Eden Rising

About

"Eden Rising: Free Explorer Edition" is a free-to-play game that offers 12+ hours of base gameplay, including exploration of various landscapes and participation in challenging sieges. Players can craft defenses, play solo or with up to 8 players, and keep their character and progress as they move between servers. This version also allows players to access expansion content for free when joining an Ascendant Edition server. Perfect for players looking to experience the game in solo or multiplayer mode, or for those with friends who have the Ascendant Edition.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

63%

Audience ScoreBased on 662 reviews

gameplay35 positive mentions

optimization19 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of open world exploration and tower defense mechanics, providing a refreshing gameplay experience.
The graphics and art style are vibrant and visually appealing, creating an engaging environment for players.
The crafting system allows for a variety of weapons and upgrades, encouraging players to explore and gather resources.

The combat feels clunky and unresponsive, with issues such as animation locks and poor hit detection.
There are significant performance issues, including lag and frame rate drops, which detract from the overall experience.
The game is marketed as free-to-play, but much of the content is locked behind a paywall, leading to frustration among players.

gameplay
123 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
55%
16%
The gameplay of Eden Rising is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its unique blend of tower defense, RPG elements, and crafting mechanics, while others criticize its clunky controls, bugs, and repetitive nature. The game offers a visually appealing world and a variety of gameplay styles, but suffers from optimization issues and a lack of depth in combat mechanics. Overall, while some find the core gameplay loop enjoyable and engaging, many feel it requires significant polishing to reach its full potential.
- “The gameplay itself is a cute little thing, a serviceable marriage of tower defense, souls combat, and open world gameplay in a free-to-play package.”
- “The gameplay is fun - there are a very large number of upgrades to earn and you're rewarded for repeating tower defense sections and improving your run until you manage a perfect score, which adds some fun replay value for those who want it.”
- “Overall, the game could use some fine-tuning but the core mechanics are a lot of fun with plenty of room to grow; I would highly recommend picking it up and giving it a shot.”
- “The main gameplay is buggy and prone to glitches (tower defense and combat).”
- “The gameplay feels clunky, even at 120fps; the combat is bare bones, and the gameplay is repetitive.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay is not up to the same standard that the visuals set.”
graphics
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
48%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising its vibrant art style and unique aesthetic, which contribute to an engaging visual experience. However, several users express concerns about performance issues, lack of optimization, and low-resolution graphics that detract from the overall experience. While some find the visuals appealing and well-executed, others criticize the animations and technical limitations, suggesting that improvements are needed for a more polished presentation.
- “Beautiful aesthetic, interesting gear and equipment.”
- “The art style is beautiful, and I hope more games start to use vivid color the way this one does.”
- “The graphic design is beautiful, and definitely unlike any other game I've ever seen!”
- “The cutscenes are subpar, the gameplay is non-intuitive, the graphics are cheesy and low res, and the animations are wacky.”
- “Game did not allow changing of graphics settings; I set everything to low to try to run it on my computer and none of the graphics options had any effect. It said they were off but the settings were still on, absolutely unplayable on a lower-end computer.”
- “They seriously look like developer graphics.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
82%
7%
The story in the game is generally viewed as underdeveloped and lacking depth, with many players noting that it feels like an afterthought compared to gameplay mechanics. While some appreciate the intriguing lore and beautiful environments, they express a desire for a more cohesive and engaging narrative. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable for its mechanics, but it leaves players wanting more in terms of story content and structure.
- “The art style is beautiful and the story I was able to see is well put together and engaging.”
- “Intricate storyline that doesn't bog you down with needless info.”
- “Small story and lore tidbits add a bit of interest to flesh out the world and game as a whole while the main focus remains on the gameplay and exploration.”
- “The 'story' is a complete afterthought.”
- “There is some lore to the game and a tangential story, but the game largely does not have a major plot arc from what I've seen thus far.”
- “The story is barely present in this game.”
optimization
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
41%
51%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues, including inconsistent frame rates, lag spikes, and stuttering, even on high-end systems. Many users find the combat clunky and unresponsive, attributing these problems to poor optimization rather than gameplay mechanics. Overall, the consensus is that significant improvements in performance are necessary for the game to be enjoyable and playable.
- “The game has so much potential, and all it needs is just better graphics, better customization, and the most important one, performance.”
- “Performance is a gate that can be welcoming and open or an object that impedes the player base depending on how it's handled.”
