FULL RELEASE: Eternium - Prologue. [IFC]

[ElectricRed]

Alright, I finally got around to playing this. I'm not good at writing reviews, so bear with me.

When I started Eternium, the first thing I noticed was the excellent lighting. The billboards were used quite well, almost FG quality. The sound design was also excellent, there were neat ambient effects throughout the map that really added to the atmosphere.

As for the map design itself, I think it really needs more detail. Many rooms were very open and empty, and the house just didn't feel very realistic. The level design/layout also did not feel very cohesive; I didn't know where I was supposed to be going and just felt like I was wandering around aimlessly, finding things along the way.

I really liked how the player was able to examine objects, similar to Penumbra. This is a great idea and it makes the player feel more connected to the environment. Notes were well placed and there seems to be an interesting backstory. However, you gave me no reason to care about it. Upon first launching the game I had no idea who the main character was or why he was in that cellar. Later on I read the ModDB description, but in my opinion the player shouldn't have to do that to understand what's going on. When I reached the end, I was just confused.

Here's what I would do to improve Eternium. (This is just my opinion.) The player should start off in the front of the house where he entered, and should have to make his way to the cellar. Along the way, maybe a narration explaining why he's there. In addition, I'd make the house more "mansion-like" with a grand foyer and a more realistic layout in general if that makes sense.

Overall, I think Eternium is a decent effort and is a good demonstration of your potential. If you expanded on some of your ideas here and improved the map quality a bit, then I think your next Custom Story could be much better. I'm not going to give you a score, as I don't like "ranking" things. In the end, playing Eternium was an enjoyable experience though. Thanks!