Eidolon

About

Eidolon is a single player survival survival game. It was developed by Kevin Maxon and was released on August 1, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Eidolon is a game about exploring a mysterious landscape and uncovering the stories of the people who lived there once before. It is a game about history, curiosity, interconnectedness, and the slow and inevitable beauty of life. You will be dropped into the dreary and mystical Western Washington circa 2400 c.e. with little to guide your way. Awaiting you is a vast landscape filled with wildlife,…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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62%

Audience ScoreBased on 332 reviews

story40 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Beautiful and minimalist art style with immersive and serene landscapes inspired by Washington state.
Unique narrative experience told through scattered documents that allow players to piece together a post-apocalyptic story.
Relaxing, meditative gameplay with a calming soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere and exploration.

Extremely slow walking speed and vast map size result in long, sometimes tedious travel between points of interest.
Survival mechanics can be inconvenient or frustrating, especially wounds that fester with limited means to heal.
Lack of in-game guidance or effective mapping leads to player confusion, navigation difficulties, and repetitive gameplay.

story
201 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
75%
5%
The story of Eidolon is a fragmented, atmospheric narrative delivered through scattered journal entries and environmental clues across a vast post-apocalyptic landscape. While praised for its rich, well-written lore and evocative storytelling that invites patient exploration, many find the pacing slow and the story progression disjointed, requiring significant traversal to piece together a compelling but sometimes incomplete experience. Overall, it appeals to players who appreciate meditative exploration and narrative discovery over traditional gameplay or structured plot.
- “Eidolon is a testament to the power of atmospheric storytelling, delivering a serene and thought-provoking journey that lingers long after the game is over.”
- “You will find well-written documents that will weave together a remarkably rich, sad, and inspiring story.”
- “From the earliest stages of its development, the goals of Eidolon were to tell a story, to craft an experience.”
- “The story is disjointed, so there is no progression and there is no sense of direction either.”
- “The story itself is actually ok, but in order to reveal it you need to get through such a painful experience, it's simply not worth it.”
- “While I appreciated the variety of the fragments, the sheer number of them made it hard for me to follow a cohesive storyline and eventually I got frustrated.”
graphics
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
67%
3%
The game's graphics feature a minimalist, low-poly, and lo-fi art style that evokes a cozy, atmospheric, and meditative experience reminiscent of titles like Proteus, with particularly stunning night skies and natural landscapes. While many appreciate the visuals for their unique and calming aesthetic that suits the vast open world, others criticize the simplicity, occasional laziness, and lack of detail, especially in manmade structures, leading to mixed feelings about immersion and polish. Overall, the graphics are a deliberate stylistic choice that may appeal to fans of artistic, mood-driven exploration games but might disappoint those expecting more detailed or conventional visuals.
- “The graphics are really pretty and sometimes I just find myself staring up at the sky while in the middle of the forest, looking at how the stars peek through the gaps in the trees.”
- “The night sky with its myriads of stars is quite stunning and effects such as fog or sunset/sunrise light work wonders even with such simple graphics.”
- “Eidolon does so much with so little, graphically; despite the low-poly environment, it never ceases to be beautiful.”
- “It wouldn't be such a huge problem if the graphics weren't lazy/low poly.”
- “This "game" was made in the unreal engine by a team obviously well versed in this engine as every game they have published so far has been inside of it so this must have been their first game because the lack of ingenuity in the approach really show, the lazy, and generic polygonal art-style coupled with the underdeveloped "survival mechanics" that literally amount to collect item, click into the horrible interface, and keep walking with no real feel of any consequence all feel like undeveloped concepts in what turns out to be a generic, uninspired bag of garbage that thinks that good sound design and well written albiet small snippets of story that lead nowhere makes it "artistic" and thats the worst part, this is a good game conceptually, you get dropped in a post-apocalypse world where the only clues of what happened are snippets of peoples lives, conceptually this could have been the minecraft meets the last of us game developers have been trying to make for ages but nothing in this open world feels finished or even looks finished, its all just an empty sandbox with really boring survival mechanics and little note's that could have built upon one-another into what could have been a real story but end up just being random storys that are as long as they are meaningful and trust me they are very short story's and i had to pay fifteen bucks to learn all of that because none of these reviews properly spelled it out for me, so while i can't get that hour of my life back i can at least tell you to stay the hell away and not waste your money or time like i did.”
