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eden*

eden* Game Cover
92%Game Brain Score
story, music
gameplay, replayability
92% User Score Based on 890 reviews

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eden* Game Cover

About

eden* is a single player action game with romance, drama, anime, post-apocalyptic and others themes. It was developed by minori and was released on January 30, 2015. It received very positive reviews from players.

A tale of the planet's final love story told using the full force of minori's critically acclaimed illustrative style, engaging musical compositions, and the highly talented staff that has led fans coming back for more every single time!

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92%
Audience ScoreBased on 890 reviews
story408 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Beautiful and emotional story with rich character development that evokes strong feelings and tears.
  • Gorgeous artwork with smooth animations, including blinking and lip syncing, and beautifully composed soundtrack by Tenmon and Eiichiro Yanagi.
  • Fully voice-acted cast, including the protagonist, with compelling performances enhancing immersion and storytelling.
  • Linear kinetic novel with no player choices or branching paths, limiting replay value and interactivity.
  • Pacing issues especially in the first half and near the end, with some parts feeling slow or dragged out.
  • Controversial character designs featuring a childlike heroine of advanced age making some romantic undertones uncomfortable for certain players.
  • story
    1,148 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of eden* is a deeply emotional, bittersweet love story set against the backdrop of Earth's impending apocalypse. While linear and lacking plot twists or player choices, it offers rich character development and a slow, contemplative pace that immerses players in themes of love, loss, and resilience. Though some find the pacing slow and the sci-fi elements underexplored, the combination of superb visuals, voice acting, and a moving soundtrack makes the straightforward but powerful narrative a memorable and heart-wrenching experience.

    • “Incredible story with a powerful ending, moving and utterly emotional.”
    • “Very moving; it is first and foremost an emotional journey, superbly well written and developed, about the protagonist, his relationship with those around him, their background story, and his eventual relationship with the main female character of the story.”
    • “Eden* is a kinetic visual novel originally released in 2009 by minori that tells the story of a skilled soldier named Haruna Ryō and a Felix girl named Sion. The story begins 99 years later, when the earth is on the brink of destruction. It is short and touching; even though the opening spoils the inevitable ending, you still want to stick with it and enjoy the whole story and then cry in the end.”
    • “The plot has basically nothing driving it, absolutely no sense of urgency.”
    • “The story dragged so slowly I couldn't get very far in.”
    • “The game turned into a real chore, I couldn't stand the boredom anymore; the accurate and vivid descriptions lasted far too long and there was no story progression overall. In addition, the timing of the backstories is inaccurate, making it feel dull and boring rather than engaging.”
  • music
    298 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "eden*" is widely praised for its emotional depth, atmospheric quality, and seamless integration with the story, often described as hauntingly beautiful and memorable. Composed by tenmon and Eiichiro Yanagi, the soundtrack effectively enhances the game's melancholic and romantic mood, greatly contributing to the immersive and touching experience. While some minor criticisms note occasional repetitiveness or abrupt cuts, the overall consensus highlights the soundtrack as one of the visual novel's standout features.

    • “The soundtrack, composed by tenmon and Eiichiro Yanagi, is an integral part of Eden’s storytelling.”
    • “Music is seamlessly woven into the experience, adapting to the emotional beats of the plot and subtly guiding the player’s reactions.”
    • “The soundtrack encompasses the magnificently lush, the hauntingly melancholic, and the menacingly chilling, always capturing the mood to perfection.”
  • emotional
    227 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Eden* is widely praised for its deeply emotional and heartwarming narrative, featuring lovable, well-developed characters and a poignant love story set against an apocalyptic backdrop. The game’s cinematic presentation, emotive soundtrack, and powerful writing combine to create an immersive experience that frequently moves players to tears. Though some find the pacing slow or predictable, the overall emotional impact and thematic depth make it a standout visual novel for fans seeking a profound and memorable story.

