⚔️ Edge of Eternity | PS5 | Review | 7/10 | “A Love Letter to Final Fantasy” ⚔️ @EoeGame @MidgarStudio #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Edge of Eternity started life as a Kickstarter project, the small French developer ‘Midgar Studios’ clearly took inspiration from Final Fantasies of old - I mean, the clue is in the name of the studio. Now, I have talked in a few reviews of how ‘love letters’ can go one of two ways, they can wonderfully create a new but familiar experience, or they can just be a carbon copy with little identity of their own.

Edge of Eternity has flaws that are revealed very early on. Technical issues were clearly visible, you can see that Edge of Eternity is made on a small budget, character animations are awkward, draw distances and texture pop-in occurs, but despite all the technical flaws, I found the game quite charming with a lot of interesting ideas. I will say that not all of them land, but on the whole, it was an experience I enjoyed, and I feel that the game captured the magic of older JRPGS, whilst still feeling fresh.

You play as Daryon, a young soldier in the army now faced with a technologically advanced race invading. While this is happening, you learn that your mother has been infected with a biological agent that will consume her body. This plague has been spreading and killing many, Daryon is torn but eventually deserts the army and returns home to help his mother by finding a cure. The story overall is ok, it’s nothing mind-blowing but the characters you meet as you go on are interesting enough and the voice acting is of a good standard.

The gameplay has an intriguing system of hexagonal grids, whereby you can only attack if you are near an opponent - unless you have ranged attacks. The grids add a nice tactical element and sometimes usable objects would reside in certain grids that would explode or trigger other events. The battle system does breed some engaging skirmishes where you have to concentrate and plot your moves ahead.

One thing that is different to other JRPGS is that levelling up in areas stops after reaching a certain level, meaning that you can't stay in one area and grind for ages as, after a while, you will gain no experience. On the one hand, I love grinding and being a few levels higher than the next area's enemies, but it is a good indicator when it's time to move on and explore other regions.

The game has decent graphics, and the world is bright and colourful. Areas have lots to do and many people to talk to and obtain side quests from.  Even though this isn't the longest game out there - especially bearing in mind which genre it is - there always felt like a lot to do and see, you also get a mount early on that helps you to traverse the world quicker, it’s a nice touch to an old staple. 

Throughout the world you pick up crafting supplies that let you craft weapons, this game isn't shy, letting you come across some very powerful weapons early on, a nice touch the game has is that when your character earns XP, your weapon also earns XP and levels up as well, I've never seen that before and it made battling enemies feel less like a chore, as you are gaining lots of bonuses for doing battle.

Health and magic are regenerated after every fight, which won't be to purists' tastes, but I enjoyed not having to constantly reach save points to restore my health and magic after every big fight or whilst exploring. A lot of the design seems intent on keeping the flow of the game moving.