Everhood: Eternity Edition PS4 Review

Can you review a game if you weren’t keen on it yet could see all the redeeming qualities and still give it a fair assessment? Of course. That’s called being objective or constructive. Definition: being sensible with your words and not saying, “I hated it”.

I didn’t hate Everhood: Eternity Edition, but I struggled with it. Also, being sensible about this game from Foreign Gnomes and Blitworks is naive. It’s mental. While not as surreal as The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo, it’s just as mad, if not more. On that part, I really liked it.

Everhood: Eternity Edition begins when you, a wooden doll named Red, awake to find that a blue thief has stolen your limbs. Red vs. Blue. What follows is sheer crazy, and not unlike Undertale, another acclaimed title I didn’t like but ‘got’. Similar to Undertale, you’ll meet some wacky characters and battle them out to advance through the story.

Everhood: Eternity Edition Review PS4

The battles aren’t turn-based, and instead, Red will tackle the enemy by dodging their waves of attacks. Think R-Type meets Guitar Hero, and you’re nowhere near what it’s like. Tell a lie; that’s a reasonable comparison. The only difference is you can’t shoot back and instead dodge and jump… stuff.

This was the first wall, specifically, the first battle, which should have been a tutorial. My expectations were to jump all attacks to survive, but the real skill in the game is dodging attacks by moving left and right along five columns, plus adjusting to the onslaught of colours, shapes, and infectious music.

I’m not a drug-taking individual, but if I were, I’d imagine my view on life would look like Everhood: Eternity Edition. Without suffering any spells of epilepsy or motion sickness, dancing gnomes, disco vampires, and hellfires were just some of the things I was evading on screen with Red, as well as adjusting my focus so as not to trip out. Ok, maybe that sounds bad (or good), but the visuals shouldn’t induce anything nasty, but it’s hectic.

Disco Shoes

That same notion could apply to the story, too. Everhood: Eternity Edition is all over the place, but in a refreshing way, keeping you on your toes. If you want something coherent and subjectively beautiful, this game isn’t it. If you want quirky with excellent tunes, then perhaps this is it. It just wasn’t for me.

And, what’s all this ‘Eternity Edition‘? In this console exclusive, there are 16 new tracks unlocked through story progression. If you play on the easier setting, you can unlock them earlier. How do I know this? 1) it’s in the press information, and 2) I had to play the easier modes as I was absolute trash otherwise.

But let us return to that intro about being objective. While Everhood: Eternity Edition isn’t the type of game I play, I appreciated it. It is a funny, unique experience, and it’s certainly quirky. The RPG element and story are entertaining, and though I enjoy flipping upside down, sliding back and forth across the screen, and tapping to the excellent tunes, it was a little too much. That said, if you like rhythm games and Undertale-like games, go check out this console version.

Watch the video below for a taste of the mayhem: