Let's Talk About One Step From Eden

Remember Mega Man: Battle Network? I wouldn't blame you if you don't. But if you grew up in the late 90's and early 2000's you've probably at least heard of it since it was everywhere from manga to anime to, of course, videogames. Unlike the traditional Mega Man series, which were action platformers, Battle Network was an action RPG with a mix of deck building. It was pretty popular at the time but at some point it was discontinued in favour of the Mega Man Star Force series, which under performed and the Mega Man action RPG's were never seen again. YouTuber Negative Legend did great rundowns of both series on his channel and I recommend checking them out if you want more info on them. Despite no longer being around the Battle Network series does have a cult following due to it's world, characters and battle system. We may never get a sequel but if there's one thing I've learned over the past few year it's that if big publishers don't give fans what they want, Indie creators will.

Enter One Step From Eden, developed by ThomasMoonKang, a game which mixes Battle Network's battle system and deck building with a rogue-like structure, because that's a thing Indie games love to do. Does it work? Well I can't put it down so I guess that answers that but let's get into the details. One Step From Eden doesn't have a story, instead the game thrusts you right into the action. Some might be disappointed by this but I don't mind. One Step From Eden is more of an action game than an action RPG and I'd rather get sraight into, you know, the action than be bogged down by the plot. At the start you pick from one of nine selectable characters, though eight of them are unlockable, and have to travel through various lands battling enemies, collecting spells and fighting bosses as you try to make your way to the titular Eden.

The playable characters all have distinct playstyles. Saffron is the character you have at the beginning and she's a good starting character, easy to get to grips with and can be good with a variety of different decks. Other characters are more specialist in nature, Reva is a defensive character who's main weapon is a refelector so her decks will be lean heavily on building shields and defence while another character, Hazel, has a weapon does no damage but adds shield instead so her decks are focused on building structures to do damage for her. Those are just two examples but every character is like this with each even offering different starting builds which changes their starting deck, artifact and even their main weapon. I've only managed to unlock Saffron's Chrono set so far but even that offered a different feel compared to her default set. Speaking on unlockables, there are also unlockable costumes you can get by beating the game with each character, so it's worth playing through the game multiple times to try them out.

After you've selected the character you're thrown right into the game. Like Slay the Spire, One Step From Eden's rogue-like elements involve traveling through different rooms before capping each area off with a boss. Unlike Slay the Spire, however, there aren't any random events that pop up, every room has a set function so you won't be sucker punched by some bullshit rondomness that depletes half your health when your already near death. Aren't rogue-likes a hoot. At first I was disappointed by this because the randomness is one of the aspects I find most appealing about the genre but over time I realised why this was done. One Step From Eden is all about skill so it goes out of it's way to minimise luck as much as it can. That's not to say luck doesn't play a part in the game, there's an actual luck stats that improves loot drops but increases the difficulty, but it's been lessened here compared to other games in the genre.

Take the deck building for example. When you win a battle you will be rewarded with a spell, chosen from a set of three, and while what spells you get is random there is a way to tip the scales to get what type of spells you want. See each spell has a brand attached to it and each brand can be set as a focus which causes cards of that brand to show up more often. This makes it easier to create the type of deck you want and I hope other deck building games follow suit. You can't carry duplicate spells by the way, once you've got a spell that's the only one you can have. Not sure how I feel about that, I suppose it helps keep things balanced but I also love making broken decks and that is made harder here. But collectng spells is only part of the deck building process, you also have to collect artifacts. You'll collect these in different ways, beating mini bosses, buying them from the shop keeper, leveling up by rescuing certain hostages. If you've played Slayed the Spire it works the same as it did in that game with the relics with each adding different effects, some are ridiculously powerful in certain deck combinations.

There are eight stages in each run with four different types of area's with the boss being determined by which area you're in. You won't know exactly who you'll fight when you enter an area but after a while you'll gain a decent idea of who you might fight, for example if you enter the ruins you'll fight either Terra or Reva. Yes the other playable characters actually the bosses in the game. Getting to the bosses will involve travelling through different types of rooms. The most common are battle rooms but there are also mini bosse and the other typical locations you'll find in a rogue-like such as rest stops, treasure rooms and the shop. The shop is a place you'll want to go to, not just to pick up new artifacts and spells but also to buy spell upgrades and removals, you'll want the latter in particular as it's best to keep your deck as focused as possible, upgrading isn't as important as it was in Slay the Spire but it can still add helpful effects to spells. You can also enter pacts at shops which give you a reward in exchange for dealing with detrimental effects for a few battles. There are two other rooms you'll run into during a run, hazard rooms which are battles that include enviromental hazards and hostage rooms where you have to rescue hostages who will reward you if you manage to save them. The most common hostage is the nurse, who also shows up in regular battles on occasion, who will heal you a little when rescued. This is one of the few reliable ways of healing outside of rest sites so I recommend rescuing them as much as possible. Speaking of rescuing, every time you beat a boss you have the option of sparing or killing them. Sparing them leads to them helping you out on your quest and a health boost while killing them gives you a rare spell and artifact. This also affects which ending you get.

