Yellow Brick Games, a studio comprised of industry veterans has released their first game with Eternal Strands to an auspicious start. This fantasy RPG weaves together a compelling narrative, engaging albeit limited exploration, and a unique physics-based magic system, begging you to search every nook and cranny to uncover its secrets. Eternal Strands is a captivating experience that showcases the studio’s potential and leaves a everlasting positive impression is a breakout title.
From the moment you step into the world of Mayda, it’s clear that Eternal Strands is a labor of love. It’s also clear that the developers love games themselves, as its apparent influences are a confluence of Shadow of the Colossus, Monster Hunter: World, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This combination actually works, and there’s lots to see and explore in this world. Though the world is smaller than the aforementioned games to be limited in scale, this is a game that’s focused for its 15 or so hours.
The narrative of Eternal Strands is equally compelling. The story follows Brynn, a member of the Weaver’s Guild, as she unravels the mysteries behind a cataclysmic event known as the Sundering. The world’s history is intricately woven into the gameplay, with players discovering fragments of the past through environmental storytelling, ancient texts, and interactions with the diverse cast of characters. The lore is rich and engaging, drawing players deeper into the world and its intricate history.
What’s most attractive about Eternal Strands is its innovative magic system. Brynn wields the power of weaving, manipulating the elements of fire, ice, and gravity to solve puzzles, traverse the environment, and combat enemies. The physics-based nature of the magic allows for creative solutions and emergent gameplay moments. Freezing enemies in place, lifting them into the air with gravity, or setting the environment ablaze with fire feels visceral and satisfying. The possibilities are vast, encouraging experimentation and discovering new ways to utilize your powers.
The combat in Eternal Strands is a dynamic blend of melee combat and magic. Brynn wields a sword for close-quarters combat, while her magic provides a range of offensive and defensive options. The combat encounters are challenging, requiring players to utilize both their skills and their wits to overcome their foes. The enemy variety is commendable, with each enemy type presenting unique challenges and requiring different strategies to defeat. While the melee combat can feel a bit clunky at times, the magic system adds a layer of depth and strategy that elevates the overall combat experience. That said, freezing enemies in place while I whack at them with the sword was always the best strategy.
Brynn will be taught crafting, everything from new weapons to wearable gear. Blueprints for making better gear comes piecemeal as you discover pieces out in the open-world. You’ll also be able to reforge gear as you find better components from the materials you’re looting. So you’ll be able to improve on gear to enhance its properties and effectiveness by doing so. Even swapping out a material can change the color of the item, without relying on dyes, which is a really neat twist. Later in the game you’ll need to specialize your gear to be resistant towards different kinds of elements like fire or ice, and learning how to do that effectively is key.
Your hub are has several caravans that help you improve your powers and gear. These caravans can be upgraded using supplies. Supplies are formed from materials you’re not using or of low quality, it’s a simple but smart system to make better items available through all of the traders. You’ll spend the prologue learning the ins and outs of the game’s loop, but a part of this is unlocking fast travel which makes excursions into the wilds less exhaustive.
The game’s visual presentation is striking, with a vibrant color palette and detailed environments that bring the world to life. The use of Unreal Engine 5 is evident, with impressive lighting and textures that add depth and realism to the experience. The world feels alive, with lush forests, crumbling ruins, and towering structures that beckon to be explored. In the hub area, I can easily get 165-180fps. In the game world with enemies and more dense areas, I can get 140fps. This is all done with DLSS on Ultra Quality and Frame Generation on. The game does include AMD’s FSR and Intel’s XeSS technologies as well.
My PC Specs:
– Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
– Intel Core i9 13900K @ 5.8GHz
– ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360 ARGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
– G.SKILL TRIDENT Z5 6000MHZ 64GB (32×2) DDR5 RAM
– ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X
– WD_BLACK SN850X M.2 (4 TB)
– LG UltraGear 34GP950B-G (21:9 Ultrawide @ 3440×1440)
Eternal Strands is an impressive debut from Yellow Brick Games, showcasing not only what they’re capable of, but how to make it all work. With its engaging narrative, easy-to-use magic system, and rewarding exploration, there’s a lot to love here. There’s a lot of familiar ground tread here, but Eternal Strands is appropriately priced and an amalgamation of your favorite games into a tightly packed action-adventure RPG that’s easy to overlook – so don’t miss out.
A Steam code was by the publisher for review purposes