- “-normally i wouldn't say a bad word about an indie game graphics but it seems to be so lazily developed it's sad.”
gameplay
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
75%
10%
The gameplay is generally slow-paced, minimalistic, and centered around exploration, basic survival mechanics (such as foraging, hunting, and managing hunger), and finding story elements through environmental clues. While its simplicity and lack of challenge suit an immersive, meditative experience for some, many find the survival elements shallow, repetitive, and sometimes frustrating, with limited interactivity and little consequence. Overall, gameplay is often described as lacking depth and innovation, making it feel underdeveloped or more like a walking simulator with basic survival mechanics.
- “It's minimal and cozy in terms of art style, gameplay mechanics and tutorialization.”
- “At first I was surprised and disappointed that the survival mechanics were so limited and easy to master, but I later learned that the game is deliberately set up that way to make you focus on traversing the world and finding secrets.”
- “Awesome game if you're into slow-paced, open-ended exploration of a huge world with some very basic, relatively low-pressure survival mechanics.”
- “This game was made in the Unreal Engine by a team obviously well versed in this engine as every game they have published so far has been inside of it, so this must have been their first game because the lack of ingenuity in the approach really shows. The lazy and generic polygonal art style coupled with the underdeveloped survival mechanics that literally amount to collect item, click into the horrible interface, and keep walking with no real feel of any consequence all feel like undeveloped concepts. It turns out to be a generic, uninspired bag of garbage that thinks that good sound design and well-written albeit small snippets of story that lead nowhere makes it 'artistic' and that's the worst part. Conceptually, this could have been the Minecraft meets The Last of Us game developers have been trying to make for ages, but nothing in this open world feels finished or even looks finished. It's an empty sandbox with really boring survival mechanics and little notes that could have built upon one another into what could have been a real story but end up just being random stories that are as long as they are meaningful, and trust me they are very short stories. I had to pay fifteen bucks to learn all of that because none of these reviews properly spelled it out for me, so while I can't get that hour of my life back, I can at least tell you to stay the hell away and not waste your money or time like I did.”
- “There's really not much actual gameplay in Eidolon – you need to occasionally forage, fish & hunt to keep yourself nourished, but the game isn't actively out to get you unless you get foolhardy. The survival gameplay elements are trivial and not at all the point of the game—the point is in navigation, exploration, and backstory, all of which is slow and long. Gameplay is very lackluster; basically all you do for around 15 hours required to 'finish' Eidolon is running around following a bird, with some stops to eat or sleep. So basically a gameplay that consists almost exclusively of running ahead can be completely automated.”
- “I really, really tried to like it, but at the end, there isn't a lot to do, the mechanics are not great, and it doesn't feel like a finished product. The survival mechanics are extremely basic and dull. The gameplay is basic and the game is stylistically pretty nice, with good, simple graphics and atmospheric soundtrack; however, there just isn't that much to do or see. Also, I agree that the map is incredibly convoluted, and detracts from gameplay.”
music
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
52%
7%
The music is widely praised for its sublime, ambient, and meditative qualities, beautifully enhancing the game's atmosphere and vast landscapes without becoming repetitive or overbearing. It complements the minimalist art style and reinforces the game's relaxing, melancholy, and immersive experience, often regarded as one of the best soundtracks in gaming. However, a few users noted occasional repetitiveness and uneven sound integration.
- “The game's atmosphere is further cemented by the excellent post-rock/ambient soundtrack that I count among the very best in gaming.”
- “With its minimalist art style, enchanting soundtrack, and vast landscapes, it offers a truly unique and meditative experience.”
- “Evolving and changing with the scenery around you is the melancholy and serene soundtrack, utilizing a wide array of wood and stringed instruments that encompass the natural wonder you find yourself in.”
- “The soundtrack is pretty, but it gets repetitive after a while.”
- “Heard the same garbage soundtrack over and over.”
- “It needs more work, the music is poor and repetitive, the sounds are also lacking.”
atmosphere
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
84%
8%
8%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive, serene, and evocative worldbuilding, supported by a unique art style and a highly acclaimed ambient soundtrack. While some find the constant fog and slow pace tedious, many appreciate its peaceful, thought-provoking mood and strong environmental storytelling. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the game's standout feature, creating a memorable, contemplative experience despite basic gameplay.
