The RPG genre can be incredibly daunting for many people. This can be for any number of reasons; games like Xenoblade Chronicles and Bravely Default II can be pretty lengthy experiences, filled with dozens of characters, a wide range of stats to keep track of, and – sometimes – an awful lot of grinding. Of course, in more recent years, numerous developers have taken steps to subvert genre expectations to great success, and Everhood is the latest example of a game that very much looks like your average RPG on the surface, but otherwise proves itself to be something wholly original. It also happens to be absolutely bonkers.
We can only imagine that when trying to decide what to put into Everhood, developers Chris Nordgren and Jordan Roca simply shrugged, popped on a pair of sunglasses, and said “let’s just add it all”. As a result, Everhood is essentially part-RPG, part-rhythm action game, part-kart racer, and part-bullet-hell. It’s a bizarre blend of seemingly disparate elements that, in theory, shouldn’t work together. But as you get further into its story, you just sort of go with it, accepting whatever bizarre, perplexing character or situation crops up along the way.
The plot feels deliberately vague and obscure for the majority of the 5-6 hour experience. In a nutshell, you take on the role of Red, a wooden doll who’s on a quest to retrieve his stolen arm from the dastardly Golden Pig. That’s about as much as we’re willing to say about the plot without spoiling anything, but needless to say, the game throws you into a wide variety of ridiculous scenarios that will make you snort with laughter before questioning your own sense of humour. We simply loved walking into a nightclub scene only to suddenly find ourselves in a kart racing event against 19 other racers.
The cast of characters that accompany you on your journey is what really makes the ‘RPG’ element of the game truly special. As you make your way from one realm to the next, you'll meet all sorts of strange creatures, including Red Dead Mushroom, Banjo Frog, Knight lost-a-lot, and our personal favourite, Noseferatchu. You never quite know which characters are there to help you, and which ones wish to hinder your progress. This is also what makes the battles so memorable; each one feels like an event, with your opponent displaying its own unique personality and quirks. There’s absolutely no grinding involved with Everhood, and no throwaway enemies as a result.
Oh yeah, the battles. For a game that, by and large, is fairly minimal with its visual design, the battles are true spectacles from start to finish. You’ll come face-to-face with your opponent, with a kind of Guitar Hero -inspired fretboard laid out between you. As your enemy attacks, notes fly down each of the five paths, and it’s your job to avoid these by dodging or jumping over them. As you get further into the games, you’ll also gain the ability to absorb certain coloured notes and fire them back to your enemy, chipping away at their health bar.
From a gameplay perspective, the battles require little more than moving from left to right and back again in order to avoid the projectiles. It’s simple enough for pretty much anyone to grasp, but we’d be remiss to say that they’re easy. Even with multiple difficulty options that you can change at any point during the game, some of the battles can be fiendishly tricky, with waves and waves of attacks hurling in your direction with very little room to manoeuvre. What’s crucial, however, is that it never feels too difficult, and even if you happen to die multiple times, you can restart the battle immediately.
With a predominantly black background and solid colours for the characters and environments, the battles come to life with blazing colours and psychedelic patterns lighting up the screen. The musical notes themselves are like little blocks of pure light that stand out even more thanks to the contrasting dark background. Some battles go even further, flipping the screen around, or warping the visuals to obscure the notes flying in your direction. We can’t praise these sections enough; they’re immensely fun, and despite the fact that there’s little variation from one fight to another, they somehow never outstay their welcome.
Naturally, given the focus on rhythm combat, Everhood features a frankly astounding array of excellent musical scores throughout the game. It’s all killer with no filler, and everything included here – from smooth jazz to thrash metal – will stick in your mind long after the credits roll. The catchy music mixed with the awesome visual spectacle makes for one of the most uniquely memorable games in recent years. With this in mind, we’d absolutely recommend playing in docked mode if you can, but the game is just as engaging in handheld mode or on a Switch Lite.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses. While the vague, almost random sequence of events that make up the game’s plot is mostly endearing, there’s an undeniable sense that you’re never quite sure what you need to be doing next. For newcomers of the genre, this might prove to be an instant turn-off if you’re used to having your hand held a bit more. Elsewhere, there are numerous spelling errors in the dialogue throughout the campaign, and while not deal-breaking in any sense, these can be a tad distracting at times.
