Everhood (2021)

I recently played through Everhood, and... I have very mixed feelings about it. It's a very interesting and unique experience that tries to combine rhythm and action in a single package. It's deeply flawed in so many different aspects, but at the same time, it's incredible in others. I do think the game was very good, but I wouldn't necessarily call it... Fun.

Everhood is an Action/Rhythm game with more focus on the action than the rhythm. The best way to describe it is as Undertale if Toby Fox was into Guitar Hero instead of Touhou, with you having to dodge through notes in a music chart to defeat the enemies.

The music in the game is amazing. Every battle has its own theme and they all feel equally unique and fun to play, especially near the beginning of the game. I don't catch myself listening to the soundtrack as much as I do with other games, but it's still a great selection.

I also really dig the games aesthetic. It's super fun and colorful, which I love. A lot of the designs and animations can look ugly at times, but that's kinda the point with them. Reminds me a bit of the old Nickelodeon aesthetic.

The gameplay is a lot of fun, and the Guitar Hero-like mechanics are very intuitive. Every enemy has a unique fight against them, where you'll have to survive an onslaught of music notes coming at you, after which you'll defeat them.

Exploring the world and talking to the characters is also very entertaining. They always have something funny to say, and getting to know each resident of the Everhood throughout the entire game is a lot of fun.

The overall story, however, feels somewhat lacking. You play as Red looking for your missing Arm, which the evil Gold Pig stole. It's very simple and light-hearted, to the point where it feels unimportant and... sorta boring? It's like the game is clearly trying to do something more but doesn't quite get there.

But see, that's where the game gets you, because that's only the first half of the game! And after a very important event in Red's story, all the gameplay is completely turned upside down, and the game changes as a whole!

And I don't know how to feel about that!

Slight spoilers below.

Halfway through the game, Red regains their arm and is able to continue their true quest. Suddenly, Everhood turns into a story about what it means to die, and the human fear of it. It's truly one of the most shocking and interesting twists I've ever seen, and I'm a huge fan of this part of the story.

On the other hand, the gameplay completely loses its focus as soon as this change happens. Now, you actually get to fight back against all enemies by deflecting their attacks using your new arm. It's not about getting to the end anymore, and instead, you finally get to defeat your enemies.

While a good idea on paper, the execution is really lackluster. Most fights in the second half are rematches, and as they arent really designed with the new moveset in mind, they feel incredibly out of place. The deflect move on its own also feels pretty bad, like it never hits when you quite want it to... It's still alright, but most of the fights just feel like a chore to get through, and it's definitely a downgrade compared to the gameplay on the first half.

The difficulty also goes a bit off the rails during this part. It never feels unbeatable, and the game does encourage you to lower the difficulty if you cannot beat your enemies, but it's still a bit too much.

In conclusion: I'm very conflicted about this game, because it never feels like a complete experience. It's like every single aspect of the game has a point where it feels incredible, but it's never at the same time. It's like both halves of the game are competing against each other, and every time something in the game is lacking it just drags down the game as a whole.

Yeah, it's a good game, but the fact that the game shows you how good it can be before taking it away from you makes all these small, annoying moments hurt way more than they should. It's definitely not perfect, but if you can endure it, there's an amazing story waiting here for you, and I would still recommend it to anyone who's interested on it. 7/10

If Post-Undertale wasn't already a term in the gaming zeitgeist, I'm prepared to coin it. Or, at least, I was within my first hour or two of Everhood. The low-fidelity art style, irreverent characters and abstract combat systems prepared me to categorize the devs as Toby Wox wannabes. However, to do that would mark a grave disservice to a very special game

I think Everhood found me more than I chose it. I came upon it on a Saturday night, sitting in my Steam library. I was looking for a casual vibey game to put on while hanging out with my partner; I hadn't remembered how Everhood ended up in my library, or how long it had been there. I really knew nothing about the game, just a vague recollection that someone in my life, at some point, said it was good. I think this hazy, vague impression of the game is the best mindset to approach it from

