One Step From Eden (Steam) Review

A SERIOUSLY TRICKY RANDOMIZER

Have you ever played a game that ate up so much time that nothing else got done? One Step From Eden is the kind of game that can hook players deep into that “Just one more round” mentality and could result in trading sleep for another run. This keeps stuff fresh with several characters who can play a variety of ways, some good music to keep the flow, and so much action it keeps you reeling from each encounter.

One Step From Eden is a card attack action strategy game that plays on a grid-like Mega Man Battle Network. Funnily enough, the creator needed to fill a “Mega Man Battle Network sized itch…”

I have played 13 hours so far and I plan to sink in many more. I have yet to beat the final boss though, this game is hard as hell. I have two or three characters I have not unlocked still, but I have watched gameplay of them several times on YouTube and Twitch. I wish I had Gunner. . .

Alex introduced me to the idea of playing this game for review. I had no idea anything about it and a card-type game on a grid-like this was new for me. I never played Battle Network before, mostly because I did not own the system for it so I was pretty excited to give One Step From Eden a go. It’s my kind of challenge too! One Step From Eden drew me in with the fun pixel sprites and great fan art that I started seeing circulating around which caused a much deeper dive into this universe.

I liked it. It’s fun, really wild in co-op, and holy moly the final boss fights. I believe that players are likely to have really fun and fast experiences in each playthrough. Not to mention that each playthrough is mostly randomized so each run will not be the same.

One Step From Eden has a level of difficulty and a learning curve that really hit the spot for me. This may not be for all players, but those who enjoy something that will take practice will love it. The gameplay really takes some getting used to unless you are a previous player and fan of Mega Man Battle Network, Slay the Spire, etc… This is super fast-paced and rounds can end within a matter of seconds if your randomized rolls are done right. Personally, I spent 95% of my time playing just watching my character’s feet so I was not in a square that had danger on it all while casting spells indiscriminately until there was only one enemy left.

The idea of managing a spell list like players do in Magic: The Gathering, Yugioh, or Pokemon decks makes this frantic game really interesting to me. I took several runs where I just had 10 spells and refused to take any more and even got rid of some of the starter spells on top of that. This leads me to how fun and important synergies in spells are. There are so many types, like Slashfik, Phalanx, Miseri, and Hearth to name a few. These spells work well with others of the same type, but sometimes you don’t need some in the same category, or any extra at all. So I played with several, I love Hearth/Kinesys for moving the battle around, I thrived on Hexawan for turrets and the nasty self Turret SD cards that you could keep buffing and shielding as Hazel, a strategy that absolutely tears enemies apart. Point is, there are more ways to play than I can wrap my head around in this review.

One Step From Eden really hits home with just how many times players can start over. If players fall down the rabbit hole of this game, they can easily find themselves in the mindset of “Just one more drop” or “Just one more turn” like Fortnite or the Civilization games. Each time we played it we would end up with several different outcomes. We found that the “Focus” for finding the card type you want to build around rarely worked so it all was random for us. We tried several runs in the Steam Remote Play Together mode where I invited Alex to play like he was sitting on the couch beside me. This was seamless and slick, but what made it awkward was that we had to play the same character, share the same mana pool, and could only cast spells from slot A or slot B depending on which player we were. That said, we had some fun with Mirco Missles and a Double Saffron team. We did not have fun with the fact that we also shared a health pool and could get hit twice as often.

I personally really loved the sprites and retro look of One Step From Eden. It comes with wonderful fan art all over the net with some that are top-notch. The sprite work really lets me know what most of the sprites are wearing or doing, except for Shiso who I feel looks like a slouching alien. The backgrounds are all pretty similar but players have little time to enjoy them upon entering a fight. Only after the fight is over players can take some time to notice that they are even there at all.

I’m in about the same boat with sounds. It hits the nostalgia hard and I really love retro-inspired titles in general. If anyone out there has played a retro title you know the controls leave players wanting more compared to new style games. One Step From Eden gives players just a great feeling over the controls, even if it is extremely busy on-screen with the abundance of movement, explosions, and spell/card casting.

Personally, I say readers should absolutely pick up One Step From Eden and play with it. I’m a bit salty that I still have not managed to beat any of the bosses to get the extra forms of each character but it has a mechanic set that I just have to learn more about in order to succeed. A ton of time can be put into this one. Additionally, since players can finish runs quickly from either dying or clearing all the stages and be right back in, you can get so much done in so little time. Take my measly 13 hours as an example. All characters but Gunner and a secret character have been unlocked and I’ve been to the last boss with four of them. I’ve lost terribly each time but that is aside from the point.

A digital Steam copy was provided for this review. More information about One Step From Eden can be found on the official website.

For more reviews, check out my thoughts on the phenomenal Hollow Knight.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

VISUALS - 8/10

SOUND - 8.5/10

CONTROLS - 7.5/10

REPLAY VALUE - 9.5/10

OVERALL - 8.3/10