Eternal Strands, the fantasy action role-playing game from former Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw’s Yellow Brick Games studio, has a release date: it will arrive on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC and game Pass on January 28 of next year.
Eternal Strands follows the adventures of Brynn, a member of a dwindling group of magic users known as the Weavers, who sets out into a fantasy kingdom devastated by a cataclysmic magical event to uncover its mysteries and reclaim her people’s cultural home. .
In terms of gameplay, this all takes the form of an action RPG inspired by games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus, with a bit of Monster Hunter thrown in. The last two games can be seen. in the bosses that roam the “open zone” world of Eternal Strands, 25 meter tall climbable creatures known as the Arks, and the way defeating them provides resources that are used to create new weapons and armor at a base camp .
As for Zelda’s influences, they arise from the interaction between Brynn’s magical abilities and the environment. Powers are built around flame, ice, and telekinetic strength, all of which can be further enhanced along with temperature changes caused by the world’s unstable climate. “Heat spreads, chills and real-time destruction allow for unprecedented reactivity in combat,” explains the blurb on Steam. “Create [ice] bridges, burn barriers or throw Brynn around the world. The next-generation physics system encourages and rewards player creativity in both exploration and combat. Oh, and all surfaces are climbable too.
When Eternal Strands arrives on January 28 next year, it will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. It is also confirmed to be the day one game Pass launch for Ultimate and PC game Pass subscribers. Additionally, according to the Steam FAQ, free post-launch content is planned and a demo is also on the way. Yellow Brick Games says more details on the latter will be shared at a “later date.”
