One Step From Eden

Let's get one thing out of the way first. Yes, the combat of this game is nearly identical to that of the MegaMan Battle Network games. No, this game is NOT a replacement for those games. This is a roguelike and not a story-rich RPG, so while you get the combat you don't get the rest of the experience. So, if you were expecting a substitute for those games, this isn't it. Now, if all you care about is the combat and are into roguelikes, this is quite a fun experience, provided you're in the right mind for it. Combat is much more fast paced that in the MMBN games, with no time to breath until you finish a battle, so take that into account. The battlefield consists of a 8x3 grid, where your character stays on the left 4x3 side and the enemies are on the right one. Your movements consist of a basic weak attack and cards that are rotating every few seconds from a deck. Cards come in various flavors (attack, defense, status, combo, etc.) and are added to your deck from a choice of random unlocks every time you finish a battle. You can upgrade these cards to different effects and discard them at certain points if you don't need or want them. You start with one character, but unlock more the more you go on, each one with its own set of abilities and costumes. The combat is super fast, but permissive. You can shuffle your cards at any time, and they rotate back to their starting point once you're out (unless specifically noted). Since enemies are mostly random you'll do good getting a lot of different kinds of cards in your deck. Of course, cards unlocked during play will mostly go away once you die or finish a run (this is a roguelike after all), but as you gain experience you get to unlock some that will remain in play for future runs. Finish a battle and you get to choose a few different paths with different obstacles. Reach a certain point and advance to a new stage. Repeat until you finish a run or die. Simple, but fun, if not particularly mind-blowing.

Yes, this game looks like Battle Network. However, it offers a much different experience. BN has much more predictable enemies, lots of brief pauses to let you consider your next move, more deliberate deckbuilding, and overall fewer things happening at once. One Step From Eden gives you a character select screen and then throws you directly into the middle of a hectic battlefield with several enemies, complicated enemy patterns, no breaks in combat until all enemies are dead, and a deckbuilding system that leads to more improvised or even slapdash decks. You can influence the cards and items you get after a battle, but it's still up to the luck of the draw. Some characters seem to deal with this okay, others feel totally crippled unless you can get good pulls. When considering OSFE from a game design perspective, I feel like it has enough flaws to warrant a 3 star review, but I keep opening up this game and not the 3 or so other in-progress games I have, so it's clearly doing something right.

The game is very difficult, but at the same time it is fun and addictive, with a little practice and effort, you will be able to overcome the challenges. The soundtrack and pixelated graphics are a show apart. Highly recommended for all types of casual or hardcore players, there is room for fun for everyone. especially if you play in cooperative mode, unfortunately only local.

I rarely submit reviews, but OSFE deserves all the praise I can give it. 20 hours of gameplay in and I'm just barely scratching the surface. It isn't MMBN, but it's a lot faster, more intense, and challenging. The use of difficulty extenders (hell passes) means the game's skill ceiling is sky-high. I unlocked every character and only have a few victories so far, so I'm looking forward to getting a lot more soon. Very, very fun game with tons of potential.