Crash-landed on a foreign world with no way of communication, a pilot finds themselves marooned with no way to call for help or get home. There are strange objects, structures, and evidence that long ago, a race of highly advanced beings once existed. With only a mysterious crystal orb in their possession, a quest unfolds before the lone human. From White Elk Studios comes Eclipse: Edge of Light, a single-player sci-fi exploration title that seeks to put an emphasis on the mysteries inherent of the genre, rather than have another VR wave-shooter of shooting destruction. Eclipse: Edge of Light manages to present something solid for PlayStation VR, with an immersive and strange adventure, but there is that feeling that there could have been so much more to explore.
Eclipse: Edge of Light is a single-player, linear adventure game that tasks players with discovering the mystery of an ancient planet. Hopelessly stranded, players solve the mysteries of the planet and the race that once inhabited it. Despite being lost in space and on a foreign world, players have access to a mysterious blue crystal that’s capable of solving various puzzles and discovering crews. Fortunately for players, their spacesuit works fine and, in addition to scanning objects, they can use a jetpack to safely navigate obstacles. The crystal is everything in Eclipse: Edge of Light. The crystal unlocks doors, smashes objects, discovers hidden-objects, and most importantly, solves puzzles. With a flick of the wrist, players throw the crystal into specific locks and items to unlock the path and continue their quest. Along the way, players smash various items to collect energy. At certain points, that energy can be placed into scrolls to unlock secrets of the alien race, as well as the mysterious Eclipse.
Eclipse: Edge of Light is a simple journey of calm, ambiance, and fascinating exploration. Players traverse a familiar but alien terrain, filled with strange structures and statues. The soundtrack in Eclipse: Edge of Light fills the atmosphere with a calming and mesmerizing ambiance, something that would be akin to the soundtrack of the Uncut Gems film. Figuring out puzzles with the crystal is rather simple, doing the job needed to progress, but the process is never overwhelming or insanely difficult, even during the most challenging moments. Using the crystal for the various puzzles presented is interesting and mesmerizing, as the developers clearly thought about the alien world and the ruins left behind.
Along the way, there are objects highlighted in purple that the player can scan with their helmet. By moving their head up in down in VR mode, the player can easily assess an artifact and learn more about its history. At times, the crystal will glow green and signify there is a hidden item. Using the right hand, a small window appears, allowing players to see the object and scan it. Scanning objects displays more about the world and its lore, but this task is completely optional to the adventure. With its simplicity, Eclipse: Edge of Light contains fascinating moments including a mammoth temple towards the third act, a dreamy night sky filled with cosmic light, and an interesting boat ride through a multi-colored river.
Ultimately, it all ends in a satisfactory manner.
Eclipse: Edge of Light works remarkably well and does everything it’s supposed to do. However, the biggest setback for Eclipse: Edge of Light is its limited scope. With the concept of being marooned on an alien planet, I expected to have seen much more of that world. With the exception of a river ride and a journey through temples, that is the limit of the scope of Eclipse: Edge of Light. There must’ve been many different ideas and visual concepts that could have been presented. Perhaps more structures, lore, and other areas to visit along this journey would’ve made it feel more complete. A ride in a futuristic alien craft would have been a nice change of pace or give the player a submarine to reach an underwater stronghold.
For the first half of the game, Eclipse: Edge of Light is barren, with the same colored canyons to look forward to. It’s understandable that there is a limited wildlife population on this planet, though it would have been interesting to have seen more. Additionally, the puzzles, while nice and simple, don’t do much to challenge the player. This is perfectly understandable as I would have been most displeased with a brain-breaking puzzle, though there could have been more puzzles that more rewards than just opening the door to the next section.
Finally, one of the bigger setbacks going against Eclipse: Edge of Light is its length. Eclipse: Edge of Light can be beaten in one sitting in a little over two hours, though I did have to replay an act because one of the game’s five trophies did not pop. For the price, Eclipse: Edge of Light is a short ride, and it may be a tough sell because of this. However, for those two hours, I was heavily engaged to see what would happen and how it would happen. As our video game habits become more active and mobile, it’s better to have a quick, engaging experience than a long experience that doesn’t become engaging until several hours in.
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. It’s good to see Eclipse: Edge of Light as a calming but still mesmerizing journey than just another of the many VR wave-shooters on the market. Its gameplay is engaging yet to-the-point and the sci-fi adventure provides interesting lore to explore.
White Elk Studios have certainly provided an entertaining sci-fi experience and I hope to see more from the studio as they further pursue VR and other projects.
Learn more about White Elk Studios on their website. Eclipse: Edge of Light is available on PSVR, Oculus, Steam, and Google Play.
A digital copy was provided for the purpose of review. Eclipse: Edge of Light was played using PSVR.
