but even if there isn’t then I’m at least satisfied with the experience I got from Eternights.
Eternights is a very easy game to misunderstand. On one hand, it tries quite hard to channel an essence similar to that of older Japanese romance visual novels/dating sims. On the other hand, it also takes many cues from more recent games, especially the Persona series, which may have the same roots as those VNs, but ultimately has grown to be its own thing, with a different set of expectations. Eternights tries to be a lot of things, but at its core, just like the VNs/dating sims of old, it's fantasy fulfillment. It asks the question: what if you're the key to saving the world, and you can score some baddies in the process? It's a cliche that has been fantasized countless times, and yet Eternights stands out due to its earnestness in its goals. It's not trying to be something greater than it is, and it's a big part of the game's charm.
The story itself is nothing special for the most part, but what I like about it is that it keep things simple by not overexplaining things and having too much dialogue and exposition. It's not about the lore or other worldbuilding aspects, it's about you and the gang, getting closer to each other (and maybe getting real close to at least one of them), and being the heroes of the story. The humor is either chuckle-worthy or mildly cringe, while the romance feels appropriately cheesy and wholesome. There's also some stereotypically anime vulgar moments that might not be for many people's tastes, but they don't overstay their welcome. All in all, it's a casual story that doesn't take it self too seriously.
The cast of characters is pretty good overall. There was a short period in the first 2 acts where the MC's best friend was annoyingly unlikeable, but he's cool in every other time. I liked Sia's backstory the most out of all the girls, but Min's just too adorable most of the time. Yuna seems like the least interesting one for me, but I have a disinterest for showbiz stuff so it's not a surprise for me. And yeah, Yohan is a pretty good twink. I can't say I care for the villains at all though.
The combat feels very janky, but there's a lot of fun to be had here once you know how the game wants you to play. Your normal attacks can't interrupt enemy attacks, and it can mess with how you think about dodge timings and such. It promotes a more reactive approach, like only attacking after you dodged an enemy attack, rather than attacking first. The combat also starts pretty slow in the first hour, as you're very limited in abilities, but you can get more abilities later on, like being able to parry, throw energy waves, and so on. It doesn't take long for you to be able to commit the combat's most fun sin: being able to delete bosses within a short period after breaking their shields without letting them attack. It's quite a flashy display, but there's still a hefty amount of jank to get over. At least there's some okay-ish puzzles in the dungeons to take some weight off the combat's shoulders.
There's also confidant skills, which are extra skills you can perform (if the character who owns them are with you), like Yuna's healing ability, or Min's protective shield. You can upgrade or earn new skills by getting closer to each character. Each character also has their own elemental attacks, which are essential in breaking down bosses' shields. These are also upgraded in the same way, and it only adds to the value of advancing your relationships. The relationship system is very similar to the recent Persona games, so I won't explain too much other than that it is well made enough.
One of the lesser parts of the game is the overall audiovisual presentation. Most of the game's music is just unsophisticated ambient music that is barely good enough to set the mood. The environments are similarly one-note as well, it always has the same vibe of being in a neon-lit dark corridor. At least the characters themselves look more competent, even if their animations can be a bit lacking. There's also some other issues, like weird audio mix in some scenes. But considering that this is made by a very small group of people, it's something that I can and willing to look past.
As a final note, I have to say that the final act (and the little gimmick at the very end) made me bump up the score a bit. It's perhaps a good way to encapsulate the experience: even with all its faults, Eternights still hits the most important goals, and for a hyperniche game like this, it's something that can't be taken for granted.
The story itself is nothing special for the most part, but what I like about it is that it keep things simple by not overexplaining things and having too much dialogue and exposition. It's not about the lore or other worldbuilding aspects, it's about you and the gang, getting closer to each other (and maybe getting real close to at least one of them), and being the heroes of the story. The humor is either chuckle-worthy or mildly cringe, while the romance feels appropriately cheesy and wholesome. There's also some stereotypically anime vulgar moments that might not be for many people's tastes, but they don't overstay their welcome. All in all, it's a casual story that doesn't take it self too seriously.
The cast of characters is pretty good overall. There was a short period in the first 2 acts where the MC's best friend was annoyingly unlikeable, but he's cool in every other time. I liked Sia's backstory the most out of all the girls, but Min's just too adorable most of the time. Yuna seems like the least interesting one for me, but I have a disinterest for showbiz stuff so it's not a surprise for me. And yeah, Yohan is a pretty good twink. I can't say I care for the villains at all though.
The combat feels very janky, but there's a lot of fun to be had here once you know how the game wants you to play. Your normal attacks can't interrupt enemy attacks, and it can mess with how you think about dodge timings and such. It promotes a more reactive approach, like only attacking after you dodged an enemy attack, rather than attacking first. The combat also starts pretty slow in the first hour, as you're very limited in abilities, but you can get more abilities later on, like being able to parry, throw energy waves, and so on. It doesn't take long for you to be able to commit the combat's most fun sin: being able to delete bosses within a short period after breaking their shields without letting them attack. It's quite a flashy display, but there's still a hefty amount of jank to get over. At least there's some okay-ish puzzles in the dungeons to take some weight off the combat's shoulders.
