The paths you choose to progress have a massive impact on the game once you understand the rewards for each kind of encounter.

Doing so ensures more of those types of cards appear in post-battle card selections. In addition to buying cards and artifacts from a store, you can also choose up to two schools of magic to focus on. But you are able to twist and bend it in your favor, and that’s a hallmark of a great rogue-lite game. You usually get a card after every battle, though you can decline to take one if they don’t fit your strategy.Īs with most rogue-lite games, randomness is ever-present. If you’re great at dodging attacks but your deck sucks, you will lose due to attrition. A great deck will fail if your real-time performance is poor. Its two-pronged approach of strategy and physical skill is difficult to overcome. One Step From Eden is one of the most challenging games that I have played within the genre. Every single one of these decisions is crucial to your success. Each time you level up, you also choose a bonus, such as faster magic regeneration. Playing cards require mana, which also regenerates in real-time.Īfter every battle, you usually get to pick a card to add to your deck and sometimes an artifact. You cycle through the cards in your deck, two at a time, with each one being drawn randomly. Fireballs, Lightning Strikes, and Ice Storms all have satisfying impacts. The various cards you play definitely make you feel like some kind of wizard and the visual effects are excellent. No matter which character you play, the game does a really great job of capturing its magical theme. Hazel specializes in placing structures like turrets while another can break tiles with her basic attack. At the same time, they all can be built and adapted to use different strategies.Ī character like Gunner doesn’t have any mana regen at first but charges it by blasting enemies with his gun instead. Each one is a type of spellcaster that specializes in different play styles. Most characters in One Step From Eden need to be unlocked. It’s one of those games you can definitely feel yourself getting better at with each run, and it makes those victories very satisfying. There’s a lot to keep track of and think about with only seconds to spare before you get hit in the face. In addition, you have to adapt to every enemy’s attack pattern and cues. You have to form a deck-building strategy while learning to memorize and execute the cards in your deck in real-time. It taps into a variety of your skills to succeed, and will relentlessly beat you to a pulp unless you adapt. Interested in a Video version of this review? Check it out on YouTube!ĭon’t be fooled, however, One Step From Eden is not a mindless action game. You move around the small gridded battlefield dodging and slinging spells without the comfort of your enemies waiting their turn. One Step From Eden is a rogue-lite deck builder with a pretty significant twist.

One step from eden ps4