- “Eidolon is a testament to the power of atmospheric storytelling, delivering a serene and thought-provoking journey that lingers long after the game is over.”
- “The open world is utterly vast and despite the simplicity of the graphics, the atmosphere is second to none, with beautiful music creating a powerfully mournful and moving experience.”
- “The game's atmosphere is further cemented by the excellent post-rock/ambient soundtrack that I count among the very best in gaming.”
- “Also, I have to admit that at times I used cheat engine to speed up travel - I know that goes against the intended atmosphere, but walking across Washington state, even scaled-down low-poly Washington state, is a time-consuming activity.”
- “Should the game have better sound work, the atmosphere would have a much bigger impact.”
- “The atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing during the day and, at times, terrifying at night (though there are no enemies beyond local wildlife to elicit such terror; the darkness and the groaning of metal from what had been grand skyscrapers will do that in their stead).”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is often criticized for becoming tedious and shifting focus away from the story, with repetitive survival tasks and a large, monotonous map contributing to a tiresome gameplay experience.
- “The survival aspect, while interesting, can get really problematic, shifting the focus from the story to survival, which quickly gets tedious.”
- “Writing an algorithm to random-generate a world filled with the same twenty or so environmental assets that stretch on as far as the eye can see is not an excuse for having tedious, uninteresting gameplay.”
- “It starts to feel very tedious after a few hours... did I mention the huge map size?”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers a beautiful and calming experience with deeply touching, personal moments, especially through exploration and storytelling. However, some players feel it lacks a profound emotional conclusion and that meaningful engagement or a sense of achievement takes time to develop. Overall, it evokes a peaceful yet quietly impactful emotional atmosphere.
- “Eidolon provided me with a beautiful, personal experience in a variety of ways - wandering lost and alone was peaceful, following lost lives was deeply touching, and the freedom of exploration was ultimately incredibly calming.”
- “Eidolon is Fallout's quietest, most touching moments distilled into an entire game.”
- “I would have loved some kind of profound or emotional ending that ties everything together.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is both intentional and accidental, blending a peaceful, relaxed pace with light tension to create amusing moments. Features like the quirky controls and funny in-game mix-ups, such as mistaking a bear for an oil drum, add to the charm and laughter.
- “Funny, the idea of life-and-death at such a peaceful pace, just enough tension to keep it interesting.”
- “I actually find this bit hilarious: devs included a system that allows you to constantly go ahead (numlock), and a toggle for running (capslock).”
- “It's beautiful, it's relaxing, it's funny intentionally and unintentionally (I mistook a bear for an oil drum!), and the interactive nature of the journal is so good.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
Optimization for the game is mixed, with some users experiencing smooth performance and low system requirements, while others report longstanding issues and poor optimization. Developers appear to have neglected addressing these problems, impacting the overall experience for some players.
- “The game is overall great, I have surprisingly found 0 bugs, and it all runs smoothly for a peaceful and fun survival game with low requirements.”
- “Beautiful game with terrible optimization issues, seems like the dev doesn't care as there's been problems since years ago.”
- “Beautiful game with terrible optimization issues; it seems like the developers don't care as these problems have persisted for years.”
- “Really interesting, but seems rather poorly optimized and insists on recording footage.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous graphics glitches that disrupt immersion, and its slow-paced gameplay further detracts from the experience. Overall, stability issues significantly hinder enjoyment despite the appealing art style and concept.
- “Unfortunately the concept is hindered by the plentiful graphics glitches, which take you out of the setting, as well as the gameplay, which is slow... very slow... as slow as actually walking several miles through the hills of the Pacific Northwest and filled with constant material collection as you bounce from berry bushes to generic 'mushroom' clusters picking up food so that your character doesn't starve and avoiding killer bears and wolves along the way.”
- “Seems interesting with a beautiful peaceful art style and music, but the game seems pretty buggy.”
- “I honestly thought the game was just in the very starting stage of early access, so I was giving it a lot of leeway during a stream for all the glitches and lack of depth or immersion - figuring those things would come along once the game progressed through a few initial stages of the first development...”