**Eternights: A Unique Blend of Action RPG and Romance**
Eternights perfectly embodies Studio Sai’s desire to create games about relationships you can form in peculiar worlds. Described as a “rare mix of hack and slash and romance that you didn’t think was possible,” Eternights is an action RPG strongly inspired by Atlus’ Persona series, with a lovely soul hidden beneath an exterior that leads you towards Japanese animations about young people looking for love and erotic suggestions.
**Action-packed anime story**
Eternights puts you in the shoes of a young boy recruited by Lux, a supernatural entity, to stop Umbra, another supernatural entity that initiated a series of events resulting in humanity transformed into monsters and the city plunged into chaos. There are a few survivors left, and throughout the 11-hour journey, you will discover them one by one.
It seems like something out of a Shin Megami Tensei narrative, a destroyed city where terrifying monsters roam and the end of the world looms. The inspirations from Atlus’ works are abundant, but Studio Sai goes further by deepening the connections and potential romances between the various characters, always with the protagonist in the spotlight.
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**Design and gameplay**
This is achieved through a game with very distinct sections, the dungeons with hack and slash gameplay and interactions with other characters. Like in Persona, Eternights gives you the choice of who to interact with during the day and at night to improve the protagonist through interactions with the support cast, unlocking new abilities and buffs as you reach new ranks to become more powerful.
Although it doesn’t overwhelm you with every decision, choosing one activity means you can’t do another, and over time, you’ll have to carefully consider who you dedicate your attention to, whether to improve in combat or as a potential romantic interest. During the day, you can spend time with romantic interests, participate in activities to improve elements like charisma or expression (necessary to access new stages with romantic partners), or go to the dungeons. You have a time limit to finish that phase of action, and in the dungeons, the Action RPG comes into play.
Everything you do outside the dungeons serves to enhance the protagonist, more than just trying to get a girlfriend or boyfriend, whether with buffs or unlocking new abilities. Whether it’s daytime moments or searching for items at night, all these activities help. In the dungeons, you traverse corridors with various humans transformed into monsters and use a simple combat system to defeat them.
The perfect dodge is the main element, and you can’t attack continuously as you’ll suffer a lot of damage. You have to dodge at the right moment, which slows down time, attack with good timing, and fill the bar that allows you to activate a special move with the help of allies. The allies are by your side, but they don’t fight; you can only activate special spells (like healing) or break barriers on stronger enemies. This triggers a QTE mini-game and greatly reinforces the sense of repeatability, reminding you of how simple the combat system is.
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