Yesterday, Canadian developer Yellow Brick Games announced that a free demo for its debut title, Eternal Strands, will be released on January 21, one week before the full game’s launch. The demo’s content has not been revealed yet, nor do we know if progress will carry over to the full game once purchased.
Eternal Strands is the new game by former Dragon Age lead Mike Laidlaw. After leaving BioWare, Laidlaw worked on an unannounced Arthurian-inspired roleplaying game at Ubisoft, but that project was canceled. Afterward, Laidlaw founded Yellow Brick Games to make this intriguing fantasy third-person action/adventure title.
At Gamescom 2024, Francesco and I were able to play a short but impressive demo that showcased the game’s emphasis on physics. Here’s an excerpt from the hands-on preview:
What truly makes Eternal Strands stand out is the well-realized magic system. Every spell, from the simplest elemental shots to the more complex gravity-based ones, interacts not only with the environment and the enemies but also with one another. One gravity spell, for example, can propel Brynn forward and up in the air, but it can also be used to push enemies into chasms or to extend the range of elemental shots. In other cases, another spell can make other spells whose effects go off after a short while activate instantly.
The story follows Brynn, a young magical weaver and treasure hunter, as she seeks to unravel the secrets of the Enclave with the help of her companions. Long ago, the Enclave was a center of magical development, trade, innovation, and social life. But after arcane disasters spread across the Mayda region, it sealed itself off behind a magical wall known as the Veil. Now, it falls upon Brynn and her fellow weavers to unlock their secrets.
While there will be dialogue choices, despite Laidlaw’s background, do not expect big moral choices leading to different endings. However, from what we’ve played, the action should be very fun. Eternal Strands is also expected to last a decent amount, between 25 and 35 hours, according to the studio. More content is coming after the January 28 launch, including a partnership with Square Enix’s Creative Studio III Lead Artist Yusuke Mogi (known for FINAL FANTASY XIV Online) to design a new Epic creature, weapons, and armor set. The system requirements for Eternal Strands are listed below; the game will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. Game Pass subscribers will get it on day one.
Minimum
• Performance: 60 FPS @ 1080p
• Graphic settings: Low
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super [6GB] / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT [6GB] / Intel Arc A580
• CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3350G
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 10 / 11
• Additional Notes: SSD required.
Recommended
• Performance: 60 FPS @ 1440p
• Graphic settings: High
• GPU: GeForce RTX 3070 [8 GB] / Radeon RX 6800 [16GB] / Intel Arc A770
• CPU: Intel Core i5-11600 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
• RAM 16GB
• OS: Windows 10 / 11
• Additional Notes: SSD required.
