Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a throwback to an period of single-player video video games that I miss.
Earlier this yr, I performed 2008’s Prince of Persia after moving into the sequence with the discharge of The Misplaced Crown. That title was forward of its time in some ways, however I appreciated that it was an all-killer, no-filler fashion of single-player sport. I take pleasure in when video games merely middle the expertise round a core concept or two, then discover that completely in a compact six-to-eight-hour journey that doesn’t overstay its welcome. I used to be dealing with a little bit of sport burnout after taking part in by way of lengthy titles Like Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Helldivers 2, Closing Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Dragon’s Dogma 2 over the previous couple of months, however Ereban: Shadow Legacy supplied some respite for that.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a stealth sport from Child Robotic Video games that’s centered round a personality who can merge and journey by way of shadows. All through its eight-hour journey, Ereban completely explores that gameplay hook in a tightly designed, artistic sci-fi journey that you would be able to beat over the course of an evening or two of taking part in. Whereas the notion of wanting shorter video games made by smaller groups is a little bit of a cliché at this level, taking part in by way of Ereban: Shadow Legacy jogged my memory of why that’s develop into a well-liked chorus for some gamers lately.
From the shadows
In Ereban: Shadow Legacy, gamers management the final surviving member of the Ereban race, which has the flexibility to reside in and journey by way of the shadows. A megacorporation referred to as Helios finds this Ereban, named Ayana, and tries to recruit them to their aspect. A insurgent group referred to as the Forgotten Suns shortly saves Ayana, who she then works with to uncover Helios’ plan in addition to the secrets and techniques behind what occurred to the Ereban. That quest performs out throughout eight chapters, every of which supplies an open-ended stage for Ayana to discover, discover hidden ability-enhancing collectibles, and full mission goals.
Even when it will get extra linear, having the ability to journey inside shadows felt very liberating as I used them to climb to a vantage level excessive above my enemies or keep away from them totally. Contemplating most enemies can kill Ayana in a single hit, I used to be inspired to take pleasure in taking part in as stealthily as attainable. The central gameplay conceit of Ereban: Shadow Legacy is simple to wrap your head round, and denoted with a neat visible impact that sees Ayana change colour relying on whether or not she’s in mild or shadow.
Regardless of being quick, it even has some replay worth, due to a system that charges the participant after each stage primarily based on what number of enemies they killed, what number of collectibles they discovered, and what number of occasions they had been caught. Every part I would like out of a stealth sport is current in Ereban: Shadow Legacy, though it isn’t a masterpiece throughout the style. The sport is pretty one-note because it solely actually explores that one gameplay mechanic, and it can be a bit glitchy. I acquired caught inside stage geometry in my shadow kind inside quarter-hour of taking part in the sport for the primary time, and I finagled my manner out of bounds and softlocked myself a number of extra occasions over the course of the journey.
Insta-kill stealth encounter design additionally isn’t for everybody. I used to be prepared to miss these tough edges, although, as it is a sport from a smaller growth group and doesn’t final lengthy sufficient for these frustrations to develop into overwhelming nuisances. The brevity and ease of Ereban: Shadow Legacy might make it not as memorable because the likes of Dragon’s Dogma 2 or Closing Fantasy VII Rebirth, however that doesn’t reduce the truth that it was simply the form of chaser I wanted after taking part in by way of so many large video games this yr.
2024 is shortly asserting itself because the yr of reside service video games and RPGs, which might be fairly exhausting to play. As such, I’m now actually appreciating the respite video games like Penny’s Massive Breakaway and Ereban: Shadow Legacy present once they come alongside, particularly once they’re bold and experimental titles from new groups making an attempt to show themselves. Video games are getting longer and longer, and that’s beginning to make me yearn for the period when video games like Ereban: Shadow Legacy had been rather more widespread.
If what I’ve mentioned about Ereban: Shadow Legacy sounds intriguing sufficient, the sport will emerge from the shadows and eventually be launched for PC on April 10.