During Summer Games Fest a little over a week ago, we got to go hands on with Studio Sai’s upcoming dating action RPG Eternights. We were able to spend around two hours with the game which appeared to be the game’s opening few hours. While we didn’t get to go too deep into the finer mechanics of the game, what we did play was quite enjoyable.
The first thing that pops out about Eternights is the inspiration the developers took from the Persona series. The game features many aspects that Persona is known for such as a daily calendar system that you progress through, social stats that you increase up through four ranks, and you have Confidants you spend time with and grow closer too which unlock bonuses for party members.
Described as a dating action RPG, we didn’t get too in depth with the dating mechanics aside from some small flirtatious dialogue options and spending time with a Confidant near the end of the demo. However, we got to spend a lot of time with the combat.
Combat isn’t too complex to start with the main focus being on a simple attack combo and dodging enemies. It does open up some as you progress with the ability to use elemental fist with your fancy new arm to deal major damage or break a stronger enemy’s shield. These moves are incredibly flashy bring a stylish flare to combat as you build combos with other abilities you unlock. Your party members are also able to assist you in combat at your command, and you a have an energy bar that corresponds to many uses of party member abilities you have. We only had one party member with us in the demo who was able to produce healing circles at our location to restore HP.
The story of Eternights is your typical anime storyline which some dialogue even pokes a little fun at. It starts with the protagonist and his best friend signing up for dating apps and then suddenly the apocalypse happens and thrusts our characters into the main crux of the story. The game does feature beautiful animated cutscenes during major story moments. My biggest gripe is, outside of cutscenes, the characters look a bit goofy especially in the faces and the facial animations even in character portraits where their mouth is constantly moving when dialogue appears. Though, some of these goofy faces can be pretty hilarious at certain points.
Eternights is set to release this Fall on September 21, 2023 for PlayStation 4 and 5 as well as PC.