There's also confidant skills, which are extra skills you can perform (if the character who owns them are with you), like Yuna's healing ability, or Min's protective shield. You can upgrade or earn new skills by getting closer to each character. Each character also has their own elemental attacks, which are essential in breaking down bosses' shields. These are also upgraded in the same way, and it only adds to the value of advancing your relationships. The relationship system is very similar to the recent Persona games, so I won't explain too much other than that it is well made enough.
One of the lesser parts of the game is the overall audiovisual presentation. Most of the game's music is just unsophisticated ambient music that is barely good enough to set the mood. The environments are similarly one-note as well, it always has the same vibe of being in a neon-lit dark corridor. At least the characters themselves look more competent, even if their animations can be a bit lacking. There's also some other issues, like weird audio mix in some scenes. But considering that this is made by a very small group of people, it's something that I can and willing to look past.
As a final note, I have to say that the final act (and the little gimmick at the very end) made me bump up the score a bit. It's perhaps a good way to encapsulate the experience: even with all its faults, Eternights still hits the most important goals, and for a hyperniche game like this, it's something that can't be taken for granted.
I actually just wanted to have a first look at Eternights out of sheer curiosity and only play it for an hour or so. I had heard from a YouTube reviewer, whose opinion I hold in high regard, that there was this small indie Persona-like which he really liked and that it was essentially developed by a single person. As the game was currently on sale, I thought the time had come to satisfy my curiosity. I was half-expecting to make use of the refund function if it turned out to be a piece of crap :D But lo and behold, I actually really liked Eternights and I'm really impressed by what a single developer from Korea has managed to create here.
At its core, Eternights is really a simplified version of Persona with pretty much everything that goes with it. You have a daily routine in which day and night alternate and different activities are available at different times. Here you can deepen your social ties with other members of your group, explore the outside world or work on your character stats. As in Persona, character stats have an influence on how much you can deepen a relationship with a particular character. And yes, there are dating sim aspects here as well, just like in Persona. And just like in Persona, there are certain "hard" deadlines at regular intervals by which a certain objective in the outside world (basically the dungeon of Eternights) must be achieved. During these explorations, you fight your way through hordes of enemies with different movesets, strengths and weaknesses. The combat system is action-oriented, requiring the player to dodge, parry, time their attacks correctly etc. Then there are combo attacks with the party members and other skills that you can unlock bit by bit. That way, you fight your way through the world of Eternights, where social events and combat passages alternate and create a good flow until the end of the game.
Unfortunately, you can tell in many places that this is a single developer's first work, as the game does have some weaknesses. For example, I had to restart the game twice because I was softlocked. Once my character was stuck in a corner and another time, a cutscene didn't play and all the characters just stood around super awkwardly without anything happening :D The camera is also a real pain in the ass in some of the fights. It jumps around wildly, crashes into walls and really irritates the player. In general, the combat becomes quite chaotic when more than one enemy enters the fight. The lock-on system has a mind of its own from time to time and it's easy to lose track. Nevertheless, I had fun with the battles in this game. It took a while, but after some time I got into it and learned to handle the controls as best as I could. Some boss battles were pretty tough and presented me with somewhat hard challenges, which was fun.
Overall, I would still recommend the game, especially if you have a fondness for Persona, action RPGs and anime aesthetics as well as storytelling. Yes, the game has its flaws in terms of gameplay, the writing is far from perfect and the length of Eternights is quite short at around 12 hours for one playthrough. Nevertheless, the game also has its strengths - likeable characters, good humor, a fun combat system (once you get used to it), very, very cool monster designs and a generally very convincing dark atmosphere, which is underlined by the sometimes quite high level of violence. Even if Eternights doesn't have the highest production values, I wish that such passion projects would get more attention. Give it a chance :)
At its core, Eternights is really a simplified version of Persona with pretty much everything that goes with it. You have a daily routine in which day and night alternate and different activities are available at different times. Here you can deepen your social ties with other members of your group, explore the outside world or work on your character stats. As in Persona, character stats have an influence on how much you can deepen a relationship with a particular character. And yes, there are dating sim aspects here as well, just like in Persona. And just like in Persona, there are certain "hard" deadlines at regular intervals by which a certain objective in the outside world (basically the dungeon of Eternights) must be achieved. During these explorations, you fight your way through hordes of enemies with different movesets, strengths and weaknesses. The combat system is action-oriented, requiring the player to dodge, parry, time their attacks correctly etc. Then there are combo attacks with the party members and other skills that you can unlock bit by bit. That way, you fight your way through the world of Eternights, where social events and combat passages alternate and create a good flow until the end of the game.
Unfortunately, you can tell in many places that this is a single developer's first work, as the game does have some weaknesses. For example, I had to restart the game twice because I was softlocked. Once my character was stuck in a corner and another time, a cutscene didn't play and all the characters just stood around super awkwardly without anything happening :D The camera is also a real pain in the ass in some of the fights. It jumps around wildly, crashes into walls and really irritates the player. In general, the combat becomes quite chaotic when more than one enemy enters the fight. The lock-on system has a mind of its own from time to time and it's easy to lose track. Nevertheless, I had fun with the battles in this game. It took a while, but after some time I got into it and learned to handle the controls as best as I could. Some boss battles were pretty tough and presented me with somewhat hard challenges, which was fun.
