It’s the combat itself that sets this one apart, choosing to cast all the way back to the heady days of Mega Man Battle Network for real-time grid-based battles for you to sling your cards around in. Not only are areas laid out similarly, managing your deck and artifacts and even some of the strategic concerns are the same. One Step From Eden borrows more than just a page from Slay the Spire, honestly. Hopefully your journey will make your deck powerful enough to face the bosses who wield mighty abilities of their own, but even a typical battle can end your run if things go very, very badly. Your route will determine what opportunities you have to grow your character, between experience towards leveling up and new cards from battles, artifacts from elites and treasures, and all manner of goods and services at shops. Borrowing a page from the Slay the Spire handbook, you proceed down different paths in each area featuring battles, shops, camps, elite foes, and a boss at the end.

In truth, I’m still in the learning phases of this one, but it does enough right that I’m more than willing to say it’s worth putting the work into.ĭon’t expect a whole lot of story here: you’re on your way to Eden, last bastion of civilization in a ruined world, and a bunch of nasty things want to stop you.

This unique mix of deckbuilding and fast-paced strategy is mentally taxing on a whole new level, and the roguelike structure means lots and lots and lots of runs before you finally grasp how it all works. How do you feel about learning curves? Do you need steady progression through a game to stay engaged, or are you willing to chip away at parts before you can proceed? If you’re not okay with the latter, I don’t think you’re going to like One Step From Eden very much. This game was selected as one of our April 2020 Reader’s Choice Reviews.

One step from eden igggames