Eclipse: Edge of Light

As an experiential piece of software, and one with a fantastic sense of place, Eclipse ticks a lot of PSVR boxes, but don’t be surprised to come away wanting for a bit more.

Were Eclipse: Edge of Light released prior to the PlayStation VR and even the HTC Vive, it might have been a good showpiece for virtual reality gaming. By bringing it to the PlayStation 4 after the platform has gathered a fine collection of similar, and better, sci-fi experiences, Eclipse feels ancient, an artifact from the first generation of VR. There are better games available on the platform - Farpoint, Obduction, hell even Skyrim VR - that make great use of the technology to create compelling and mysterious adventures despite the system’s limitations. VR-enabled or not, I came away feeling that Eclipse: Edge of Light was very middle of the road. It’s not terrible but it won’t leave a lasting impression.

Eclipse: Edge of Light offers a passable VR experience, especially for the affordable price, but its 2 to 3 hour adventure isn’t something I would want to replay after finishing it. I like the game’s narrative message and easy going nature, but in gameplay and visuals I was left bored. Despite a few tepid attempts at adding complexity, this is mostly a mild puzzler with a lot of walking through 2D polygonal environments. I recently reviewed Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, which in addition to the oddly similar names also had a similar gameplay style of forgettable puzzle solving. But in Eclipse: Edge of Time, there’s not even the Doctor Who name to spice things up.