- “Sadly, the game is not yet fully optimized, and even on my 1080ti, I drop lots of frames when I am in combat or transition between zones, as there are no loading screens when roaming the world.”
- “The game is badly optimized.”
- “Performance was pretty poor; it didn't seem to matter if I played at high or low settings at 4K or 720p, there were lag spikes and frame drops present throughout my entire playthrough so far.”
- “I find this game unplayable because it is unoptimized.”
grinding
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While some appreciate the simplicity and fun of resource gathering and crafting, many feel that the grinding can become tedious and slow, particularly in combat and when farming for upgrades. The game offers a variety of mechanics to alleviate some of the grind, but it often feels repetitive and can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “If the combat was a little faster, it would be more engaging, but otherwise, it's fun to play and not very grindy.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A decent idea for a game, but very grindy and very slow.”
- “While there is a nice variety of weapons and armor to craft, the combat itself is really slow and tedious.”
- “It also starts to feel way too grindy early on.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and unbalanced mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While some players find enjoyment in the combat and concept, the pervasive technical issues lead to frustration and a loss of interest. Overall, the game is described as awkward and clunky, making it a "bug-ridden mess."
- “The main gameplay is buggy and prone to glitches (tower defense and combat).”
- “Very buggy, unbalanced, and subpar performance overall.”
- “Bug-ridden mess through and through.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
Overall, players express a desire for more music in the game, particularly during exploration and farming activities, as it would enhance the open-world experience. While some reviews mention that the existing soundtrack is decent and enjoyable, the lack of background music during key gameplay moments is noted as a missed opportunity.
- “I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well.”
- “I would say that the only thing I am missing in this game is music, or the option for music.”
- “When you aren't actually defending the base or the towers, you are either farming or exploring, which is fun, because each area is pretty unique and gives you different drops to build armor and weapons, but with an open world game like this, some sort of background music would be nice.”
- “Graphisms are very clean and the music is decent.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The monetization of the game is criticized for not including the expansion pack in the free version and relying on optional in-game purchases for cosmetics and content, which some players feel detracts from the overall value, especially given its price point. While there are no microtransactions, the game's cost is seen as not justifying its content, although playing with friends can enhance the experience.
- “The game would be much better if the expansion pack was included in the free version and the devs' methods of generating income were optional in-game purchases such as skins or weapons, or possibly new world textures.”
- “No, there are not microtransactions; however, when it comes to a $25 game or even the sale at $19, it is simply not worth it.”
- “It's a good game that suffers from some unfortunate monetization techniques, but that can be twisted in your favor if you have friends to play with.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by typical developer jokes, such as amusing sign posts and warning markers, which add a lighthearted touch to the experience. However, some players find the humor lacking in value, particularly when it comes to the game's structure, which can feel repetitive and tedious.
- “The usual dev humor in terms of sign posts and warning markers :) The fast travel towers are a nice touch, and each require three data keys to be constructed.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
Character development in the game features solid character design but lacks customization options, such as clothing, hair, skin, and gender sliders, which limits players' ability to personalize their characters.
- “It has very solid character design.”
- “Character design - there is no customization (clothes, hair, and skin does not make a character; hint hint: gender slider and races, or at least tattoos and markings).”
- “The lack of character development options makes the experience feel shallow and unengaging.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack meaningful growth throughout the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers significant replayability through a variety of upgrades and the challenge of achieving perfect scores in tower defense sections, encouraging players to revisit content. With hours of engaging gameplay and diverse experiences, players are likely to find good value and enjoyment in replaying the game.
- “The gameplay is fun - there are a very large number of upgrades to earn, and you're rewarded for repeating tower defense sections and improving your run until you manage a perfect score, which adds some fun replay value for those who want it.”
- “Hours of content, replayability, variety, and an overall fun game experience means that you are bound to get your money's worth in some way or another.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's unique lore, universe, and artistic style contribute to a compelling atmosphere that immerses players deeply in its world.
- “The lore, the universe, and the style of this game are quite unique; you can truly feel a real atmosphere.”
- “The immersive environment draws you in, making every moment feel alive and engaging.”
- “The haunting soundtrack and detailed visuals create an atmosphere that is both captivating and eerie.”