eden*
- January 30, 2015
- Minori
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam"eden* is a single-player Romance Visual Novel game with an intriguing story, beautiful graphics, and a masterful soundtrack. On a dying planet, Sion, a genetically modified superhuman, and Ryou, a soldier, are brought together in a poignant love story as they work to save humanity. Experience the final, wholesome love story of Earth in this captivating game from minori."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The story is beautifully written and emotionally impactful, making players feel deeply connected to the characters.
- The artwork and visuals are stunning, with high production values that enhance the overall experience.
- The soundtrack complements the narrative perfectly, adding to the emotional weight of the story.
- The pacing can be slow at times, particularly in the beginning, which may deter some players.
- As a kinetic novel, there are no choices or branching paths, which may limit replayability for some players.
- Some characters may feel underdeveloped or clichéd, leading to predictable plot points.
- story681 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The story of *Eden* is a poignant and emotional journey centered around the love between Ryou, a battle-hardened soldier, and Sion, a genetically engineered girl, set against the backdrop of an impending apocalypse. While the narrative unfolds slowly and is linear with no branching paths, it captivates players with its rich character development, beautiful visuals, and a soundtrack that enhances the emotional weight of the story. Despite some critiques regarding pacing and predictability, many players find the experience deeply moving, often leading to tears, and recommend it for those who appreciate heartfelt storytelling in visual novels.
“The story is beautiful, the character development is profound, and the emotional depth is truly moving. It left a lasting impression on me.”
“Eden* tells a lovely story by strengthening every character vividly, making you feel deeply connected to their journeys.”
“This is a kinetic novel that tells a masterfully written story, filled with rich emotions and unforgettable characters.”
“Technically it's a well-made visual novel, but story-wise, so far, I've found it uninteresting, or at the very least not what I expected.”
“I thought the sci-fi plot was more central; instead, I got a lot of the old trite tough soldier with a sad background stuff, which simply killed the experience for me.”
“The story dragged so slowly I couldn't get very far in.”
- music176 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality and emotional depth, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to enhance the storytelling experience. The soundtrack features beautiful compositions, often described as melancholic and soothing, which perfectly complement the narrative and visuals. While some found the music occasionally repetitive or not particularly memorable, the overall consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's emotional impact and immersive atmosphere.
“The music works perfectly for most situations and makes the reading much more fluid and enjoyable.”
“The soundtrack encompasses the magnificently lush, the hauntingly melancholic, and the menacingly chilling, always capturing the mood to perfection.”
“The beautiful art and fitting music aided in making this an absolute masterpiece.”
“Sadly, this doesn't really translate to the music side of things, as the OST is decent at best, or forgettable at worst.”
“The music is appropriate albeit a little repetitive.”
“However, it does not loop well because the end of the music fades to silence before starting again.”
- emotional130 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is overwhelmingly praised, with many players reporting deep connections to the characters and story that led to tears and heartfelt reactions. The narrative is described as both beautiful and heartbreaking, effectively utilizing music and character development to evoke strong feelings. While some noted minor pacing issues, the overall consensus is that the game delivers a powerful emotional experience that resonates long after completion.
“The blunt truth is that even with this flaw, the story of Ryou and Sion is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.”
“It actually gave me a lot of key vibes, given how emotional and heartfelt the story seemed to be so naturally, the ending also choked me up way more than I expected, leaving me with a heaviness in the chest that lasted for quite a while.”
“The story is rich and enticing, the characters are complex and dynamic, fraught with humanity and moral conflict, the setting couldn't be more proper, and I could continue on and on... I laughed, I clenched my teeth, I anticipated with breath held, I cried and I smiled with understanding.”
- graphics88 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics in *eden* are widely praised for their beauty and high quality, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning artwork, dynamic camera angles, and fluid animations that enhance the storytelling experience. While some note that the art style may appear dated compared to more recent visual novels, the overall aesthetic, including character designs and backgrounds, is considered exceptional and emotionally resonant. The combination of impressive visuals, a captivating soundtrack, and full voice acting contributes to a deeply immersive experience that many players find unforgettable.
“With a well-developed story, strong emotions, and above all, superb visuals, eden* is truly a visual novel masterpiece.”
“The artwork is beautiful, the story is emotional, the characters are unforgettable, and the music is wonderful.”
“Eden* has absolutely gorgeous artwork, a sweet, melancholic soundtrack, an intriguing and engaging story, and complex, relatable characters.”
