Everhood Reviews

I really, legitimately wanted to like this game. Firstly, I'd like to address the elephant in the room: Undertale. Whether or not this game does enough to distance itself from the material it is so clearly derived from/inspired by is possibly the greatest source of debate surrounding this game, and for good reason. Me, personally? I think this game puts more time into trying to convince the player that it ISN'T Undertale than it ever does trying to find its footing as its own identity; this is especially apparent in the game's (twist) ending, which practically ruins the entire game in a half-hearted attempt to subvert your expectations that this game be like Undertale (which I'll discuss more later.) This leads me to my next point: All of the ways that the game tries to distance itself from Undertale are the ways in which it fails. It is important to note that this game tries very hard. It is an indie game, after all; it's practically incapable of NOT being a passion project when something this big is made by a team this small. Unfortunately, this is ultimately the game's greatest weakness, as the things that set it apart most are also its most apparent flaws. Everhood's greatest identifier is probably its style of rhythm. Unlike almost all other rhythm games, Everhood makes the rather unique decision to set the rhythm to the enemy's attack patterns, NOT the player's input. This, to me, is one of the greatest mistakes this game makes; a mistake so fundamental that it is nearly impossible to overlook. After all, its hard to even call this game a rhythm game when your movements aren't dictated by the rhythm of the music. It's second greatest identifier is probably its (attempt at) philosophy. Questioning the "true" nature of your reality is not a particularly unique line of thinking. Whether or not there is something more to this life outside of the confines you perceive is an interesting thought experiment at best, and an encouragement of derealization at worst. The fact of the matter is that if your reality *feels* real, then it is real. This leads me back to possibly the most contentious identifier of Everhood: its ending. (Spoilers ahead.) [spoiler]Simply put, you can't justify genocide in the pursuit of "ascension," and the fact that the game attempts to means that it has no grasp on this line of thinking entirely. "What if the genocide ending... was actually the good ending...?" Is a legitimately childlike hypothetical because it conveniently ignores the suffering done unto others in its otherwise "noble" pursuit. It views very real suffering as fake simply because of the presence of a greater mode of existence.[/spoiler] I have a myriad of smaller, less significant issues with this game, but they all culminate to this singular, ultimate point: The game is trying too hard to be special. It wants to have a cast of quirky, eccentric characters, it wants to have engaging, evolving mechanics, it wants to have a thoughtful, poignant metanarrative... ...and it also wants to be Everhood.

Si has jugado Undertale es imposible que no te venga a la cabeza un rollo que transmite este juego. La música es espectacular. Si te van los juegos de ritmo y los bullet hell, este juego te va a gustar.

Everhood combines old school retro graphics and a unique battle system with great music to create unique and challenging “battles” with great music. The story writing is mysterious, and very well done. Recommend this game for anyone looking for a new experience!

Genuinely enjoyable and endearing game fumbled by a drawn out ending and horrible achievements I'd give a mixed review to properly reflect my feelings, but it does have some soul [spoiler] For a game about how immortality is bad it sure knows how to overstay its welcome. [/spoiler]

I really love this game. Don't get me wrong when I say this...I'm glad this never exploded with popularity. The reason being is, a loud and vocal toxic fan base never formed around it. And believe me, it could have happened. This is a fantastic experience through and through. I'm glad my memories of this game will stay untainted by the kind of stuff undertale unfortunately went through. Anyway, that being said, pick it up. It's fun. Just, without spoiling anything, know there are certain themes that may be hard to deal with in the last part of the game, but the experience was worth it, to me at least.

I don't want to harp too much on this game as it is obviously made with love, but even the best intentions in the world cannot save it. A rhythm-game with RPG elements is an alluring concept on paper, but Everhood fails in the crucial parts of each of these genres: The RPG part is barebones, and the story feels like someone played Undertale far too much and decided that it wasn't meta enough. As a rhythm game, it demands to avoid, jump over or parry the enemies' beats. An interesting concept for sure, but a stark departure from the standard formula that requires to match the beats of the song, causing a whiplash between sound and visuals. At the end of the day, the nicest thing I have to say about Everhood is that it isn't for me.

It's pretty good! Music is nice and the presentation is really creative (though sometimes overbearing). It's another earthbound/Undertale-like, but it goes beyond having some quirky characters and some meta moments, and brings across a cool vibe and an interesting ethos. Not the most polished game, but makes up for it in its combination of ambition and simplicity.

Everhood marks the completion of my unofficial trilogy of games (difficult games with a unique and amazing OST that I played in 2022 and then left for 3 years, only to come back and grab all the remaining achievements I hadn't unlocked - with the other two games being Furi and Neon White). It's also fitting that Everhood is my 100th review! It's such an interesting game both mechanically and narratively. It's not really a rhythm game, but more so an adventure game with rhythmic battles (bullet-hell-esque) where instead of moving with the beat, you are actively avoiding it (at least until you reach a certain part, after which you can literally throw the beat back at them). It also helps that the OST is a banger! The story really surprised me too. When I first played, I was just expecting a silly game with wacky characters, but the tone switch, writing, and design of the second half really had me contemplating for a bit. A lot of people draw comparisons to Undertale (I mean, look at the artstyle, it's kinda hard not to), but I do think Everhood stands on its own as a complete package. It's genuinely a really fun time (with the exception of that No Hit Incinerator Part 2 achievement, as I still haven't recovered from that)

One of the best rhythm games I've played, and I recommend it to everyone I know with a computer. Great story, great characters, great battles, terrible (to get) achievements.

Literally got a tattoo of Purple Mage, that's how life changing this game is