Legends of Ethernal from Lucid Dreams Studio and Natsume is a charming 2D action platformer on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our Legends of Ethernal review!
In Legends of Ethernal from Lucid Dreams Studio and Natsume, you will take on a 2D action platformer that places you in the shoes of a young boy named Wilfred, who finds himself setting out on a journey to discover what has happened to his family after returning home and finding it in ruins. He was taking some time to fish near his home, hoping to bring something to eat. He was lucky with the fishing rod, but he most certainly was not lucky about having an easy time getting back to his now destroyed house.
The game offers five difficulty settings so that players of all skill levels can have a shot at experiencing everything that Legends of Ethernal has to offer. There’s Relaxed Mode, which is perfect for those new to 2D action platformers since it will offer extra help during the platforming segments. Easy is for those who want to dial up the challenge a bit without feeling overwhelmed. Normal is the standard experience. Hard will increase the challenge, punishing players for any mistake they make. And then there’s Hardcore, in which there will be permadeath, so you better be ready!
You’ll control Wilfred with the left analog stick or the D-Pad, jumping with the B button, and attacking with the Y button. If you press up on the left analog stick or the D-Pad and the Y button, you’ll unleash a power attack. While, at first, you won’t have many weapons to use – having to make do with the fishing rod you were using to catch some fish – you’ll unlock more as you progress through the game, so you’ll be able to switch between them with the L button to make the most of what each has to offer. You can dodge with the A button in battle. The items you collect can be used with the R button, and you can switch between them with the ZR button. Once you gain projectile weapons, you can press the ZL button to aim before launching them with the ZR button. You’ll also be able to interact with objects with the X button, which will come in handy for solving the game’s platforming puzzles.
As you explore each location, you should keep your eyes open for any blue savepoints you can find. They will – of course – allow you to save your progress, but they will also allow you to recover your health bar up to three points in total, which can help you keep going when the going gets tough. There are also red variants that will fully heal your wounds. Something else that will aid you on your quest is the ether pouches you find. These are used to store red, blue, yellow, and green ether. Ether is important since you will need it to activate special abilities and items. Every ether pouch you collect will increase your carry total by five, so be sure to search for them!
At first, you will battle against slow-moving giant snails that won’t be dangerous as long as you swing fast with your fishing rod. A bit later, you’ll run into bats that will swoop in for a bite. Then the snails will change, and you’ll be introduced to other types that shoot out sharp prickles and others that exude acid. The bats will then be switch to crows that have more hit points and are thus harder to beat, right as you’re introduced to mighty wolves that hide in the tall grass, waiting to jump into action when you get too close. Once you run into giant alligators and trident-wielding amphibians, you’ll know you’re in a lot of trouble!
Legends of Ethernal features an in-game achievement system with many objectives to complete. A bunch of them are hidden as to not spoil the game’s story – so I won’t be mentioning them here – but there are objectives for fully upgrading all of your weapons, acquiring all History of Arkanys pages, defeating hundreds of enemies with the fishing rod, the club, the hammer, and the sword, defeating flying enemies with the blowgun, beating enemies with fire grenades, and for finishing the game in the Easy, Normal, Hard, and Hardcore, to name some examples.
Legends of Ethernal is a colorful and charming 2D action platforming adventure that will provide you with an entertaining adventure with easy to understand gameplay mechanics, a growing arsenal of weapons and abilities, and fun boss fights that can be as challenging as you want it to be, thanks to its five difficulty settings. The game offers a generous checkpoint system, so when you fail, you will quickly respawn at the last savepoint you reached – unless you’re playing in the Hardcore difficulty! Legends of Ethernal was a pleasant surprise on Nintendo Switch, and one I recommend you check out given its $19.99 price.
Disclaimer
This Legends of Ethernal review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Natsume.
