Mutation: this is the key to our evolution. It is the reason that made us evolve from a single-celled organism to the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow and normally takes thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred years, evolution takes a leap forward.
Behind these first lines with the perfect power of the no less powerful introductory monologue of Bryan Singer's first X-Men film, hides the theme of the game that we are going to test today: The Eternal Cylinder where we will embody small creatures capable of to evolve instantly after consuming certain ingredients.
Obviously, the purpose of these evolutions is not just for the pleasure of evolving, since the latter will be necessary for you to progress and survive the fauna, the environment, but also and especially the Eternal Cylinder (hence the title of the game), a real infinite cylinder that rolls over the planet, devastating everything in its path. This game mechanic could have been very interesting, but the developers didn't want to stress the player too much by constantly rolling it. You will therefore be able to stop it by activating pylons, but it will start again as soon as you leave the protective field. This mechanism, however, allows you to explore the areas at leisure to quietly collect resources and survive the environment that can be dangerous.
However, surviving is a very big word, even if there are the elements necessary for this type of game integrated such as the management of endurance, thirst and your inventories.
Yes, you read that right: YOUR inventories. Because in The Eternal Cylinder, you will not be alone and, as you find companions, they will follow you relentlessly, but remain just as vulnerable to the dangers of this world. Each creature can evolve as you see fit (add legs to jump and walk, add fur to hold in cold places, emit a scent to attract insects, etc.), it's up to you to apply different evolutionary characteristics and keep them alive, because deaths are final. You can switch creatures at will and control the ones you want.
Technically, the game doesn't have any big flaws, but it doesn't have any big hits either. To be honest, it's the same thing for the gameplay which is already seen and reviewed in many adventure / survival games, but this time in much less advanced because, wanting at all costs to be accessible and a bit cute . It's really only the universe that stands out, but for the rest, the game fails to distinguish itself enough from other games in the genre, so that, although it is far from bad and uninteresting , it is also not essential.
Perhaps a viable option among many others to take your first steps in this type of game?
- Playstation (Playstation 4 tested version)
- Epic Games Store
- Xbox
