Introduction
Basic information
Developer Name: Yellow Brick Games
Full Name: Eternal Strands
Release Date: 2025
Released on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC
Cross Play: Not applicable (single-player)
Initial thoughts
My wife started playing this game, but she was overwhelmed by lore without explanation. There are janky mechanics and graphical glitches with cutscenes, and I tried it a bit, but we barely were able to push ourselves through the intro stages of the game. The tutorials feel terse, the UI assumes you already speak its language, and the early pacing never quite finds a groove. We ended up nudging each other to keep going rather than being pulled forward naturally.
Story and setting
Plot overview
You play as Brynn, a determined figure returning to reclaim her people’s home and uncover the truth behind a once-powerful enclave. The premise hints at ancient technology and a fallen civilization.
World building and immersion
Brynn’s motivations are clear, but most supporting cast members feel like quest hubs rather than evolving personalities. Dialogue often conveys mechanics and tasks instead of growth or nuance.
Character development
Big story beats arrive before the groundwork is laid. Without stronger setup, quiet moments, and earned relationships, the dramatic scenes don’t land as intended.
Emotional impact
There’s evident care in the world’s history and terminology, but information dumps early on can drown curiosity. The codex is dense, and the game rarely slows down to contextualize it, which chipped away at immersion.
Rating for story and setting
I have visited multiple aspects of the story, and after some thought and objective thinking, I rated the story and setting with a 5.
Gameplay and mechanics
Core gameplay mechanics
The headline features elemental manipulation, telekinesis, climb-anywhere traversal creating a flexible sandbox. Freezing a path, igniting hazards, or hurling debris can make encounters feel clever. When systems clash, though, they feel fussy rather than empowering.
Difficulty and balance
Challenge swings between fall over easy and sudden spikes. Several encounters hinge on discovering a single intended trick; outside of that, friction comes more from camera and lock-on than enemy design.
Pacing of the game
Momentum stutters. You get stretches of errands and crafting punctuated by flashes of spectacle. The loop too often returns to busywork before the next genuinely exciting set-piece.
Innovation and uniqueness
The mix of physics, elements, and traversal is ambitious and occasionally fresh. Execution is inconsistent, so the novelty doesn’t always translate into satisfying play, this is because of the game mechanics not working properly.
Controls and user interface
Climbing and targeting can be imprecise at key moments. The minimalist UI looks clean but withholds just enough explanation to make early hours bumpier than they should be; it is difficult to find the precise buttons for combos.
Microtransactions
None encountered; it’s a traditional single purchase experience.
Rating
After combing through many of the mechanics, the pacing, and other factors of this game, I rated the gameplay and mechanics with a 5.
Graphics and art style
Quality of graphics and art direction
Painterly environments, readable silhouettes, and flashy elemental effects give the game an attractive identity. However, cutscenes are not loaded in properly, resulting in disembodied parts.
Technical performances
We experienced stutters and cutscene glitches that broke flow. Not catastrophic, but persistent enough to dull enthusiasm, especially during supposedly dramatic moments.
Environment and design uniqueness
Zones have distinct shapes and clear visual language, yet encounter motifs repeat. After a while, elemental sets start to feel like variations on the same trick.
Rating
It took me some time to give the graphics and art style an objective rating. There are many things to consider, but ultimately, I rated this section with a 4.
Sound and music
Music score and how it contributed to the game
Competent and occasionally stirring. It supports exploration and combat well, even if few themes linger afterward.
Sound effects quality
Elements read clearly, crackling fire, brittle ice, satisfying impacts. In crowded fights, the mix can smear details.
Voice Acting
Serviceable more than standout. Stiff reads pop up here and there, which doesn’t help the already muted emotional beats.
Rating
After a lot of consideration, I rated the sound and music section with a 6.
Replayability
Game Length and content volume
A respectable campaign with optional hunts, crafting, and side detours. It’s not bloated, but some quest chains feel like padding. We had to sludge through the beginning, and it felt longer than it probably was.
Extra Content
Post-launch fixes and small additions exist, yet nothing transformative. I had to look it up for this review. Once the credits roll, there’s little that begs an immediate second run or post-game content.
Replay value
The physics sandbox is fun to poke at, but limited build diversity and the lack of immersive qualities keep replay incentives low.
Rating
After thoughtful consideration, I decided to rate the replayability and game length of Eternal Stands with a 5.
Suggestions and comparisons
Suggestions and feedback
Strengthen onboarding with clearer tutorials and a friendlier codex.
Tighten lock-on, camera behavior, and climbing edge cases.
Continue performance work, especially around cutscenes and streaming stutter.
Broaden encounter design so multiple tactics feel viable.
Remove the game mechanic you can only keep five resources when you have to save and quit.
Comparisons
It reaches for the physics freedom of Breath of the Wild despite the small size of the maps, the climbable spectacle of Shadow of the Colossus, and a pinch of Dragon’s Dogma improvisation, ambitious targets that it only intermittently hits.
Personal experiences and anecdotes
Watching my wife bounce off the lore firehose set the tone. I jumped in to troubleshoot, but the combination of wobbly targeting, camera scuffles, and inconsistent performance kept snuffing out momentum. Every so often we pulled off a slick elemental combo, and the game sang, then the magic faded under the next janky climb or stuttering cinematic. Also, the game despises short bursts of game time and claims almost everything you have found. Unlike Breath of the Wild, where you can save and quit as you please, and when loading up the game, it puts you at a nice safe place.
Rating
Taking in all the personal experiences with Eternal Strands, I give it a personal rating of 4.
Last words
Pros
- Inventive elemental/physics toolkit with real interaction potential.
- Distinct, painterly art direction that aids readability.
- No microtransactions; single-player focus respected.
Cons
- Overwhelming lore with minimal onboarding.
- Inconsistent performance; stutters and cutscene glitches.
- Camera/lock-on struggles and imprecise climbing.
- Pacing that leans on errands and busywork.
- Bosses often feel like single-solution gimmick fights.
- Repetition in zone set-pieces.
- Modest build variety; limited experimentation.
- Some repetitive side quests
Eternal Strands is easy to admire and difficult to love. Its elemental sandbox flashes brilliance, but onboarding, polish, and performance keep interrupting the fun. With more time and tuning, this could be something special. As it stands, it’s an interesting detour rather than a must-play. I do have to admit that if I did not have to review this game. I would have stopped playing earlier, and having short bursts to play kept me trapped in the beginning loop of the game as it kept taking my resources.
FINAL RATING
4.5
Please let me know what you think of Eternal Strands in the comments!
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