Like any good rogue-like there's enough variation to makes each run unique and the various characters and deck builds you can create add a lot of replay value. Like any good deck building game experimentation is key but if you want some help getting started, the official One Step From Eden Wiki has some combinations you can try out. Unlike Slay the Spire I don't think this is necessary as I've come close to beating the game without a specific themed deck but it does help to have a basic idea of what you want when going in as it is easier to set up combo's.

Which brings us, at last, to the battle system. If you've never played Battle Network, which I'm guessing is most people reading this, the battles are fought on a grid split between both sides. You can only move on your side of the grid but there are exceptions for enemies when using certain attacks. You have a basic weapon which you always have access too as well as a variety of spells, you can have two epuipped and when used it'll be discarded and you move to the next spell in the deck until you run out and have to reshuffle, though you can reshuffle at any time with the press of a button. Quick aside, one thing I will give this game credit for is having fully customisable controls, the default setup isn't too bad but I appreciate that there is an option to make the controls as comfortable to you as possible. Spells vary in how they're used, some will fire straight, others are lobbed and have to be caught on your side and others hit a certain distance away, a helpful targetting reticle helps you to aim your shots more accurately. Some spells will also affect your opponents grid such as creating a flame that deals damage while stood on or cracking tiles which prevents movement on that space. There's a healthy variety of spells and strtegies to try out. Each spell, as well as certain weapons, cost Mana. Mana will fill up on it's own, except for Gunner, and you can increase the maximum amount and improve regeneration with certain Artifacts. You'll want to keep an eye on your Mana because some of the most powerful spells cost a lot of it, though I haven't seen the cost go over 5 which helps keep things from getting convoluted.

There are dozens of spells to collect in the game but they each follow patterns of use, once you figure them all out they aren't hard to memorise. There are also a variety of different effects spells can add like, poison, frost and flow that you'll have to keep track of. I know that sounds like a lot, I didn't even list everything, but it isn't that difficult to keep track of. The battle system is simple enough to pick up but the different characters and deck builds add a level of complexity that makes them fun to play.The battle system can be best described as easy to learn, difficult to master. If you do struggle to keep track of everything I recommend focusing your deck on certain spell types until you get to grips with how they work. Most of the enemies and bosses have clearly defined patterns that you'll need to memorise in order to avoid which is easier said than done because this game can be quite difficult, and by quite difficult I of course mean BALLS TO THE WALL HARD!

One Step From Eden is a very difficult game. I can get to the end of the game fairly well now but only after a lot of practice, and even then I still haven't actually beat the damn thing. The basic enemies aren't too tough to deal with but the bosses can be a nightmare. Bosses have different levels depending on when you fight them. Early on they aren't too bad but in later levels they reach bullet hell levels of absurd amount of shit to dodge. I remember playing this game at launch, the game was nearly impossible but they have since patched it to make it slightly easier, slightly. I don't think the difficulty is necessarily a fault with the game but how forgiving you are of it's difficulty will depend on what type of player you are. Those looking for a good challenge will likely enjoy it quite a bit but if you are a more casual player you may be put off by it.

The only thing left to talk about is the presentation. The sprite work in the game isn't my cup of tea, it lacks a lot of detail though it makes up for that with excellent animation. Maybe I've just been spoiled with games with beautiful sprite work but something about it in One Step From Eden just didn't click with me here. The backgrounds also look pretty simple but that was to prevent them from being too distracting. Even the menu's look a little basic. On the more positive side I do like the character designs and the artwork for the character portraits and endings are nice to look at. The visual presentation is OK but nothing outstanding which is also true for audio presentation. The soundeffects are nice and punchy, I like how big attacks feel big because of them, and the music is, alright. Perfectly fine but not that memorable outside a few stand out tracks.

So, can I recommend One Step From Eden? That depends on the kind of player you are. Do you like games with more of a focus on gameplay and a strong challenge? If yes then I would recommend it whole heartedly. If you are on the more casual side of things and you need a good story then you can probably skip it, though the game is good enough that I would still recommend you give it a shot at some point, preferably when it goes on sale. Whether you decide to get it or not you are getting good value for money here. There's a lot of replay value with tons of unlockables and alternate endings. There's even some multiplayer options here with both a co-op and pvp modes, sadly due to recent circumstances I was unable to test them out as both are local multiplayer only, no online mode here. The version I reviewed was for the Nintendo Switch but it's also available on PC, so far those are the only platforms it is on but hopefully it gets ports to other platforms in the future. The Switch version runs great, steady framerate, no graphical or audio glitches, so you can't go wrong with either version.

One Step From Eden is a fun time, hard as holy hell but fun. It's got an addictive quality to it that makes it hard to put down. If you can roll with the difficulty you'll find a rewarding experience with a lot to offer. We may never get a new Battle Network game but One Step From Eden makes for a compelling substitute. Until next time, stay safe and have fun.