A bit Spore , a bit No Man’s Sky , a bit something completely different …
As I liked both the evolution simulator and the one in which you can travel through the unexplored corners of the universe, one look at the survival adventure game, The Eternal Cylinder by ACE Team studio, was enough for me to feel a great need to play this title very quickly. The visuals automatically reminded me of both the old Spore and the much fresher No Man’s Sky – aliens, vivid colors and often quite funny design. But in terms of gameplay, The Eternal Cylinderis it similar to these two games with which it has quite a lot in common at first glance? Well … Yes and no. There are some similar elements, such as gathering resources, contact with various life forms, or the element of “evolving” our heroes, but in fact, The Eternal Cylinder presents something different, fresh and definitely enjoyable. A very interesting feature of The Cylinder is something I didn’t expect at all – it’s a role-playing game. This plot is regularly described by a pleasant-voice narrator in a way reminiscent of a nature film and a fairy tale for children at the same time. This results in a great mishmash of scientific seriousness with adorable infantility.
Bundle of joy!
The main (collective) protagonist of the story is a species of two-legged proboscis Trebhums – these inconspicuous creatures, at first glance being flimsy victims, which have their place somewhere at the end of the food chain, are, in fact, completely unique! This uniqueness lies in the fact that our little Trebhums, after consuming the right ingredients, can benefit from their features in various ways. Children’s logic is at work here – after eating a hairy fruit, we will cover ourselves with a fleece that isolates the trebhum body from the hostile frost, after eating a piece of a lively animal, we will become cosmic kangaroos, while a small fish will make a swim membrane appear between our fingers. These are just three examples, and there are dozens to discover! We can also combine certain mutations with each other, so that each of our pupils will be one of a kind. It is important that the herd of Trebhums is varied, as you never know which one is best for a particular situation. An important aspect is keeping round aliens well nourished and watered, but fortunately these needs are very easy to take care of. We can switch between the creatures at any time, and the rest will follow the guide chosen by us.
From board to board
During the game, we will have the opportunity to explore various locations located in several biomes. Moving from one part of the world to the next is very interestingly solved – the destructive roller is held back by pillars that we have to cross in order to avoid it. We are perfectly safe when the Cylinder comes to rest on them. Until its reboot (which in most cases we initiate ourselves), we have time to explore a given piece of land in peace, follow the plot, recruit new Trebhums to our herd and solve relatively simple puzzles. However, the huge destructive roller is not our only problem, as there are native predators lurking around and later also the Cylinder Guardians, about which you can find more information below.
What is really “foreign”?
Playing games, we always move to a “different world” at least a little. In the case of Cylinder, this world is completely different from ours – strange, full of various foreign forms and shapes, even absurd. Nevertheless, while playing, everything quickly begins to make sense to us, we get used to all these ridiculousness and at some point in the game, they appear – terrifying creatures associated with the destructive Cylinder, whose appearance completely differs from the physicality of even the most bizarre inhabitants of the devastated planet. How do they look? Here it gets interesting and disturbing at the same time – cylinder creatures are monsters composed of mechanical and human body parts. Probably because they are a bit of machines and a bit of people, the game turned into a horror movie for me at times.Toy Story . Immersed in the abstract world of the Trebhums, we begin to notice that from their perspective, the shapes that surround us are strange. It’s amazing that even such an inconspicuous title can provoke deeper reflection. That’s what I love games for!
To sum up…
The Eternal Cylinder is one of those games that is really worth playing at least once and forming your mind about it. For me, it was a pleasant experience with nice graphics and sound. I do not regret a single moment spent on escaping the destructive cosmic waltz, I will probably get this title again in the future, just to spend a few nice evenings again.
You can play The Eternal Cylinder on PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