    • “This is a breathtakingly beautiful, emotionally profound, and narratively compelling visual novel.”
    • “It took me on a deeply emotional journey, combining stunning storytelling with breathtaking visuals.”
    • “Never have I been so emotionally involved in a story as deeply as this one.”
  • graphics
    159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Eden* is widely praised for its stunning, cinematic visuals that create a movie-like, immersive experience with breathtaking widescreen artwork, detailed character animations, and expressive CGs. While some find the art style slightly dated compared to modern visual novels, the rich, unique graphics and careful animation, combined with excellent voice acting and an evocative soundtrack, strongly enhance the emotional narrative and overall atmosphere. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, often described as exquisite and unforgettable, contributing significantly to the game's impact.

    • “Visually, eden stands out with its widescreen, cinematic presentation, which departs from standard sprite-based character visuals.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, characters have animated eyes and mouths, there are a huge amount of CGs, fully animated opening, beautiful soundtracks and sound effects, full voice-acting, perfectly coded and excellent English text.”
    • “Most visual novels use the same set of character portraits over various backgrounds, but eden* very rarely does this, instead choosing to have entirely new artwork for almost every dialogue scene in the game, including some basic animation like blinking and mouth movement.”
    • “The graphic is outdated but the story isn't.”
    • “Graphics isn't that great compared to more modern VNs but it has still aged well and is still good enough to not be noticeable.”
    • “It had pretty bad graphics with broken anatomy for the character portraits, very few CGs, 12 different soundtracks of horribly repetitive music, several flaws in its coding which made things confusing at times and not the best English.”
  • gameplay
    35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this kinetic visual novel is minimal to nonexistent, focusing solely on delivering its narrative without any choices, challenges, or interactive mechanics. Players primarily experience the story through reading, with occasional animated CG art enhancing presentation, but no traditional gameplay or replayability elements are present.

    • “Despite its short gameplay and a few minor hiccups, eden* manages to deliver quite an interesting and captivating story.”
    • “+ Gameplay experience is fantastic, characters are well detailed, and every scene is well designed which made me feel like watching a movie.”
    • “I enjoyed this story, and the novel gave me about 20 hours of 'gameplay', which is better than some other reviews I've read.”
    • “As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which answers the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
    • “I will warn you and say that this game has zero gameplay; all you do is sit and read.”
    • “There are no choices or any sort of gameplay here.”
  • character development
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is widely praised for its depth and emotional impact, particularly the evolving relationship between the protagonists, which serves as the narrative's core. While some find the character designs and animations visually appealing despite being somewhat dated, a few reviewers note a lack of development or repetitive dialogue in parts. Overall, the storytelling and character growth are considered strong points that enhance player immersion in this mature visual novel.

    • “Character development is central to the experience, with the evolving relationship between Sion and Ryo serving as the emotional core.”
    • “The character development is fantastic and you can immerse yourself in the situation.”
    • “If you are a fan of visual novels with a strong focus on story and character development, look no further than this!”
    • “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.”
    • “Eden is a visual novel with a somewhat interesting premise that is let down by ho-hum characters, a lack of any real character development, dull and unnecessary repetitive dialogue, and a few semi-confusing moments in the first half.”
    • “I find this to be far too short for a game like this that depends on character development.”
  • atmosphere
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is highly praised for its cinematic storytelling, emotive pacing, and melancholic tone, enhanced by distinct character design, thoughtful lighting, and a beautifully fitting soundtrack. The visuals and music work harmoniously to create an immersive, nostalgic, and emotionally resonant experience that deeply supports the story's introspective and tearjerking mood. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout element that elevates the visual novel's narrative impact.