Overall, I would still recommend the game, especially if you have a fondness for Persona, action RPGs and anime aesthetics as well as storytelling. Yes, the game has its flaws in terms of gameplay, the writing is far from perfect and the length of Eternights is quite short at around 12 hours for one playthrough. Nevertheless, the game also has its strengths - likeable characters, good humor, a fun combat system (once you get used to it), very, very cool monster designs and a generally very convincing dark atmosphere, which is underlined by the sometimes quite high level of violence. Even if Eternights doesn't have the highest production values, I wish that such passion projects would get more attention. Give it a chance :)
Persona for people who get no bitches
... Wait
... Wait
yeah i'm thinking point five stars
Persona if it was good.
If you want a game with a great story, characters, soundtrack, gameplay, graphics, dialogue, cutscenes
you should look elsewhere
you should look elsewhere
This review contains spoilers
eternights is a game ive had my eye on since the state of play it was revealed at. despite having bizarre design decisions, mobile game tier graphics, and just an rough feeling overall, i cant help but love it. the same rough feeling exhibits this raw energy that can only really be felt through passion project like these. i was expecting a horny dating sim with persona elements, i got exactly that.
much like neon white, the writing is hit or miss depending on who you are. i dig this super cheesy anime esque writing, so it clicked for me. its really crude and horny, way more than it's inspiration, but if youre the niche this game is targeting, youll feel right at home. the story was nice, but felt undercooked at times. also, i'm not sure if it was just me, but the dialogue didn't feel completely fluent in english, there were weird grammatical errors and stuff from time to time.
the graphics are really rough around the edges, and there's some weird artstyle discrepencies. the game swaps between two 2d artstyles and that's kinda jarring, not to mention there's technically a third artstyle with the cutscenes. despite this the game still end up looking cohesive enough. the cutscenes are also pretty nice, if a bit short.
combat is janky as fuck. dodge and parry timing is inconsistent, the game also takes away your healer at multiple points and becomes infuriating because there's no other way to heal besides her, so you have to keep trying with the dodge rng until you get good enough timing to kill the boss. there's no way to restore mp outside of leaving dungeons either, kinda like tartarus. but it's still fun once you get enough of a hang on the timing as you can. the upgrades are also nice and fleshed out. i had enough fun with combat but that wasn't why i was there
i bought this game to date anime girls. there's three options and im definitely save scumming for the best girl's ending tomorrow. i did( 😏) yuna first but then i decided min was best girl but didnt want to harem ending it so decided to save scum min after getting yuna's ending. sia is kinda annoying and i dislike her but i might do( 😏) her just for the hell of it. min best girl tho my beloved. theres also a twink for you to date if you swing that way, you cant date chani tho. chani's slink follows a set beginning and end of an arc, but the female slinks are weirdly just random events, their growth happens in their respective dungeons. also like persona 3??? i think this guy loves persona 3. anyway i just thought it was weird chani's growth didn't happen in the main story.
actually, theres this one line in sia's dungeon about this game her boss made her play. "the game definitely isnt the greatest game of all time but it had an undeniable charm" or something like that. that describes eternights at it's core. its a game driven by the passion of it's creator and despite it's rough edges i fucking loved the charm it had. twas a fun little romp for a week or so. the ending didn't make me cry but it was pretty sad. seeing the credits roll, with a silly little song about the power of friendship in the background and screenshots of the characters, i just felt satisfied. it might not be for everyone but for those it is, youll like it. cant wait for this guy's next game tbh.
much like neon white, the writing is hit or miss depending on who you are. i dig this super cheesy anime esque writing, so it clicked for me. its really crude and horny, way more than it's inspiration, but if youre the niche this game is targeting, youll feel right at home. the story was nice, but felt undercooked at times. also, i'm not sure if it was just me, but the dialogue didn't feel completely fluent in english, there were weird grammatical errors and stuff from time to time.
the graphics are really rough around the edges, and there's some weird artstyle discrepencies. the game swaps between two 2d artstyles and that's kinda jarring, not to mention there's technically a third artstyle with the cutscenes. despite this the game still end up looking cohesive enough. the cutscenes are also pretty nice, if a bit short.
combat is janky as fuck. dodge and parry timing is inconsistent, the game also takes away your healer at multiple points and becomes infuriating because there's no other way to heal besides her, so you have to keep trying with the dodge rng until you get good enough timing to kill the boss. there's no way to restore mp outside of leaving dungeons either, kinda like tartarus. but it's still fun once you get enough of a hang on the timing as you can. the upgrades are also nice and fleshed out. i had enough fun with combat but that wasn't why i was there
i bought this game to date anime girls. there's three options and im definitely save scumming for the best girl's ending tomorrow. i did( 😏) yuna first but then i decided min was best girl but didnt want to harem ending it so decided to save scum min after getting yuna's ending. sia is kinda annoying and i dislike her but i might do( 😏) her just for the hell of it. min best girl tho my beloved. theres also a twink for you to date if you swing that way, you cant date chani tho. chani's slink follows a set beginning and end of an arc, but the female slinks are weirdly just random events, their growth happens in their respective dungeons. also like persona 3??? i think this guy loves persona 3. anyway i just thought it was weird chani's growth didn't happen in the main story.
actually, theres this one line in sia's dungeon about this game her boss made her play. "the game definitely isnt the greatest game of all time but it had an undeniable charm" or something like that. that describes eternights at it's core. its a game driven by the passion of it's creator and despite it's rough edges i fucking loved the charm it had. twas a fun little romp for a week or so. the ending didn't make me cry but it was pretty sad. seeing the credits roll, with a silly little song about the power of friendship in the background and screenshots of the characters, i just felt satisfied. it might not be for everyone but for those it is, youll like it. cant wait for this guy's next game tbh.
