Eclipse: Edge of Light Reviews
Unravel the mysterious history of a dead planet in a brief, overly simplistic first person walking simulator.
Really, Eclipse: Edge of Light gives off all the feeling of an early VR game that was cool when it first released but hasn't stood the test of time.
Eclipse: Edge of Light offers a passable VR experience, especially for the affordable price, but its 2 to 3 hour adventure isn’t something I would want to replay after finishing it.
Slow progression, short game length, and a blasé narrative came together to ensure I wouldn't want to take this adventure again...unless I just didn't have much else to do on my Switch.
Although Eclipse: Edge of Light is a highly atmospheric game of planetary exploration, it loses its luster when moved from its VR origins to the flat screen of the Nintendo Switch. It's an easy world to explore for a few hours, but one that offers little overall reward for its $15 asking price.
Despite being a complete VR experience, Eclipse: Edge of Light falls short in most areas. If I had to describe Eclipse: Edge of Light it would be ‘low effort.’ At the very least, it didn’t make me nauseous while playing.
At $14.99 it’s priced about right (although it’s a bit short at three hours to complete), and the game isn’t offensive, it’s just that there’s so much better available now in virtual reality, and things in Eclipse that would have been impressive at the time are fairly standard now.
Eclipse: Edge of Light isn’t going to win any awards for its individual parts. Put together though, these parts make for an entertaining story, and an experience that’s essential for any PSVR user. It’s also a fantastic jumping in point for VR gaming in general, being uncomplicated, and straight up fun to play.
As an experiential piece of software, and one with a fantastic sense of place, Eclipse ticks a lot of PSVR boxes, but don't be surprised to come away wanting for a bit more.
Eclipse: Edge of Light is a nice little sci-fi adventure that manages to make a good impression and it is a good adventure to go on despite its short length and limited scope.
If you have an hour or two to spare, give Eclipse: Edge of Light a try. There are interesting things to discover behind the lore of the game. While the world feels a bit empty, the serenity of it all is really something to admire. Just remember, it’s not a lengthy game, but it doesn’t need to be.
Though it only lasts a few hours, that time yields a rich experience. I do wish there was more to it, but what is here is solid. While the Switch version perhaps carries a bit too much of the original release with it in terms of design choices made for VR, the core adventure will still be rewarding for those who are patient.
Eclipse: Edge of Light is a fun exploration game that will certainly keep you in awe at times without pulling you away with overcomplicated controls or a messy narrative. It simply asks you to traverse the alien landscape, discover a small narrative along the way, and be there. It doesn't do more than that, nor does it do less than that, which is acceptable for a VR experience.
What you extrapolate out of the game depends on how much effort you spend exploring and reading by scanning every possible artifact left behind.
While it isn't winning any graphics awards (not that it's terrible), Eclipse: Edge of Light still manages to achieve VR greatness. With a few simple mechanics, Eclipse allows the player to experience its eerie, lonely world in ways that feel tactile and rewarding. Highly recommended for fans of trippy sci-fi, Eclipse stands out from the crowd in all the right ways.
This isn’t a game with much replay value. Once you finish it, I don’t see many reasons to try it again, but the one time that I did play felt like a decent experience. The actual game runs smoothly and seems like a solid port; I didn’t encounter a single serious bug. If you like atmospheric exploration type games, and don’t mind something that isn’t very replayable, this game may interest you.