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The Eternal Cylinder is a
winning but wayward
chimera of survival
game, surrealism and
storybook adventure.VERDICTchoice for younger players. The
survival elements are unobtrusive:
hunger and thirst are easy to sate,
even before you eat things that turn
Trebhum into water filters and
larders, though later desert and
tundra environments raise the stakes.
While the game’s story obliges you to
track down certain mutations at
intervals, it’s often possible and
therefore tempting to just make a
beeline for the next tower.
The Eternal Cylinder’s larger issue
is that it is on some level a bog-
standard upgrade-a-thon pretending
to be something weirder. Many
mutations are just colourful rehashes
of platform and survival game staples:
recurved knees for a higher jump,
balloon stomachs for gliding etc.
You eventually gain the ability to
make your mutations permanent.
And, as such, the playfulness of the
opening hours soon fades away and
the game just becomes a steady
process of optimisation.
This is satisfying enough, but the
art direction had me hungering for
something more adventurous. The
Eternal Cylinder is an admirable
specimen that falls a few mutations
short of brilliance.ABOVE: To make
mutations permanent,
you need a recipe from
elder Trebhums.
FAR RIGHT: (^) Losing
your mutations to
Servants is easy when
leading a large herd.
FASHION VICTIMS
My top four Trebhum looks
‘THE BEARDED
PLUNGER’
Well insulated, and
with sticky feet for
those 180 degree
selfies, this Trebhum
is as good at making
a splash as it is at
absorbing water.
‘THE PURGATION
CUBE’
In themselves those
right angles are
nothing to write
home about, but
those toxin-filtering
proboscis put the
‘flair’ in ‘square’.
‘THE DISCO
BALL’
A timeless look, and
those recurved legs
will cause uproar on
the dance floor. We’re
pretty sure predators
love the sparkly
finish too.
‘THE
BLUNDERBUSS’
Good lord, what’s
going on here? No,
don’t make eye
contact – it doesn’t
like it when you stare,
and that trumpet
isn’t just for show.
The Cylinder’s rampage is
worth watching, once you’ve
reached a safe distance.