Solid colours and simple geometry dot the landscape of Everhood: Eternity Edition, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Developed by Foreign Gnomes and published by BlitWorks Games, the gallery of screenshots promises a rhythm game that will test your mettle and your ability to perceive, as 2D and 3D imagery all blend together for a firework show like few others. Let me tell you this: Everhood is a grand time. Aside from coming to Xbox for the first time, this version of the game also features additional content not found in the original PC release of the game.
Sleight of Hand
On first glance at Everhood, most folks would immediately think of Undertale. Maybe Deltarune. The quirky little adventure games where black is white and white is grey all over sometimes, all the while offering multiple endings and various choices done primarily through the player’s actions. Consciously but often times without. Everhood follows a similar philosophy with its overarching narrative and how it allows the player to interact with the world and its weird residents. But there’s also a starch contrast in Everhood’s presentation: it loves psychedelics.
You’ll be blinded by light shows all over through the eyes of Red, a mysterious puppet cloaked in (you guessed it) red, whose arm is stolen by a blue little gnome that bolts off into the wilderness. It’s mere moments away where you’re taught the core gameplay of Everhood by a banjo-strumming frog: dodging enemy attacks to the rhythm of their song’s beat. Well, I say ‘core’ gameplay but there’s a lot more to Everhood than just dodging notes—a key aspect to what makes this game fun to play is how often it changes the rules to its gameplay while still keeping its rhythm battle gameplay heart beating. But I digress.
Everhood is all about its ‘dance battles’ as I like to call it. Players dodge notes by jumping around like a maniac or slipping and slidding between a variety of beats that come in all shapes, sizes, and colour. Some songs are a cake walk; others will really test your ability to weave through traffic. Death comes often, but the game is more than forgiving if you’d like to take the helping hand. You can’t back out of fights, but you can adjust difficulty up or down to your desires at any point. For long songs, the game also checkpoints just at the right time, so you don’t have to worry about fumbling at the worst possible time.
This is all in the name of finding Red’s arm, of course. Right? Potentially?
A Sum of its Parts
Everhood’s narrative reveals more about its bizarre world as you progress through its many environments of basic geometry. But don’t let that look fool you because the game’s sprites and use of 3D models are a visual treat (flashing lights warning, naturally) out of rhythm gameplay and in. Speaking of gameplay, let me touch back on how Everhood changes up its gameplay to keep things fresh. Your goal isn’t always going to be dodging—some fights might have different objectives to success like making your way through a mine shaft with buttons on the side, or continue through a Dungeons & Dragons session that gives you the ability to deflect oncoming attacks as opposed to simply dodging like you’ve been doing up to that point.
There are various minigames you can take on over the course of the game if you’d like. Race down an old SNES-style speedway or play tennis with one of the game’s many oddball characters who have more humanity than at first glance. The pacing of all these gameplay shakeups is great and feels natural, and it never dallies too long on a gimmick thanks to the game’s focus on its core combat. Story relevance often kicks into these fights too in an interesting fashion.
And I can’t talk about a rhythm game without talking about its music. Everhood features a lot of tracks from all sorts of genres. Acoustic and electric guitars accost the stage, to pianos, heavy synths, flutes, and what have you. All the notes are associated with a set rhythm that players can get accustomed to in their journey to win battles against the world’s many, many battle-frantic foes. So not only does it sound great, but the developers made sure the game’s score is mechanically viable.
On a Note
Everhood surprised me with how reactive its world was to whatever I was doing. In my hunt to find secrets, I’d talk to characters multiple times to get extra dialogue or a fight I wasn’t expecting. I also took on a challenge that, in hindsight, was pretty dumb. But one thing us gamers are good at is wasting time trying to see what’s at the ‘end of a tunnel’, so to speak. I liked the story and its morbid implications, though I wasn’t too keen on the game’s backdrop being told through randomly scattered letters. In a game that’s very creative with its presentation, these lore notes stuck out like a sore thumb.
The Eternity Edition also includes extra battles created not only by the game’s community but features tracks from many a composer such as David Wise, Keiji Yamagishi, Disasterpiece, and more. These fights feature unique battles not found in the main game and can be accessed from the main menu at any time. They’re pretty cool. And difficult. Steel yourself when you get to this mode is all I can say.
It’s great that Xbox players can now play this awesome musical adventure. Everhood is well-paced, offers a balanced difficulty, features great music, and takes players through one hell of a psychedelic trip that’s also bittersweet. You owe it to yourself to give this one a go. ∎
Everhood: Eternite Edition
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Strong visual presentation that'll make your head spin.
- Fun rhythm-based gameplay that frequently changes up.
- Well-paced narrative and progression,
- Great music.
