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Everhood Review


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352442430_Everhoodlogo.jpg.61878a18c3ed13c0b33398f0eb677617.jpgYou know you have something special on your hands when you're playing a game and thinking "I have no idea what is going on here but I must continue playing." Everhood defies explanation—I'm not even sure how best to categorize it in terms of genres—but it crafts an amazingly bizarre and compelling experience. Most importantly, it's not just weird for the sake of being weird. There's a lot of care and charm put into making Everhood as strange and engaging as it is.
 
You play as Red, a wooden doll dressed all in—you guessed it—red. One of your arms is stolen by a blue gnome on the orders of Golden Pig, some sort of leader/tyrant, which sends you on an adventure across a strange land of odd creatures to make yourself whole once again. Early on, you'll feel like you have no idea what is happening, but just going with the flow of the game can be a lot of fun. One moment you're having a dance battle in a nightclub, the next you're exploring a castle or completing a long trading quest chain. There are definite Undertale vibes in Everhood's tone and aesthetic, but Everhood really stands on its own feet when you uncover the deeper themes of the game and learn more about what's actually going on. And although Red is a classic silent protagonist, the side characters are a joy to talk to and are almost always weird and funny. The game's story is surreal and mysterious and completely compelling; it's the kind of game that is just a joy to lose yourself in and let your mind wander through the possibilities presented to you.
 
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The actual gameplay is a fantastically odd blend of rhythm and bullet-hell, with a smattering of other genres thrown in at times (at one point you compete in a cart racing tournament, for example). When you engage characters in battle you'll enter a combat screen that looks kind of like a Guitar Hero fretboard. Rather than hitting the "notes," though, you'll be dodging attacks by moving left and right or jumping over them. The attacks come in time with the music, but your movements aren't necessarily dictated by the rhythm—sometimes you can hang out in one lane for a long stretch of time with only a few attacks coming your way. Overall though, it's definitely a blink-and-you'll-die kind of game since you have to be quick to avoid the constant onslaught of attacks. Though thankfully if you get hit you only lose a bit of health, which will naturally regenerate if you avoid taking more damage, so while the game is challenging it balances itself out with somewhat forgiving recovery mechanics.
 
This is definitely the kind of game you have to play to understand, but when it clicks with you it's an absolute blast to deftly avoid attacks while a frankly fantastic soundtrack of songs plays. There's a simplicity here—just moving and jumping—that is awfully satisfying when combined with the stylish graphics and music. You'll also eventually gain the ability to fight back by absorbing and deflecting enemy attacks, which adds a whole new layer of strategy and intensity to the battle system. When you have to focus on offense as well as defense the gameplay really gets frantic—this is the kind of game that's hard to play for a long stretch of time lest you strain your eyes too much by focusing so intently.
 
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As already mentioned Everhood is an aural treat, and the visuals aren't half bad either. The pixel art style combined with the game's quirky aesthetic makes for a lot of fun character designs, and the battle visuals are positively psychedelic (though you'll usually be far too focused on the battle to fully take them in). The environments are super plain, but it suits the game's weird sense of style. It also makes sense that Everhood would have a strong soundtrack given the focus on music and rhythm in its battle system, but what's really impressive is how varied it is. From hard rock songs to more folksy tunes, there's a wonderful breadth of music styles present here, and every single one of them sounds fantastic.
 
Everhood lasts around six or seven hours, which feels like a good length for the adventure. There are different difficulty options that you can change at any time, though these only affect how much health you have and how quickly you regenerate, so you still have to be quick on your thumbs during the harder fights. There's also a New Game+ mode and potentially alternate endings if you take the time to track them down.
 
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Everhood is easily one of the most unique games to come out this year, and one that absolutely merits looking into. Playing is believing when it comes to the game's surreal story and intense but satisfying rhythm-based gameplay—any description I can provide won't fully capture the strange and entertaining journey that Everhood will take you on, but if you're willing to try something bizarre this game is a must-play.
 
Rating: 8 out of 10 Songs
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