Conclusion
Everhood is one of the most memorable games we’ve played in recent years. Its utterly bonkers plot and weird cast of characters is reason enough to check it out, but the instantly accessible rhythmic combat will keep you hooked from the very first battle to the epic final boss encounter. Some may be put off by the minimal visual design and deliberately vague sequence of events, but for those after something a bit different, Everhood delivers originality and unique gameplay in spades and absolutely deserves a place in your Switch library.
Comments 25
This looks delightful! will definitely be picking this up at the end of the month.
This one's already on my list of games that I need to pick up at some point. Might end up waiting for a sale just because I have so much to play as it is but I'm sure it'd be super worth it even at its full price which seems pretty reasonable.
This is on my wishlist but as it's so weird I may wait for sale.
I've already been looking forward to this, just waiting on it to drop in price a bit.
Was debating over getting this or not yesterday. Thanks to your review guess I'm gonna buy it now!
Who can argue with a review like that. I’m gonna snag this soon.
I don't need any more games right now, but this sounds tempting! I think I will wishlist it for now, but give it a try later since it's not such a huge time investment.
Is that "guard" screenshot an example of the frequent misspellings? I was hoping it was just intentional weird dialogue.
The title reminded me of fond memories playing that classic old claymation game The Neverhood on my PS1 many years ago in Japan. I think it was just called Clayman Clayman 2 there.
I am having such a good time with this one, the combat isn't exactly what I had expected, but it's a lot of fun anyways
Not a fan of Undertail or Guitar Hero, but if this game make people happy, why not ^3^
Am I the only one who looks at the main hero of Everhood and immediately thinks "That looks like Geno"?
This looks really fun, it also looks like a game that would work better with the Pro controller, going to pick this up and give it a go later today, once my work finishes. I love the music!!!
I definitely wouldn't have paid any attention to this one if not for this review. Will add it to the wish list/back log
Been enjoying it since day one. Great game, feels important. I'm sure it could've managed a 10 if not for the bad grammar and such.
I saw the image and immediately thought, "Did Square-Enix announce something with HIM in it?"
The main character bears a striking resemblance to Geno from Super Mario RPG. It looks like a unique adventure, though the misspellings seem inexcusable and point towards a limited QA process.
The devs definitely made the main protag look like Geno and I'm lovin it because of that. Will pick this up sometime this week
Couldn't have put it better myself @Olliemar28! This really is an experience unlike any other. Every RPG or rhythm game fan should check it out!
@sonicbooming I've been switching between handheld mode playing with standard Joy Con and between docked mode with the Pro Controller and I can't honestly say which is a better experience for combat! Once you get used to one or the other, it's smooth sailing, kinda haha!
This sounds incredible.
I have no rhythm so hard pass for me.
Is that... Geno?!? Lol. I wonder if that was intentional or not.
I watched a speed run by one of my favorite YouTubers Horheisto, this game gets extremely obscure and deep. It's very unique, far moreso than undertale but the influences are everywhere. Ive never played it but I want a sequel
I've never played an RPG that required an awful lot of grinding. Grinding, generally, is a difficulty modifier tool for people who want to make the experience easier. Grinding can entirely be avoided by accepting additional challenge or by turning down the difficulty mode (when applicable). I've never understood people who claim things like either a game is too hard so they had to grind a lot yet refuse to turn the difficulty down, thus defeating the purpose of playing on a harder difficulty when they just grind until it's easy anyway OR people who claim a game, like Dragon Quest XI is too easy, yet they grind constantly and don't use the difficulty modifiers available.
More than most genres, RPGs allow the player to regulate their experience, especially something like the aforementioned Bravely Default games.
G-g-g-Geno...??!!?!?! (I have to think of something more to say so derp)
looks cool! DO NOT PLAY THIS IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY, surprised the review didn't mention it
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