If you are an undecided buyer and somehow this review is decisive for you, stop reading and just get the game. It's $10 and it'll take you about six hours

Okay cool. If you're still reading, you've already finished the game. Maybe you have thoughts. Maybe you have feelings. I do too

My first is that.... Oh my gosh isn't this game just so cool!? I find it so amazing that through the narrative and gameplay, Everhood seems to recontextualize itself several times over. Its a world that at first seems unfamiliar and hostile, but then somewhat endearing, but then tragic! But then... Peaceful. The pivotal twist halfway through the game is one that had to be played so delicately as to be effective, and I feel that the game pulls it off flawlessly

And let's talk about it! I think it takes impressive writing to really make that twist effective. Again, if you haven't played this game yet, just go play it! The game spends the first half edearing you to the characters of the world and, to be honest, I didn't want to be endeared to them! I'm pretty jaded at this point, I've played enough quirky indies at this point, I have enough Sans Undertales in my life!

And yet, against all odds, through games of tennis, D&D sessions, plank diplomas, hide and seek, go karting and any number of cute little interactions, they managed to win me over. Many of these characters I wouldn't necessarily call "friend," but I felt an affection for them. A curiosity. Like in another life I could know them better

And then the game asks me to kill them all. It tells me it would be good, it's for the best. I kinda believe it too, and yet...

"And yet"... that's where the delicious conflict of Everhood is found. In the uncertainty of it all. That through you own lack of perspective, you really can't know the best descision. The mortal mind was not built to bear immortality, to kill an immortal is to grant them mercy. It's a simple principle, but what really gives you the right to judge that? The second half of the game explores this ideas from several conflicting perspectives; some appreciating your descision, other rebelling against it and others responding ambiguously

I think that first twist of Everhood is likely to stand out the most. The twist when you retrieve your arm and learn of your grim responsibility. But I think there's one last twist, one that is more subtle. The twist of reconciliation. Once the task is done, once you even give into the great beyond yourself, you're given one last chance to reconcile with your friends before moving on to whatever comes next

It's a really beautiful moment. I may even believe it to be the beautiful moment of Everhood. I don't think any of the souls of Everhood feared death. Not really. I think what they feared was uncertainty, it's what lead them to seek immortality in the first place. Uncertainty is what drove all their worst behavior; their desire to hoard wealth, self-isolate, and fight. Even at the end of it all, nobody is really sure what comes next. Some seem to imagine some form afterlife, or reincarnation, or new conscious experience or even... nothing. But in that moment, in the moment between life and passage into the next, uncertainty collapses into one absolute truth: It's over, and that's okay

I'm really happy the game ended this way. I was so conflicted through the second half of the game and so worried I was doing the wrong thing. But nothing is ever as it seems in Everhood, and this is a narrative that thrives on subversion and recontextualization. By giving me a new perspective on death, Everhood has given me a new perspective on life

This is a game that will deliver to you an Absolute Truth; one given by the heavens and rewarded with fanfare and achievement - one that, as you think on it, really doesn't mean anything. Meanwhile, the real absolute truths are given freely, innocuously, so quickly that you'd miss them. Maybe by a character in the overworld, or an encounter stinger, or an item description

Or maybe even a beige dancing mushroom

Don't miss the point of the whole~ thing. This is a musical thing! We are supposed to dance, sing and enjoy ourselves!

Steam Curator

Probably the simplest description of Everhood is that it's "Undertale-adjacent", two words that would encapsulate both its feel and indifference to the fourth wall.

But what I don't want to get lost in that comparison is that it itself is also a great game, one with a simple yet fun core combat system based around dodging projectiles with some killer music and a profound understanding of how to escalate the intensity of a fight.

It's writing and themes didn't always hit me in the way I think the developers intended, but its still well worth at least one playthrough.