A few years ago, Humble Bundle had a hand in releasing one of my all time favourite independent games, Slay The Spire, a deck building, roguelike turn-based game where you climb a tower to destroy its heart. This year, the company is at it again with the release of a brand new roguelike featuring card elements: One Step From Eden, developed by a single person, Thomas Moon Kang. Thankfully, the similarities end at that, as One Step From Eden is inspired by and plays exactly like the Mega Man Battle Network games.

First things first, this is a roguelike game, meaning there’s no tutorial. Once the game starts, you’re thrown into the middle of the mess and it’s up to you to figure out what’s happening. This is trial by fire, just the way I like it. You’ll start the game with access to one character and one loadout, each loadout featuring a different base deck and weapon to use (essentially equivalent to Mega Man‘s buster). In total, Eden features nine different characters, each with 2-3 loadouts and costumes. Costumes have no real effect on the gameplay, they just make you look cooler.

At the end of each area, you’ll be forced to fight against another character, each of them having massively different fighting styles. Honestly, my favourite fight in this game was the one against the Dancer. All enemies telegraph their attacks, so if you get hit you know it’s your own fault. You know to avoid these spaces, but the Dancer is different. You have to follow the spaces as they light up and dance along to the music, because during intervals she hits with an unavoidable attack. It’s a unique fight. 

Once you fight and defeat a boss at the end of each area, you have to make a choice. You can kill the boss, which will grant you experience, money and drops, or you can save it. If you choose to save the boss, it will heal you for 400 health points and will generally pop up in later battles to help you out in one way or another. I’m under the assumption that to unlock more characters you have to save them. I only assume this because there doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason to your level for these unlocks.

One key hint to doing well in Eden is focusing on specific card styles in your deck and in the artifacts you pick up. Artifacts are collected from chests, minibosses, bosses (if you choose to kill them), and from leveling up. These are items that have a permanent effect on the rest of your run, from increased mana to higher regen to crippling enemies by spawning them while suffering from a poison status. You’ll practically always level up in your first couple fights and will be able use the cards and artifacts you get in order to figure out the kind of deck you will end up building. So far, I’ve enjoyed building poison-centric decks and causing massive tick damage so I can focus on dodging a barrage of enemy attacks.

The controls in Eden are incredibly tight, with everything basically coming down to knowing how and when to move. It can become very stressful when you have three or four different enemies attacking you at once, especially if all their attacks vary massively. The game’s music is gorgeous. Eden is one of those few games I will listen to its soundtrack when playing other games. It’s highly energetic and matches the game’s playstyle perfectly. Especially in the fight against the Dancer.

Long story short, if you were a fan of Mega Man Battle Network, this is probably the closest you’ll get to a new game. One Step From Eden takes everything that said game and Slay The Spire did well while cranking it up to 100. It’s a blast of a game that satisfies every video game craving I’ve had the past few years, all in one package. Plus, with everyone stuck inside, it’s the perfect time to get mad at a game that’s tough as nails. You’re welcome!

Graphics: 9.0 The pixel art style is lovely and matches the game perfectly. All the characters are noticeably different even in their different costumes.	Gameplay: 10 Incredibly tight gameplay mechanics that are easy to pick up, but insanely hard to master. They will keep you coming back for more.
Sound: 9.5 The music and sound effects in One Step From Eden are fantastic. Even when a hundred things are happening at once, it doesn’t come off as a wall of sound.	Fun Factor: 9.5 Two game styles I never thought would work together ended up going together like peanut butter and jam. This is not a game for someone who doesn’t like a challenge, but if you do then this will keep you occupied for ages.
Final Verdict: 9.5

One Step From Eden is available now on Nintendo Switch and Pc.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of One Step From Eden was provided by the publisher.