Uutiset
At Eve's Wake gives you the power to change reality, for good or evil
P
Phil Hornshaw
Of course, in video games, death isn't really death. You just start over from the beginning. Gameplay in a visual novel like At Eve's Wake comes in the form of reading the story and making choices that describe what your character does and what they say in conversations. You'd think that "dying" in a game like that would just mean starting over from the beginning of the story, forcing you to read everything again to catch back up to the choice that killed you. But a few minutes into another playthrough of At Eve's Wake, it quickly becomes apparent that something is different.
When you see certain events unfold before you, a message plays across the screen: "You've gained knowledge powerful enough to affect reality." After dying, it's not just you, the player, who remembers the events you witnessed—your character does too. And that causes new text options and conversation responses to appear where you can use your knowledge to create new outcomes. The literal reality of the story and the choices you can make change with your knowledge.
It's a mechanic that opens up the story in a lot of really interesting ways, giving you reasons to play and replay events to see how they might change, and to make choices just to see what new information you can glean. But my favorite part was the narration.
Most of At Eve's Wake's narration simply runs down what's happening in each scene. When you die, though, that narration changes. It becomes a conversation between you and...something. Some force that offers you another chance.
If you share your gift of foresight with one of the characters in At Eve's Wake, they give you a warning. You should perhaps consider who or what is providing you with this ability, and what they may want in return.
It's an excellently creepy addition to an already creepy game. At the center of At Eve's Wake is a funeral rite that's also some kind of occult religious ritual. You're one of 12 candidates who could be chosen as Eve's replacement as the leader of five ancient families, the one to receive the "blessing" of something called "the Patron." Just when you're thinking you've already received the Patron's blessing and that you're not sure you want it, you learn the other candidates might be willing to murder for their shot.
The time loop is a well-worn trope in video games, but I love how At Eve's Wake uses it to create even more foreboding. You can use your power to save lives and solve mysteries, but even from the first moment you gain it, you're forced to wonder what the costs will be. And there's no requirement for you to become a saintly Bill Murray-type as you navigate the ritual. You can use your knowledge to eliminate your competition. Maybe there's a nagging voice in the back of your mind cheering you on, telling you what it wants you to do.
At Eve's Wake is available on the Epic Games Store.