Goonsona 5
forgot to review this initially so I'm doing it now, don't have much to say about it and it doesn't help that it's been quite some time since i played it, but while I'm only going to give it 2 stars I did enjoy eternights for what it was, even if what it is isn't that great, it's a persona inspired 3rd persona hack and slash from an indie studio with a ton of potential and it plays just like you'd expect, combat is fine, environments are lacking but do a good job and the soundtrack is average, for a debut title it's pretty good and far from the worst, the characters suck though, despite having some seriously talented voice actors on board not a single character interested me and the bootleg social links didn't do much to help with that, they got kind of annoying actually. The game is also really short, it took me just 17 hours to get the 100% I imagine you could easily beat the game in under 10. So yeah that's Eternights, neat but doesn't stand out.
I love this game. It has a lot of heart in it, and it had me wanting more at the end.
This is a budget title, and it shows. Do not expect perfection from this. That being said, I'll go into more detail.
Gameplay wise, it's a fine action game. You start off with barely any movement or abilities that feel good, but once you start bonding with the other characters, that in turn unlocks the ability to spend points into some very fun mechanics. By the end of the game, I was stun locking bosses and tougher enemies and they never once got a hit on me. It felt really good.
I do wish there was a block button. Dodging is fine, but I found it can be a little off. Sometimes I would nail a dodge with perfect timing but the game just didn't bother to recognize it. At first I was blaming myself, but then the next time I would do the exact same timing on the dodge, with the enemy using the same attack, and it worked. I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong there, or if it was a game flaw, can't really figure it out. It happened rarely, so it wasn't that annoying, but it's still there.
I liked the little minigames you can do for training with each of the main characters. Nothing groundbreaking but they are at least easy enough.
The one negative about gameplay is the looting/scavenge missions. Characters will ask you to go help them find something at night, you get a choice of three locations, and you guess where an item is. Pretty quickly I figured out that items are not randomized, and if you memorize or write down where they are, you will have an easy time with this. I just didn't really like them all that much. Feels like it could have been cut from the game and you wouldn't be missing anything.
There are puzzles out in the world to solve, but I found them not annoying and pretty simple. It does break up the action a bit, and it's a nice distraction.
Bonding with characters is fun. I chose to pick the silliest options I could, and to my surprise, these aren't just written off. They are brought back up later. What was the most fun for me is the game just flowed with it. I appreciate a game just letting me be a goof and having fun.
Characters have personality and while it can seem a bit rushed to learn about them and bond with them, it works in the game's favor by not wasting your time. I rarely get a game where I actually like every character that is in it, and this is one of those games.
I think the graphics and art direction are honestly really well done. You aren't getting the best in the business, obviously, but world design is pretty neat and characters just look good to me. It's a style that I like.
I played with all the voice options. I found the Korean and Japanese voices to be the most interesting in terms of direction, but the English VAs also do a very good job. I wasn't expecting this game to be mostly voice acted, but it is, with rare scenes not having any. Loved all the animated cutscenes as well.
I don't really want to spoil the story for anyone who might be interested in playing. I will say at the end, there is a very simple but also very cool thing the game does. Once again, showing there is clear passion for this game from the people who made it.
Also for those curious, my run took me about 9 hours. And beating it gave me New Game+, so I expect do another run pretty soon.
I recommend playing this! It's a low price game but there is a demo too, so at least give it a shot!
This is a budget title, and it shows. Do not expect perfection from this. That being said, I'll go into more detail.
Gameplay wise, it's a fine action game. You start off with barely any movement or abilities that feel good, but once you start bonding with the other characters, that in turn unlocks the ability to spend points into some very fun mechanics. By the end of the game, I was stun locking bosses and tougher enemies and they never once got a hit on me. It felt really good.
I do wish there was a block button. Dodging is fine, but I found it can be a little off. Sometimes I would nail a dodge with perfect timing but the game just didn't bother to recognize it. At first I was blaming myself, but then the next time I would do the exact same timing on the dodge, with the enemy using the same attack, and it worked. I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong there, or if it was a game flaw, can't really figure it out. It happened rarely, so it wasn't that annoying, but it's still there.
I liked the little minigames you can do for training with each of the main characters. Nothing groundbreaking but they are at least easy enough.
The one negative about gameplay is the looting/scavenge missions. Characters will ask you to go help them find something at night, you get a choice of three locations, and you guess where an item is. Pretty quickly I figured out that items are not randomized, and if you memorize or write down where they are, you will have an easy time with this. I just didn't really like them all that much. Feels like it could have been cut from the game and you wouldn't be missing anything.
