14 DAY TRIAL // 
One of my trebhums has big legs and can reach out of the way platforms. Another has hardened skin and can turn mushrooms into water. My currently chosen protagonist can also attract weird flies with some spikes on his head. I plan to deal with this puzzle before dropping that one for a more useful mutation, possibly one that allows me to actually attack some creatures that have so far only hunted me.
The Eternal Cylinder was created by ACE Team and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment, on the PC via the Epic Game Store as well as on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. The game mixes a unique take on creature development with survival and exploration mechanics.
The protagonists of the story are individuals from a species called trebhum but the most prominent character is the large piece of geometry from the game’s title. The massive cylinder moves through the world and seems to destroy everything it touches. The trebhums need to move and innovate to survive. Along the way, they will discover weird things about their world and gradually a good story will reveal itself, with some great delivery from a wise narrator.
The Eternal Cylinder also puts the trebhums front and center when it comes to the gameplay. Gamers control these small creatures as they move through the world, investigating points of interest, gathering resources, and avoiding dangerous creatures. So far, so traditional, with a focus on innovative world design and a wide variety of both fauna and flora to interact with. Players need to find paths to new areas, deal with hunger and thirst. They even find a magical resource that allows them to upgrade their flock of trebhums.
The big twist is the mutation concept. This is not evolution, as the trebhums do not reproduce and there are no genes involved in the changes. But the creatures do have the ability to quickly mutate in reaction to certain items in the environment. These start off relatively tame: better legs for higher jumps or a special body that repels some attacks from predatory creatures. A cube body unlocks special doors that often lead to other mutations or reveal story elements.
As the game progresses some mutations allow the trebhums to hide from enemies or to even attack them. New ways to deal with puzzles or better explore the world also appear. Finding some of them is pretty complicated but the game encourages players to experiment and try to get various mutation-capable items from creatures.
Even without a mutation, trebhums have one final trick in their small bodies: the ability to turn into a ball and roll at high speed through the world. They need this to escape the might cylinder. This fiery, massive-looking object is only temporarily stopped by pillars the trebhums themselves activate. When the player wonders outside of the protected space, clearly marked by blue light curtains, he needs to move fast to reach the next sheltered area.
The Eternal Cylinder wants players to be careful. Only implement a mutation when it is required. Make sure that the trebhum group is as far as possible from predators when harvesting items. Create a good plan for movement and stock up on resources before triggering the cylinder. It mostly works but there are moments when there’s absolutely no water to find in an area and none of the mutation grubs is nearby, leading to a frustrating death. Always remember to roll as much as possible when you feel threatened.
The Eternal Cylinder is a great-looking game and, more importantly, it’s wildly imaginative. The trebhums themselves look cute throughout and most of the mutations are cool enough to require a quick camera move around the lead character to see the transformation. The world, the enemies, the cylinder, everything is weird in the best sense of the world. ACE Team knows how to put together game universes that are intriguing, vaguely disturbing, and always engaging. The sound design is not as strong as the graphics, but it contributes to those feelings and I never considered replacing the soundtrack with my own songs.
The Good
- Wonderful universe
- Cool mutation concept
- Intriguing narrative
The Bad
- Trebhums are very fragile
- Narrative takes time to get going
- Some difficulty spikes
Conclusion
ACE Team has specialized in weird worlds, but this is the first time the studio has managed to craft one that is also beautiful and immersive. Sometimes I wanted the gameplay spaces to be a little bigger, or even entirely open world. But I understand that The Eternal Cylinder needs structure and hope that the easy-to-understand mechanics and cute protagonists will allow a wide range of players to engage with the game.
Review code provided by the publisher.
