Edge of Eternity Critic Reviews

While not every idea in Edge of Eternity fully gels, developer Midgar Studio gets enough right that the game feels familiar and welcoming – a fantastic classic RPG in modern clothing. With fun characters, a solid battle system, and just enough surprises to maintain the player’s attention, Edge of Eternity announces the arrival of Midgar to the top echelon of JRPG developers.

There’s no denying that Edge of Eternity certainly has a rough quality about it, and I could easily see people viewing its slow beginning as being too much of an obstacle to continue with it. But its robust, tactical-minded nexus battle system, wealth of content, and the eventual pick up of its story gradually warmed me to it. This was clearly a labor of love by the developers, even if it isn’t a perfect product. I enjoyed Edge of Eternity enough that I can only hope that there will be some kind of continuation to Daryon and Selene’s tale in the future… With plenty of Ysoris, of course!

Edge of Eternity comes with more than its fair share of technical issues. That does not stop this game from offering up engaging combat and interesting stat management. Combine that with an easygoing world to explore, and you find yourself enjoying the experience and shrugging off the tech issues. Edge of Eternity won't shake the ground in its wake, but it provides more than enough for any RPG fan to enjoy.

This is an enjoyable JRPG that fans of the genre will like, as it feels like a tribute to the genre. Its main issue is trying to bite more than it can chew and delivering a somewhat irregular experience.

Edge of Eternity is solid attempt of being love letter to bygone era of JRPG. The well-established world and combat system could take you dozens of hours and soundtrack will please you every time. But poor pacing, weak character models and uneven difficulty could lower your enthusiasm here.

Edge of Eternity is a passion project with a hell of a lot of heart. The art direction is phenomenal, the combat satisfying and the content positively bursting with hours of enjoyment. Poor performance, less interesting side content and a mediocre story keep it from greatness, but the heart of this package deserves its praise and to be revered into the future.

If the rich, dramatic and engaging intertwining, and the ingenious turn-based combat system with a strong tactical component could abundantly satisfy the palates of fans of the genre, the technical backwardness is attributable as much to the low budget available to the transalpine studio as to the years delays that this has accumulated during development, however, risk obscuring what is good in Edge of Eternity.

Edge of Eternity oozes the enthusiasm and passion of its developers. The exploration is mostly rewarding, the combat system is engaging, but the lack of focus when it comes to gameplay elements and the uninspiring story make it ultimately unremarkable. It is a big achievement for a small team, but it is not a game I can whole heartedly recommend. If you are a JRPG fan you already saw everything this game has to offer in other places with a superior implementation. Edge of Eternity offers plenty of content, but it feels like it was released at least a decade too late for its own good.

Edge of Eternity has cool ideas and a world that could be very amazing, but it seems that Midgard Studios didn't know how to handle the technical part of the open world very well and all that immersion seems to have died in the presentation trailer.

It’s hard not to be impressed with some of the things Midgar Studio achieved with Edge of Eternity. The stunning environments and soundtrack will greatly satisfy any JRPG fan. Combined with its engaging combat system, this should have been enough to make it a well held together experience, but the story’s lack of focus causes things to fall apart. The poor pacing, particularly at the beginning of the game, results in enough pointless running around enough so that it’s easy to look past some of the best features of the game. Edge of Eternity will scratch the itch of those looking for a classic JRPG with a modern touch, but past that, it doesn’t provide enough to create a truly great experience.

Edge Of Eternity has some modern touches – you can freely speed up battles, and a variety of difficulty toggles can reduce the grind. Less care, however, has been given to optimisation. Even on PS5 you’ll fail to get a smooth framerate in performance mode when out in the field, and while teleporting is fast, assets can’t keep up, clipping in sometimes seconds later. It might hold you over until Final Fantasy XVI arrives but it’s hard not to feel like you’re playing, as the French say, a faux pas.

Despite all the rough edges and problems, I am impressed with Edge of Eternity‘s ambition. The developers have some grand dreams on display here, but the fact is that a lack of polish and too many ideas stuffed into one package leave Edge of Eternity an overcomplicated, unfinished product.

Edge of Eternity has heart and Midgar Studio should be proud of what they’ve achieved for a small indie team. I just wish I liked it more. Thanks to an uninspiring story, lack of overall polish, and some uneven visuals, the final product simply can’t match the developer’s ambitions, making this a hard game to recommend. If you’re curious to dive in, there’s still plenty to like. With a versatile combat system, colorful environmental design, entertaining side content, and old-school design, JRPG fans may find something to enjoy here. It’s on Game Pass at launch, so if you’re playing on PC or Xbox, you could always dip in that way, but otherwise, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.

It definitely feels like developer Midgar Studio should have reduced the scope of both the story and some of the gameplay systems, because this may have allowed it to add more polish to the areas that work well. It’s a shame, as the game does have plenty of potential, but it’s a little bit too rough around the edges to fully enjoy.

Edge of Eternity is tough to recommend—which is a real shame, because the potential and ambition here is clear. There’s some entertainment to be found in its combat system and the sense of wonder in its more impressive zones, but it’s held back by a lack of substance once the sense of wonder starts to wear off and a woeful story.

This love letter to the JRPG genre looks beautiful and its combat is very well done. There are many problems, however – awful animation quality, a clumsily paced story, an empty world and cringey dialogue.

Edge of Eternity just sort of is. There is nothing really memorable here, just a bunch of ideas that don’t really deliver much of a kick. The UI is just disastrous, turning any task into a kick in the privates and the combat is just flat, with nothing really exciting about it. The basic premise of the story is strong enough and the characters aren’t horrible, but the dialogue felt rushed far too often.

I just did not care enough about anything that I was seeing or doing to enjoy Edge of Eternity. The narrative lacks thought and insight, the characters are bland, and each new location simply means more fetch quests and slightly higher level enemies to go through the motions to fight. Edge of Eternity is undoubtedly beautiful and the art team deserves kudos, but it is a hollow, empty, and shallow kind of beauty, and with no intelligence nor soul to back it up, the talents of the artists are largely wasted on this one.

It's impossible to recommend Edge of Eternity for purchase, even given the relatively cheap price the title has. But if you really want to play this game, just try it on through Game Pass subscription.