Duelists of Eden
- March 7, 2024
- Thomas Moon Kang
Get on Steam"Duelists of Eden" is a card-grid-fighting game, where players build custom decks and battle online in real-time action. With over 14 unique characters, players can create their own spell combinations and synergies to eliminate opponents. The game features a dynamic cardtridge and combo system, as well as a tutorial and training mode for learning the mechanics. Custom rollback netcode ensures smooth online gameplay.
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Reviews
- Duelists of Eden offers a unique blend of fast-paced PvP gameplay and deck-building mechanics, reminiscent of Mega Man Battle Network, making it a refreshing experience.
- The game features rollback netcode, ensuring smooth online matches, and has a vibrant community that actively supports new players.
- At a low price point, the game provides extensive customization options and a variety of characters, making it a great value for both casual and competitive players.
- The player base is currently small, leading to long queue times for matches and difficulty finding opponents.
- Some players have reported issues with netcode stability, particularly with high ping affecting gameplay quality.
- The tutorial and UI could use improvements, as some mechanics are not clearly explained, which may hinder new players from fully grasping the game.
- gameplay178 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Duelists of Eden" is praised for its innovative blend of card mechanics and fighting game elements, offering a unique and engaging experience reminiscent of the Mega Man Battle Network series. Players appreciate the depth and customization available through deck-building, as well as the fast-paced, strategic nature of matches, although some note that the learning curve can be steep and the player base is currently limited, making online play challenging. Overall, the game is recognized for its mechanically tight design, high skill ceiling, and enjoyable aesthetics, making it a standout in the indie fighting game genre.
“The gameplay is very interesting and allows for lots of cool strategies.”
“Duelists of Eden delivers incredibly tight, magically expressive, and wildly inventive gameplay in spades.”
“It's mechanically tight, well-balanced, and requires a lot of quick thinking.”
“This has got to be one of the worst tutorial systems; this game does a poor job of explaining its mechanics.”
“If you are not intrinsically motivated by the gameplay to grind and get better, do not have specific friends you want to play against (local or online), and don't feel a compulsion to unlock every possible item in the shop, you'll run out of reasons to play the game within an hour.”
“The changes made to the gameplay to balance it for a fighting game result in a slower game with weirdly more to pay attention to than the original.”
- music46 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised as "incredible," "hype," and "catchy," with many reviewers highlighting its retro-inspired quality that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate how the soundtrack complements the vibrant visuals and engaging gameplay, making it a standout feature worth the price of admission alone. Overall, the music is described as a significant factor in the game's fun and competitive atmosphere.
“This game has great net-play, incredible music, and is wonderfully competitive.”
“The core gameplay is simple and precise, and the cards allow for huge customization, the pixel art is high quality, and the music is inspiring.”
“The music is pretty hype and the combat is pretty interesting with the deck building and the synergy and combos with all the cards and the character specific moves.”
“The music is absolutely worth the 5 bucks alone, but there is a whole game that comes with that!”
“Music is very catchy too, and a couple tunes are already in my head.”
- graphics24 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art, unique character designs, and clear, charming visuals that enhance gameplay. Players appreciate the intuitive aesthetics and the standout artwork of the battlechips, although some have noted occasional discrepancies between visual cues and gameplay mechanics. Overall, the game's graphics contribute significantly to its appeal, making it a visually engaging experience.
“Duelists of Eden is a brilliantly intuitive game with great mechanics and a sharp aesthetic.”
“I've told the developers this before but a Mega Man Battle Network inspired fighter, with beautiful visuals, music, and unique, fun characters, sounds like something that would exist in a timeline that isn't ours.”
“It's a shame that this game is mostly for a niche audience - because especially with the beautiful pixel aesthetics and the superb gameplay, I could see this pull in a huge crowd if they just gave it a try.”
“Also please fix the ping issue, can't play online with friends without experiencing PowerPoint presentation graphics, although we live really close.”
“This is a boon, though it doesn't stop me from constantly messing myself up with attacks like Harissa's brush swipe, which looks like it should hit in front of her with a very obvious brush swipe graphic, but no.”
“It only hits two tiles ahead of her, despite graphically looking like a beefy melee attack.”
- character development16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highly praised, with reviewers highlighting the excellent and varied character designs that evoke a strong emotional connection, reminiscent of its predecessor, One Step From Eden. The developer's unique style shines through, creating a cohesive and engaging experience, while the introduction of customizable loadouts and improved gameplay enhances the overall depth and appeal of the characters. Overall, the character designs and mechanics contribute significantly to the game's charm and replayability.
“The character designs are excellent and the skills are extremely varied.”
“What's amazing is that the game was essentially a one-man job by the developer, so you can really feel the dev's style in the game and character designs, and it all seamlessly comes together.”
“A pure gem of a card battler; I never expected the original game to get a multiplayer release with improved gameplay, animations, character designs, and everything.”
“The character designs are just as lovable as the predecessor, One Step from Eden, but the character development feels lacking.”
“While the art and character designs are impressive, the depth of character development is disappointingly shallow.”
“The character designs are visually appealing, but the lack of meaningful character development detracts from the overall experience.”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever references, amusing character interactions, and the comedic elements of gameplay, such as funny sound effects and quirky character designs. Players appreciate the mix of fighting game archetypes and the ability to create humorous combinations, though some feel that certain aspects could be improved for a more consistent comedic experience. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted charm to the engaging deckbuilding mechanics.
“The deckbuilding is great, and the fact that there is rollback is genuinely hilarious.”
“Morshu alt for shopkeeper is funny.”
“Very good funny pallet swap references.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate that grinding in the game is not overly tedious, as most content can be unlocked by reaching level 10 through a few bot matches. However, after level 20, the lack of additional milestone rewards may lead to a sense of stagnation, especially since the game primarily focuses on PvP grinding. Overall, the grinding experience is described as enjoyable and complemented by fun gameplay and deck-building mechanics.
“There is also a lack of much content other than PvP grinding, which I understand since there is a whole other game based on this engine already, but after hitting level 20 there are no more milestone rewards like titles or banner images.”
“No pointless grinding for unlocks, just get to level 10 (5 bot matches in unranked) and you have all the content to build decks with.”
“Plus skins can be earned entirely in-game and it's not obnoxiously grindy.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a non-predatory monetization model, with no microtransactions or paid DLC, allowing players to earn all cosmetics through gameplay. Reviewers appreciate this approach, highlighting the developer's commitment to a fair gaming experience.
“I especially appreciate the non-predatory monetization and wish all the best to the dev.”
“Cosmetics are all attainable from simply playing the game—no microtransactions or paid DLC.”
“It has absolutely no microtransactions and is made by a very small indie team.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight the "infinite replayability" of MegaMan Battle Network, attributing this to its gameplay evolution and the implementation of rollback netcode. The passion behind the game is evident, suggesting that players will find endless opportunities for engagement and enjoyment.
“The gameplay evolution of MegaMan Battle Network, with rollback netcode and infinite replayability.”
“It clearly has a lot of passion, and I can see the replay value being endless.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's user interface is criticized for being difficult to navigate and lacks proper optimization for controller use, which hampers the overall user experience.
“The UI is difficult to navigate and not optimized for a controller.”
- story2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game lacks a narrative component, focusing exclusively on player-versus-player (PvP) gameplay without any story elements.
“No story here, it's strictly a PvP game.”