“The graphics are outdated, but the story isn't.”
“It had pretty bad graphics with broken anatomy for the character portraits, very few CGs, and several flaws in its coding which made things confusing at times.”
“It has a rather small native resolution of 1024x640, and there are various graphical options available.”
- gameplay21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay of eden* is primarily non-interactive, functioning as a visual novel with no decision-making or gameplay mechanics, leading to mixed reviews regarding its engagement. While some players appreciate the captivating story and character design, many express disappointment over the lack of gameplay elements, feeling misled by its presentation as a game. Overall, it is characterized as a narrative experience rather than a traditional game, with players either loving the story or feeling frustrated by the absence of interactivity.
“Despite its short gameplay, they didn’t make a mess of the overall story progression; however, they tripped on fleshing out the other characters’ personalities and the romance aspect of the story.”
“I enjoyed this story, and the novel gave me about 20 hours of gameplay, which is better than some other reviews I've read.”
“+ Gameplay experience is fantastic, characters are well detailed, and every scene is well designed which made me feel like watching a movie.”
“There is really no gameplay, but the story will absolutely melt you.”
“I will warn you and say that this game has zero gameplay, all you do is sit and read.”
“Although it's purely just a visual novel with no choices given to the gameplay or any other possible routes to the outcome.”
- character development15 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is widely praised, with reviewers highlighting the depth and complexity of the characters, particularly the main protagonists. The artwork and character designs, while somewhat dated, are described as beautiful and immersive, enhancing the overall experience. Many players appreciate the emotional storytelling and the strong focus on character growth, making it a standout feature of the game.
“Excellent artwork, entertaining character development, and engaging setting/story.”
“The character development is fantastic and you can immerse yourself in the situation.”
“9/10 characters: the character development was magnificent and each character has more to them than just their looks.”
“While this type of interaction could have been included in the story and could well have added further depth to the relationship, a different dimension to the character development and more humanity if it was done well, this was not achieved by this patch.”
“The main female protagonist's character development is astonishing; I knew something had to happen in her for this to be the 'earth's last love story.' Same goes for the male protagonist.”
“If you are a fan of visual novels with a strong focus on story and character development, look no further than this!”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as sparse and often dry, with some moments being unintentionally funny from the characters' perspectives. While the overall tone leans more towards emotional depth, two of the four side stories provide genuine humor, creating a contrast that enhances the attachment players feel to the characters.
“It really is a feels train; in one moment you could be laughing and in the next one crying.”
“Though two of the four side stories were hilarious.”
“You grow so attached to the characters it's not even funny!”
- optimization5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is generally well-received, with most lead characters delivering strong voice acting performances that enhance the storytelling. However, the protagonist's voice acting is noted as underwhelming, which can detract from the overall immersion at times. Despite this inconsistency, the game's art and certain character performances help maintain player interest.
“There are periods where I found myself really sold on the happenings of the world, and others where I felt the only thing that was keeping me moderately interested was the art and the performance of certain characters.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the visual novel is highly praised for its nostalgic, childhood anime feel, enhanced by a harmonious blend of writing, audio, and visuals. Reviewers highlight the gentle flow of the story and character interactions, contributing to an immersive and effective experience, often rating it a perfect 10/10.
“This great visual novel is perfect if you wish to experience the nostalgic atmosphere of childhood anime.”
“10/10 atmosphere: the writing style, audio, and visuals were combined to create an amazing atmosphere.”
“The story flows gently with the characters, creating an atmospheric and effective experience.”
“This great visual novel is perfect if you wish to experience the nostalgic atmosphere of old childhood anime.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game has low replayability due to the absence of choices or alternate routes, leading most players to feel that while it is worth experiencing once, there is little incentive to replay it.
“Because of that, there isn't much replay value.”
“Since there are no alternate routes or choices, replayability is considered low since there will be no change whatsoever.”
“This visual novel has no choices to speak of or alternate routes, so replay value (in terms of alternate content - I'm okay with just replaying the same thing if it's good) is a bit limited.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of eden* to be tedious and lengthy, with many scenes feeling unnecessarily drawn out as the characters engage in farming activities. This can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
“Many scenes are long-winded and tedious.”
“The grinding feels repetitive and lacks meaningful rewards.”
“The game forces you to grind for hours just to progress, which becomes frustrating.”
