PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

ThetitularCylinderisaconstant

threat,butnotrelentless.Its

approachissometimesblockedby

towersthatdometheirsurroundings

inshimmeringenergy,creatingan

oasiswhereyoucanforageforfood

andwater,delveintoruins,addstray

Trebhumtoyour

horde,andmost

importantlyguzzle

downitemstoacquire

usefulmutations.

TheTrebhum,

whichyou’llcontrol

individuallywiththe

restoftheherd

tumblingbehind,are

farfromthestrangestmembersof

anecologythatblendsTheDark

CrystalwithSalvadorDali.Other

speciesincludeJörmungandr-esque

astralserpents,gellidghoststhat

superheattherocksbeneath,and

massivesauropodsthatconjure

sandstormswhentheyfeed.In

amongsttheindigenouslifeforms

aretheServantsoftheCylinder

itself–thesearecyborgsentinels

whosesearchlightsstripthe

mutationsfromanyTrebhums

caughtintheirpath.

Theseenchanted

reprievesaroundeach

towerarethegame’s

highlight,an

opportunitytopore

overtheecologylike

anavaricious

Attenborough

• workingoutthatone
  beastisanother’s
  offspring,forinstance,orhowtopit
  certaincreaturesagainsteachother.
  Everythingflowsintoacompendium
  whereitemdescriptionsdoubleas
  ‘JustSo’storiesabouttheTrebhum
  themselves,whoaren’tasnewto
  thisrealmastheyappear.

ROLLON

Thepartlyprocedurallandscapesare

nolessmesmerising:pinkandpurple

icefields,curiouscorallattices,and

sky-scrapingseedpods.Thesecond

youbreachthedome,however,all

thatdetailandcolourislostina

panickedstampedeforthenext

tower.Othercreaturesceasetobe

miraclesofnatureandbecome

obstacles,tobespookedawaywith

trumpetblastsorsimplyoutrun.

You’llfallvictimtothecontrols

justasoftenasyouwillroaming

predators.Theterraincanbeuneven,

andTrebhumsarenotbuiltfor

precision:theirsurvivalreliesmostly

onstrengthofnumbers.Managing

yourgrowingherdandredistributing

theresourcestheycarryintheir

stomachsisjustasfiddlyasmoving

around.Youcanpressashoulder

buttontoswitchtoaTrebhumyou’re

lookingat,orholdtheothershoulder

buttontoleaparoundthegroupin

freeze-time,butit’ssimplertodrag

anddropinthemenus.

IfTheEternalCylinderis

unwieldy,itcanalsobeover-

forgiving.Thegame’savuncular

narratorisextremelygenerouswith

hintsandguidance,makingthisafine

A

characteristicallyvividandambitiousfablefromthecreators

ofZenoClash,TheEternalCylinderisonepartgenetic

sandboxtoonepartgetawaysequence.Adistantdescendant

ofEA’sSpore,itseesyouguidingatroupeofrapidlyevolving

creaturescalledTrebhumthroughaworldthatisslowly

beingflattenedbyavast,cosmicrollingpin.Asvideogameapocalypsesgo,

it’scertainlydistinctive.Inpractice,itisn’tquiteaseccentricasitcouldbe.

ROLL PLAYING

THEETERNALCYLINDER is a unique but limited vision of evolution and apocalypse

By Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Thegame’s

narratoris

extremely

generouswith

hints

Superheated rocks

make a fair substitute

for furry coats.

ABOVE:Templepuzzlesrecallthewonkymascot

platformersofyesteryear.

NEEDTOKNOW

WHAT IS IT?

Like the rolling boulder

levels from Crash

Bandicoot, but you’re

steering a herd of

mutant Q*berts

EXPECT TO PAY

£24

DEVELOPER

ACE Team

PUBLISHER

Good Shepherd

Entertainment

REVIEWED ON

Intel i7-6700 HQ,

NVIDIA Geforce GTX

960M, 8GB RAM

MULTIPLAYER

No

LINK

eternalcylinder.com

The Eternal Cylinder

REVIEW