This action-RPG/dating sim captures the feel of Persona, and you can try it for yourself now
PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?
Absolutely play the demo if you have any love for the Persona franchise, JRPGs in general, or dating and social sims that have some combat on the side. Eternights is an upcoming mix of action-RPG and dating sim set in a grim future where most of humanity has been suddenly turned into horrifying monsters. It borrows heavily from the Persona series in style, presentation, and themes, but it also manages to be more than just a clone thanks to sharp writing and a fun combat system.
TIME PLAYED
I completed the Eternights demo, which is currently available on Steam and took me around an hour and a half. The demo introduces the intriguing story and includes a nice mix of social interaction, exploration, and fighting. It includes the full first act of the game and the beginning of the second act.
WHAT’S AWESOME
• Style. From the general user interface to specific details like the way the game shows the calendar shifting from one date to the next, Eternights understands that a big part of the appeal in RPGs like Persona is simply the style; how even old-school game mechanics can feel fresh and exciting when they’re presented with a lot of polish and everything looks cool. Everything looks damned cool here, especially the disgusting and varied enemy designs.
• Fun and funny writing. Eternights opens with the unnamed male protagonist hanging out with his best friend Chani, a pop star-obsessed dork who’s desperately trying to help the main character get onto a dating app. The writing isn’t especially deep or moving—all the characters I’ve met so far are basically anime stereotype mainstays—but it is fun, brisk, and feels relatively believable for a group of dumb, horny young adults trying to survive the end of the world. As the protagonist, I was often given at least two or three responses to other characters, and those regularly included a smart-ass choice that absolutely felt true to how I would’ve reacted as an awkward eighteen-year-old. It’s fun stuff, with excellent voice acting to match.
• Slick action. Similar to the writing, I wouldn’t say that the combat in Eternights is groundbreaking, at least in what I’ve played so far, but it is good enough to carry a full game, depending on the length and how much the systems here grow as the game progresses. Fighting enemies in Eternights is largely based around dodging out of the way of attacks at the last second, which causes time to slow down. When I pulled that off, I was able to get in quick attacks and build up meters for multiple special abilities, including an elemental attack that launched me into a flashy animation and helped bust down bigger opponents’ shields. It’s fast-moving, responsive, and totally solid, though I’d love to see more depth in the later game.
• Social stats. One of my favorite things about Persona games and other social/dating sims is when my choices cause certain traits to increase, which (presumably) will help determine what I can and cannot do in certain situations in the future. So I was pleased to see “expression +1” pop up when I chose a particularly surprising turn of phrase. Making a bold joke or expressing a lack of fear might raise my courage stat, while somber acknowledgement of the dire situation we were in would raise my acceptance stat. I’m eager to see how growing these stats affects things in the full game.
• Fully animated scenes. With a story so deeply inspired by anime, it’s only fitting that Eternights features some gorgeously animated cutscenes for major story moments. These only popped up at a few points in the demo, but I’m hoping there will be plenty more in the full game, because they look fantastic.
WHAT NEEDS WORK
• Character progression. Though I’ve called this an action-RPG throughout, it’s important to note that, at least in the demo, there is no leveling in Eternights. Instead, my character’s abilities improved by strengthening his relationship with potential love interests and by spending resources that were earned very rarely as I explored dungeons. I don’t think the game needs a traditional RPG leveling system by any means, but I am hoping there’s more depth and more options for building up my character as the game goes on—not to mention changing up the fighting style so things don’t get too repetitive.
• Romance options that could end up feeling a little sketchy. Dating sims in general always have to walk a tightrope between showcasing the excitement and exhilaration of romance without falling into just being kinda creepy, and that goes double for dating sims that use an anime style. While I’m totally charmed by what I’ve played so far in Eternights, I can see spots where it runs the risk of falling into that latter category. After all, the romance options here are very young, and even in the limited bit I’ve played, one of the first relationship-progressing scenes started with my character walking in on pop queen Yuna as she’s changing clothes. This scenario is presented in about as non-offensive a manner as possible, but I can see where future scenes could push more in that direction if the game isn’t careful. We’ll see!
💬 You can test out the Eternights demo on Steam for yourself now. Play it for yourself and then come back and share your thoughts in the comments!
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