There are puzzles out in the world to solve, but I found them not annoying and pretty simple. It does break up the action a bit, and it's a nice distraction.
Bonding with characters is fun. I chose to pick the silliest options I could, and to my surprise, these aren't just written off. They are brought back up later. What was the most fun for me is the game just flowed with it. I appreciate a game just letting me be a goof and having fun.
Characters have personality and while it can seem a bit rushed to learn about them and bond with them, it works in the game's favor by not wasting your time. I rarely get a game where I actually like every character that is in it, and this is one of those games.
I think the graphics and art direction are honestly really well done. You aren't getting the best in the business, obviously, but world design is pretty neat and characters just look good to me. It's a style that I like.
I played with all the voice options. I found the Korean and Japanese voices to be the most interesting in terms of direction, but the English VAs also do a very good job. I wasn't expecting this game to be mostly voice acted, but it is, with rare scenes not having any. Loved all the animated cutscenes as well.
I don't really want to spoil the story for anyone who might be interested in playing. I will say at the end, there is a very simple but also very cool thing the game does. Once again, showing there is clear passion for this game from the people who made it.
Also for those curious, my run took me about 9 hours. And beating it gave me New Game+, so I expect do another run pretty soon.
I recommend playing this! It's a low price game but there is a demo too, so at least give it a shot!
It’s very obvious the creators of this game have never touched a woman in their life.
The first romantic scene you have with the pink haired love interest girl is the insultingly bland main character walking in on her undressing. That should tell you everything you need to know.
"Mom I want Persona"
"We have Persona at home"
Persona at home:
Eternights is truly a video game, and one that jumped on my radar almost immediately after watching a Sony State of Play sometime last year. As my intro details, it was effectively billed as a hack and slash Persona-lite with heavy dating sim elements. Knowing myself as a filthy Persona consumer and a reluctant weaboo, I cautiously wrote down the title as something worth keeping on my docket for whenever it released. I vividly remember reviewing the games I had notched as "interesting" following the State of Play and thinking "There's no way this one is any good right?" and it turns out... yeah it wasn't really all that great. To be level with you the reader, Eternights is pretty much the Coors Light of video games. It's not great, it's a lesser version of something you can get better elsewhere, it doesn't stay with you long, but it's not the worst way you could have spent your time.
The game begins with a zombie apocalypse, as many do, and of which you and your best friend (who felt like a very watered down version of the Ryuji/Yosuke archetype) must survive. You quickly run into Japan's biggest pop star, Yuna, and link together with a mysterious force to fight against the architect of this malice. The premise of the story is mildly exciting at best, which is whatever because that wasn't necessarily the guiding light of the allure of Eternights. What drew me and probably most people into the title was the dating sim and Persona-esque nature of it. Now naturally you are a male protagonist on a train venturing out to do some dungeoneering with a team of waifus and two husbandos, all of whom you can earn affection and I believe romance with. Just like Persona these conversations are checked with substats, but instead of guts, charisma, or intelligence, you have acceptance, expression, and confidence (and a few more.) I appreciated this game for doing more of what Persona did, but I found the way that you gain each of these respective stats was a little too hamfisted and awkward. Much like Persona you do the bulk of it through selecting the right words in conversation... but I felt like what my intention was (for instance, trying to level up expression) didn't always match what I was saying in conversation. Early on in Act 3 I decided that I wanted to romance Yuna, but my expression wasn't high enough. I spent the rest of the act and the one after trying to pick the answers in conversation that leveled up expression... but I was wrong almost every time. This was okay in the end as I got to romance another character and go down their route, but it was mostly via incident and not intention. Persona did it right in having alternate routes to level up these stats (P5 for instance eating at Big Bang Burger leveled up your guts,) however that was not present in Eternights and made the dating sim element, a main draw, unfortunately too vague.
The other main element of the game outside of the dating sim aspect is the combat, and man did it look real nice in the trailer. An ongoing issue with anime action games is that the combat will often look pretty and clean (Tales of Arise, Scarlet Nexus) but in practice feel like slapping sand against a brick wall, and that is an apt descriptor of Eternights' combat system. Much like Scarlet Nexus you wail and wail against waves of enemies in a group in a button mash style. These enemies will sometimes have barriers that require popping with your elemental powers granted to you by the select group of waifus you call your team. While not every enemy has a barrier, and you can bypass many of these weaknesses by just using whichever element you want, it just becomes another game of matching the shape to the peg hole. This is what killed a lot of Scarlet Nexus for me, it was just lukewarm button mash combat with added in weakness hunting. On top of that, the game will throw a lot of enemies at you that require dodging before you can attack, and man there's few things I dislike in action games then staring at your opponent waiting for them to attack so you can get your own hits in... it just straight up kills any pace and flow that the title has.
I feel like this is probably way more than anyone will write about Eternights, but what else are we to do.
