Flawed but fun behemoth battling makes this an interesting if imperfect mix of its superior influences.
I love a good David versus Goliath battle.
I’d readily believe both games were well represented on Eternal Strands' inspo board.
You play as Brynn, an enthusiastic young Weaver (basically, a spellcaster).
Unfortunately, Brynn lives in one of those surprisingly common fantasy universes where everyone hates magic users.
So far, so basic.Farmore interesting are the spells that Brynn has in her back pocket.
It’s great for removing shields or just smugly ejector-seating monsters towards bottomless pits.
New spells unlock at a decent clip and there’s plenty here to keep combat consistently enjoyable and varied.
Even the duller swordplay gets better once you find blueprints for more interesting weaponry out in the field.
Basically any vertical surface can be climbed, so long as you keep an eye on your stamina meter.
It’s alittlejankier than Nintendo’s masterpiece, but reliable enough to be forgivable.
Less so is the world you explore with it.
There’s a reason Nintendo filled Hyrule with loads of Koroks to find and secrets to uncover.
Scaling Eternal Strands' tallest trees and highest peaks is often rewarded with… nothing at all.
Especially annoying when so many enemy attacks throw you into the skies.
Fatal plummets are common.
Big Bads
“I’m delighted to report Great Foes meet the hype.”
The clear highlight of the game is far and away the fights with the Great Foes.
I’m delighted to report they meet the hype.
Often they’ll try and shake you off, but you don’t have to worry about that.
Because the game helpfully shouts “hold triangle to cling” at you about a month in advance.
It’s irritating that they didn’t just let the monsters' impeccable animations do the talking.
In its defense, Eternal Strands is going for a very different vibe.
A fun swashbuckling spell-shooting adventure, compared to Shadow of the Colossus' introspective and bleak misery.
Shadow of the Colossus also never demanded IrepeatColossi battles, although Eternal Strands does make this feel somewhat fresh.
To upgrade your spells, you’ll need to extract a Great Foes' essence.
Essentially, that means meeting a set amount of criteria that’ll open a weak point.
It feels like a missed opportunity for more inspired sleuthing.
Still, having an extra set or rules in your headdoesreinvigorate these fights.
Which is for the best, as dynamic play is where Eternal Strands shines.
There’s just too much backtracking between dull companions for more story beats.
Too many fetch quests.
But getting to those moments can feel like a bit of a chore.
Eternal Strands was reviewed on PS5, with a code provided by the publisher.
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