"Eternal Return" is a horror-themed, retro-style game that combines old-school mechanics with modern nonlinear level design. Players must survive and explore a cursed castle, building up their health, stamina, and arsenal while uncovering the dark stories of its inhabitants. The slow-paced gameplay with tight controls builds tension and stress, making for a truly immersive and frightening experience.
The game has a very good story and builds a nice atmosphere, making it engaging for players who enjoy exploration.
Challenging gameplay that evokes a sense of nostalgia for retro games, reminiscent of classic Metroidvania titles.
The developers are actively involved and making ongoing tweaks and improvements, showing a commitment to enhancing the player experience.
Controls are very poor and unresponsive, making the game feel slippery and difficult to navigate, which detracts from the overall experience.
The game suffers from numerous glitches and inconsistent hitboxes, leading to frustrating gameplay moments.
Lack of proper tutorials and controller support makes it hard for players to understand the mechanics, resulting in a steep and often unfair learning curve.
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its challenging nature reminiscent of classic titles like Castlevania and Dark Souls, while others criticize frustrating mechanics such as poor jump controls and awkward hitboxes. Despite these issues, many find the difficulty engaging and the overall value for gameplay content to be worthwhile. However, there is a consensus that the game could benefit from more polished mechanics in a potential future version.
“The difficult gameplay is very challenging and I really enjoyed it.”
“I would liken this game to the original Castlevania gameplay-wise with Dark Souls-esque theming.”
“As far as the price/value-to-gameplay/content ratio goes, it's worth it.”
“Not even decent jump mechanics to start with, also what's with the huge sprites with annoyingly out of place hitboxes?”
“The problem is that it tries to pass frustrating gameplay choices for challenge.”
“If you get a kick out of difficulty for its own sake, you'll probably get a few chuckles even as you're put off by some weird mechanics - like your secondary weapons bouncing off enemies and hitting you in your own face.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
12%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique and immersive qualities, particularly within its dark, atmospheric castle setting filled with unsettling enemies. While some aspects of the art may not be visually appealing, the overall ambiance effectively enhances the exploration experience, making it a standout feature despite some gameplay issues. Players appreciate the game's distinct personality and atmospheric storytelling, suggesting that a more polished version could further elevate this aspect.
“I recognize that I've done a lot of name-dropping right off the bat, but this game has a personality and atmosphere all its own.”
“The game is set in a refreshingly dark, atmospheric castle full of some pretty messed-up enemies.”
“I'm also digging the design of the game a lot--the castle is dark and atmospheric, and checking out the different levels and gory enemies is a highlight of the game.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics feature a retro pixel art style reminiscent of classic NES and C64 games, which some players appreciate for its nostalgic appeal. However, there are criticisms regarding the lack of originality, as many sprites appear to be minor edits of existing Castlevania designs. While the visuals evoke a sense of old-school charm, they are overshadowed by frustrations with the game's controls.
“The game has a retro/pixel art style, reminiscent of old NES games, which adds a nostalgic charm.”
“As a long-time consumer of Castlevania games, I appreciate the art style, though many of the sprites seem to be minor edits of those from the NES Castlevania games.”
“The graphics evoke a sense of nostalgia with their old-school aesthetic, appealing to fans of classic gaming.”
“The game has a retro/pixel art style, like an old NES game; but the thing with most NES games is the controls at least feel predictable and responsive.”
“Art style: as a long-time consumer of Castlevania games, I found it pretty hard not to notice that a lot of the sprites are just minor edits of sprites from the NES Castlevania games.”
“I can forgive the graphics but not the controls; what a waste of money.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the soundtrack and find it enjoyable, others criticize the limited availability of music, which only plays when finding specific phonographs. Additionally, there are concerns about poor sound design and the use of potentially stolen music assets. Overall, the soundtrack is noted as a highlight, but its implementation leaves room for improvement.
“No bugs, great soundtrack.”
“I like the music!”
“No music unless you find the phonograph for the area when you enter it.”
“It might have been nice to have an alternate track play from the phonographs instead if the music played regularly.”
“I could get past the poor sound design, the stolen art and music assets, and the sometimes god-awful sprite work.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's story is highly praised for its depth and well-thought-out narrative, complemented by a strong atmospheric presence. Despite some gameplay issues, reviewers express a desire for a more polished version to enhance the overall experience.
“Despite some gameplay problems, this game has a very good story and a nice atmosphere. It would be interesting if another version was developed more polished.”
“+story: From what I've seen, this is a pretty well thought-out game.”
“Check out Momodora, La Mulana, or Cave Story (if you somehow missed it).”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly when dealing with large groups of shambling zombies that require extra effort to eliminate. Once players acquire powerful weapons like throwing knives and axes, the focus shifts to grinding for ammo, which can make boss fights feel repetitive and less engaging.
“The basic shambling zombies sometimes take an extra step or two before collapsing, damaging you if you had the audacity to not use the back-step attack, and come in huge droves, making the process of eliminating them very tedious.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, user experiences with stability are mixed; while some players report a smooth experience without any glitches or bugs, others have encountered significant issues that detract from gameplay. There is hope that these problems may be addressed in future updates.
“- Glitches, oh god, glitches: these could all be potentially fixed in the future, but as they stand now... Jesus.”
“- Glitches, oh god, glitches: these could all be potentially fixed in the future, but as they stand now... Jesus.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted as unintentional, with some users finding it amusingly reminiscent of a parody of Castlevania, despite the game not aiming for comedic effect.
“It would be a funny parody of Castlevania, except that it isn't trying to be.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews suggest that while the games may have some level of playability, they lack significant replay value, indicating that players do not find enough incentive to return to them after the initial experience.
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is straightforward and heavily emphasized, with players noting that it can be quite punishing, aligning with the game's tagline. This suggests a potentially aggressive approach to monetization that may frustrate some users.