The positives of Eternights are thus: it's actually pretty funny and self aware of the lewditiy of it all... and no that is almost assuredly not a word. And honestly? Sometimes a Coors Light can hit the spot, they're low in ABV and go down like water, and sometimes you just need water. I'm between Starfield and Lies of P, with a Cyberpunk DLC on the horizon so this game tucked in with a pretty short runtime and some decent humor that got me to crack a grin every now and again. There were a few callbacks to animes and videogames that must have been influences on the developer that I appreciated (hello Final Fantasy X!) as well.
I can't recommend anyone to play this game, unless they really like Coors Light. It's a decent at best game with some weak to middling dating sim elements that are better done in many other series, and an unfortunately poor combat loop.
"We have Persona at home"
Persona at home:
Eternights is truly a video game, and one that jumped on my radar almost immediately after watching a Sony State of Play sometime last year. As my intro details, it was effectively billed as a hack and slash Persona-lite with heavy dating sim elements. Knowing myself as a filthy Persona consumer and a reluctant weaboo, I cautiously wrote down the title as something worth keeping on my docket for whenever it released. I vividly remember reviewing the games I had notched as "interesting" following the State of Play and thinking "There's no way this one is any good right?" and it turns out... yeah it wasn't really all that great. To be level with you the reader, Eternights is pretty much the Coors Light of video games. It's not great, it's a lesser version of something you can get better elsewhere, it doesn't stay with you long, but it's not the worst way you could have spent your time.
The game begins with a zombie apocalypse, as many do, and of which you and your best friend (who felt like a very watered down version of the Ryuji/Yosuke archetype) must survive. You quickly run into Japan's biggest pop star, Yuna, and link together with a mysterious force to fight against the architect of this malice. The premise of the story is mildly exciting at best, which is whatever because that wasn't necessarily the guiding light of the allure of Eternights. What drew me and probably most people into the title was the dating sim and Persona-esque nature of it. Now naturally you are a male protagonist on a train venturing out to do some dungeoneering with a team of waifus and two husbandos, all of whom you can earn affection and I believe romance with. Just like Persona these conversations are checked with substats, but instead of guts, charisma, or intelligence, you have acceptance, expression, and confidence (and a few more.) I appreciated this game for doing more of what Persona did, but I found the way that you gain each of these respective stats was a little too hamfisted and awkward. Much like Persona you do the bulk of it through selecting the right words in conversation... but I felt like what my intention was (for instance, trying to level up expression) didn't always match what I was saying in conversation. Early on in Act 3 I decided that I wanted to romance Yuna, but my expression wasn't high enough. I spent the rest of the act and the one after trying to pick the answers in conversation that leveled up expression... but I was wrong almost every time. This was okay in the end as I got to romance another character and go down their route, but it was mostly via incident and not intention. Persona did it right in having alternate routes to level up these stats (P5 for instance eating at Big Bang Burger leveled up your guts,) however that was not present in Eternights and made the dating sim element, a main draw, unfortunately too vague.
The other main element of the game outside of the dating sim aspect is the combat, and man did it look real nice in the trailer. An ongoing issue with anime action games is that the combat will often look pretty and clean (Tales of Arise, Scarlet Nexus) but in practice feel like slapping sand against a brick wall, and that is an apt descriptor of Eternights' combat system. Much like Scarlet Nexus you wail and wail against waves of enemies in a group in a button mash style. These enemies will sometimes have barriers that require popping with your elemental powers granted to you by the select group of waifus you call your team. While not every enemy has a barrier, and you can bypass many of these weaknesses by just using whichever element you want, it just becomes another game of matching the shape to the peg hole. This is what killed a lot of Scarlet Nexus for me, it was just lukewarm button mash combat with added in weakness hunting. On top of that, the game will throw a lot of enemies at you that require dodging before you can attack, and man there's few things I dislike in action games then staring at your opponent waiting for them to attack so you can get your own hits in... it just straight up kills any pace and flow that the title has.
I feel like this is probably way more than anyone will write about Eternights, but what else are we to do.
The positives of Eternights are thus: it's actually pretty funny and self aware of the lewditiy of it all... and no that is almost assuredly not a word. And honestly? Sometimes a Coors Light can hit the spot, they're low in ABV and go down like water, and sometimes you just need water. I'm between Starfield and Lies of P, with a Cyberpunk DLC on the horizon so this game tucked in with a pretty short runtime and some decent humor that got me to crack a grin every now and again. There were a few callbacks to animes and videogames that must have been influences on the developer that I appreciated (hello Final Fantasy X!) as well.
I can't recommend anyone to play this game, unless they really like Coors Light. It's a decent at best game with some weak to middling dating sim elements that are better done in many other series, and an unfortunately poor combat loop.
esse jogo me dividiu, pois um lado meu queria dar uma nota mais baixa pois ele tem muitos defeitos, o do outro queria dar uma nota maior pois ele tem boas intenções e eu sou muito fraco emocionalmente kkk
mas falando de uma maneira mais técnica o jogo em si é bem medíocre pra ruim mas relevo pois o estudio é bem pequeno, tem nem 10 pessoas q trabalharam nesse jogo, ele tem uns personagens legais(SIA) e com potencial desses caras melhoraram no próximo jogo
acho q primeiramente precisam de um novo roteirista pois um dos problemas desse jogo q os diálogos muitas vezes parece um adolescente q escreveu, e melhorar MUITO na gameplay, de resto é um jogo jogável pra quem não ter nada pra jogar e é fã de Persona.
mas falando de uma maneira mais técnica o jogo em si é bem medíocre pra ruim mas relevo pois o estudio é bem pequeno, tem nem 10 pessoas q trabalharam nesse jogo, ele tem uns personagens legais(SIA) e com potencial desses caras melhoraram no próximo jogo
acho q primeiramente precisam de um novo roteirista pois um dos problemas desse jogo q os diálogos muitas vezes parece um adolescente q escreveu, e melhorar MUITO na gameplay, de resto é um jogo jogável pra quem não ter nada pra jogar e é fã de Persona.
