Etherborn Review

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Game Details

Title: Etherborn
Developer: Altered Matter Games
Publisher: Altered Matter Games
Website: http://alteredmatter.com/
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Platform: PS4
Age Rating: PEGI 3
Release Date: 18/07/19
Price: £13.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

Etherborn begins with a voice in the darkness, talking to you as you are created. You play as a type of human being (you can see the blood system to the brain, through transparent skin) and your faceless. I felt like this was the beginning of a journey, and with a big deep breath, you are guided beautifully through an introductory level.

You will use the terrain and slopes (slopes are how you adjust your “position”) to navigate along paths, jump obstacles and find orbs to complete puzzle switches.

This game looks incredible, the level designs are very well put together, and the way the levels move around and you navigate the terrain is a bit like an Escher painting.

The subtitles are too large at the start, and this took away from the immersion of the game, but I then noticed you could reduce the size of the text, which made it much better visually. One thing I liked, for the attention to detail was the way the character runs. The movement is so fluid, even the alternating of the feet while running is majestic and lifelike.

I enjoy puzzle games, from the original Tomb Raider to the iOS games of Monument Valley, and I love the simplicity of this game, it earns for you to continue on this weird birthing from the moment you switch it on. My only gripe was the camera can be a bit stubborn and not move, especially if you’re not going the way the game wants you to go. I often found myself travelling to explore, and the camera wouldn’t pan around.

You also find yourself running off the sides, as the camera pans to slow and you’re caught off guard. Yes, you can zoom out, but not explore the map outside of your character’s limit viewpoint.

You move through the game very linearly, you follow a path from A to B and use the tree of life to get there. Each completion of a puzzle opens a new branch, and you continue on this adventure.

The game took me about 2.5 hours, and I spent a lot of time on two specific levels that I was rattling my brain on, mainly because I was an idiot. But, I think the whole game is between 2 and 3 hours long. Once you complete the game, there’s then the option for New Game + mode, which creates a more challenging experience for the player.

The games too short – seriously! I was deeply immersed in the game, and it drew me in, challenged my approach to puzzle-solving and then it was over. I found myself watching the finale cinematic thinking, “Is this it?” and being disappointed there wasn’t more. I would recommend this game to anyone, especially if you want to challenge your mental agility.

Rapid Reviews Rating

You can purchase Etherborn from the PlayStation Store on the following link, https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP2791-CUSA15335_00-ETHERBORN0000001