    • “By prioritizing story and atmosphere over interactivity, Eden offers an introspective and immersive journey that lingers in the mind, demonstrating the powerful storytelling potential of the visual novel medium.”
    • “10/10 atmosphere: the writing style, audio, and visuals were put together to create such an amazing atmosphere.”
    • “The music dramatically enhances a soft and melancholy atmosphere, and the art, which is different from many other visual novels, carries me away into the moving story, as the pictures of characters are merged into the backgrounds instead of being separated.”
  • humor
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is generally subtle and blended with moments of tenderness and emotion, creating a balanced mix of laughs and heartfelt scenes. While some users find certain comedic moments dry or unintentional, others appreciate the occasional lighthearted or hilarious side stories that provide relief amid the emotional narrative. Overall, humor complements the story without overshadowing its touching and dramatic elements.

    • “Their dynamic is portrayed with subtlety, blending moments of tenderness, humor, and introspection to create a believable and moving relationship.”
    • “It really is a feels train; in one moment you could be laughing and in the next one crying.”
    • “So anyway I'll start with saying the main story for eden* is very well done. It has some sad moments, touching moments, funny moments, and exciting moments. You won't find any adult scenes in the main story for either the all-ages version or the adult version; to get to the adult content you have to finish the main story at least once to the end.”
    • “Are you satisfied with a flat, predictable plot where some music and a few tears shed are enough to stir up a mirror reaction of sadness in you, leaving aside any substance of emotion and with a side dish of unfunny and boring anime clichés?”
  • replayability
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a single, linear narrative with no choices or alternate routes, resulting in very low replayability. While some appreciate the concise, emotionally impactful experience without needing multiple playthroughs, most agree that there is little incentive to replay beyond the initial completion. Additional content in expanded versions slightly enhances replay value but does not introduce meaningful branching.

    • “A compact yet deeply engaging experience, lasting about 8-10 hours with additional content in the plus+mosaic version that enhances the story's replayability and emotional impact.”
    • “Including branching paths and distinct endings for each heroine would have added more depth and replayability.”
    • “If you're looking for something similar with some replay value, I recommend Clannad (not a kinetic novel) and Narcissu (kinetic novel but with a kishōtenketsu plot).”
    • “It's fine if you don't quite get all I'm saying here but the key takeaway is: there is no replay value whatsoever in this game.”
    • “Since there is no alternate routes or choices, replayability is considered low as there will be no change whatsoever.”
    • “No multiple options or replay value.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Optimization is generally acceptable with decent performance, though some users note occasional issues affecting gameplay smoothness. While most voice acting is praised, particularly for supporting characters, the protagonist's performance is seen as weaker by some, impacting immersion. Overall, technical performance is stable but not exceptional.

    • “Overall, the performance is fine, but don't have high expectations as the story itself is lukewarm.”
    • “Most of the other lead characters have brilliant voice acting performances, so it's nothing to worry too much about.”
    • “I don't speak Japanese, but even I could tell that the voices delivered fantastic performances for the most part.”
    • “The game's performance is a bit bad.”
    • “Overall not too bad but don't have high expectations as while the performance is fine, the story itself is lukewarm.”
    • “To be a bit more critical, the voice acting performances are a bit more hit & miss... rather, the voice acting performance for the protagonist is quite underwhelming.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect in eden* is characterized by slow-paced, repetitive farming tasks that feel long-winded and tedious. While some world-building is present, the lack of engaging content makes the progression feel like unnecessary padding rather than meaningful development.

    • “Many scenes are long-winded and tedious.”
    • “I don't mind piecemeal storytelling or world building, but here I found the padding to be lacking in enough personality or substance, meaning any intrigue I felt was overwhelmed by tediousness.”
    • “The story starts in media res with Ryou Harune and Sion getting by farming in their own little patch of earth, which reflects a grinding aspect.”
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12h Median play time
12h Average play time
11-15h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

eden* is a action game with romance, drama, anime, post-apocalyptic and others themes.

eden* is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 12 hours playing eden*.

eden* was released on January 30, 2015.

eden* was developed by minori.

eden* has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

eden* is a single player game.

Similar games include Atri: My Dear Moments, Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet, Lucy: The Eternity She Wished For, Kindred Spirits on the Roof, The House in Fata Morgana and others.