The Perfect Bad Game
This game truly manages to take everything corny about Persona's dating system and turns them into something thats not exactly that good but just charming with how funny and stupid it is.
The gameplay is pretty much the most medicore action combat of all time but i wont blame this game for that as its developed by basically a single person.
Absolutely the best aspect of this game is that I spent basically the entire runtime laughing my ass off. If you try taking this game seriously you will not like it but if you consider the game as a massive ironic joke it turns into the greatest thing ever written
I dont think i would recommend this game to anyone but at the same time its so funny that I think people should see it for themselves
This game truly manages to take everything corny about Persona's dating system and turns them into something thats not exactly that good but just charming with how funny and stupid it is.
The gameplay is pretty much the most medicore action combat of all time but i wont blame this game for that as its developed by basically a single person.
Absolutely the best aspect of this game is that I spent basically the entire runtime laughing my ass off. If you try taking this game seriously you will not like it but if you consider the game as a massive ironic joke it turns into the greatest thing ever written
I dont think i would recommend this game to anyone but at the same time its so funny that I think people should see it for themselves
As an amateur game developer myself, I hold a great deal of respect for Studio Sai. I get anxious just mustering up the willpower to email indie publishers to try and get funding, and there they went (somehow) getting a big PlayStation feature. It's rather inspiring…
And now I say this with the mindset of an athlete set on surpassing those who come before…
I bet I can do better.
Someday 😂
Content wise, I actually found the game rather endearingly dorky and it even shows some real promise at moments. It's surprisingly well restrained for how big of a project it became and it doesn't feel unfinished or rushed.
It's just rough
The biggest, biggest problem for me was how they managed transitions. From my experience with the Unity engine, I suspect that they used individual "Scene" assets (Unity's concept of a level) not only to manage which environments were loaded, but also to "organize" each small section of the cutscenes. Or otherwise they tied their save system to a full scene reload because lordy that loading spinner has more screen time than the main character and yet it's only ever there for a second or two at a time. This turns almost every scene transition into a slow fadeaway and music cut which drops whatever atmosphere the scene was trying to build.
I have friends who say they didn't notice and enjoyed the game, so I can't say it ruins the game for everyone, but it was incredibly jarring for me.
Combat is also a bit rough, though it can also work fairly nice at times. The use of hit stop is excessive and some of the frequently used ability animations are far too long relative to the rest of combat. You're usually invincible during the animations in question, so it's not a matter of balance but responsiveness and flow. Input in general is a bit finicky feeling, though I think half of that at least is because of the hit stops eating inputs and requiring you to mash to use your moves reliably.
Other than that, it delivers what it promises on. So if it seems vaguely entertaining to you, either legitimately or as dating sim adjacent junk food, it's not the worst you could pick. If you have weeb friends, it may aslo be worth playing if only for the conversation and story around it.
And now I say this with the mindset of an athlete set on surpassing those who come before…
I bet I can do better.
Someday 😂
Content wise, I actually found the game rather endearingly dorky and it even shows some real promise at moments. It's surprisingly well restrained for how big of a project it became and it doesn't feel unfinished or rushed.
It's just rough
The biggest, biggest problem for me was how they managed transitions. From my experience with the Unity engine, I suspect that they used individual "Scene" assets (Unity's concept of a level) not only to manage which environments were loaded, but also to "organize" each small section of the cutscenes. Or otherwise they tied their save system to a full scene reload because lordy that loading spinner has more screen time than the main character and yet it's only ever there for a second or two at a time. This turns almost every scene transition into a slow fadeaway and music cut which drops whatever atmosphere the scene was trying to build.
I have friends who say they didn't notice and enjoyed the game, so I can't say it ruins the game for everyone, but it was incredibly jarring for me.
Combat is also a bit rough, though it can also work fairly nice at times. The use of hit stop is excessive and some of the frequently used ability animations are far too long relative to the rest of combat. You're usually invincible during the animations in question, so it's not a matter of balance but responsiveness and flow. Input in general is a bit finicky feeling, though I think half of that at least is because of the hit stops eating inputs and requiring you to mash to use your moves reliably.
Other than that, it delivers what it promises on. So if it seems vaguely entertaining to you, either legitimately or as dating sim adjacent junk food, it's not the worst you could pick. If you have weeb friends, it may aslo be worth playing if only for the conversation and story around it.
plays like crisis core and is about as well-written.
funny how it actually manages to have a cool atmosphere, though - the game actually feels like something while playing it, which is more than i can say about a lot of games with the "anime but 3d" aesthetic.
funny how it actually manages to have a cool atmosphere, though - the game actually feels like something while playing it, which is more than i can say about a lot of games with the "anime but 3d" aesthetic.
Parece mais um jogo incompleto do que qualquer outra coisa, a história é cheia de buracos e tem um final aberto. O sistema de combate é simples até demais, level design e gráficos também parecem mal acabados. Ao menos o romance e as garotas, que era o que foi o motivo de ter jogado é bem legal, mas de resto é bem meia boca.
Made BY Persona Fans, FOR persona Fans, where you play AS a Persona Fan who leads The Goontom Thieves of Heart.
maybe if your game is "dmc dating simulator," don't make the UI default unity assets and the MC's design yanderedev
Rough around the edges in places but has more heart and soul than most games. The ending of this game pushed it over the edge, great stuff one of my fav games of the year!
Persona if it was made by a porn addict western fanboy
Eternights is a sole developer passion project. While the game comes short a few times, it really feels like the main and only goal was to entertain the player, something modern games seem to lack. One of the first "Persona-Likes"; it takes the popular Social Sim element and combines it with hack and slash combat, and a zombie apocalpyse story. While the solo developer drawbacks are obvious while playing, it doesn't stop it from being fun.
Pros:
- Fun combat system, with decent supporting systems
- Social side is entertaining if lacking some depth and a bit cliche
- Game doesn't overstay its welcome
- Voice Acting (Japanese) was excellent
- 21:9 Support
Cons:
- Graphics are a bit janky, and while stylistic need a bit more polish
- The story is okay, but the pacing is subpar
- Social Activities don't feel time efficient or always worthwhile
- Music, enemy design, and level design are not noteworthy
- Characters need more depth
Overall:
Its important to note that while this game has lots of cons on paper, its still a fun game. While the pacing of the story is okay, it doesn't overstay its welcome and lets its gameplay, systems, characters and story run their course, ending just as they get boring.
The combat is fun for a hack and slash. The game ends before the mechanics become boring, which is good because the combat and surrounding systems lack the depth for the game to continue further. The dodge system fully relies on looking for a flash of red, which means you spend less time watching enemies and more time waiting to dodge the flash of red from them.
The dungeons contain mini puzzles, that I found fun to solve. However if puzzle are not for you, they are easily solved on google in 2 minutes.
A short fun game. If you enjoy Persona, or hack and slash games you will definitely have a few fun hours. Personally I would wait for a sale, even though the game is fairly priced.
I am really looking forward to further projects from this developer, hopefully he can get a small team behind him. Eternights has a lot of potential here that just needs to be expanded on.
Pros:
- Fun combat system, with decent supporting systems
- Social side is entertaining if lacking some depth and a bit cliche
- Game doesn't overstay its welcome
- Voice Acting (Japanese) was excellent
- 21:9 Support
Cons:
- Graphics are a bit janky, and while stylistic need a bit more polish
- The story is okay, but the pacing is subpar
- Social Activities don't feel time efficient or always worthwhile
- Music, enemy design, and level design are not noteworthy
- Characters need more depth
Overall:
Its important to note that while this game has lots of cons on paper, its still a fun game. While the pacing of the story is okay, it doesn't overstay its welcome and lets its gameplay, systems, characters and story run their course, ending just as they get boring.
The combat is fun for a hack and slash. The game ends before the mechanics become boring, which is good because the combat and surrounding systems lack the depth for the game to continue further. The dodge system fully relies on looking for a flash of red, which means you spend less time watching enemies and more time waiting to dodge the flash of red from them.
The dungeons contain mini puzzles, that I found fun to solve. However if puzzle are not for you, they are easily solved on google in 2 minutes.
A short fun game. If you enjoy Persona, or hack and slash games you will definitely have a few fun hours. Personally I would wait for a sale, even though the game is fairly priced.
I am really looking forward to further projects from this developer, hopefully he can get a small team behind him. Eternights has a lot of potential here that just needs to be expanded on.
Medal System
---------------
broken medal - 0.5 or 1 star - technical disaster
bronze medal - 1.5 or 2 star or 2.5 star - the games not for me/below average
silver medal - 3 star or 3.5 star - doing well
golden medal - 4 star - above average games
plation medal - 4.5 star - might've masterpiece but somethings missing
diamond medal - 5 star - The Masterpiece or just special for me
---> Games Medal: Diamond Medal (special for me)
---> My Game time: 10h 30m
---------------
broken medal - 0.5 or 1 star - technical disaster
bronze medal - 1.5 or 2 star or 2.5 star - the games not for me/below average
silver medal - 3 star or 3.5 star - doing well
golden medal - 4 star - above average games
plation medal - 4.5 star - might've masterpiece but somethings missing
diamond medal - 5 star - The Masterpiece or just special for me
---> Games Medal: Diamond Medal (special for me)
---> My Game time: 10h 30m
The game lacks polish in many areas whether its combat, story, or its generic dungeons. However, the game exudes passion in all of its dialogue from tons of jrpg references to some really good osts especially at the end of the game. That passion will always win me over even if the game could be improved in specific areas.