EDENGATE: The Edge of Life Review
Release Date: November 15th, 2022 (PC), November 29th, 2022 (Consoles)
Developers: HOOK
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S (Reviewed)
Price: $6.99
There has been no shortage of Indie games that tap into unique messages and convey them through unique settings. Ever since the PS3, it seems, there has been a surge in the popularity of games that want to take an almost sci-fi perspective and make a grand event with a small budget. In some cases, it can be an impressive feat, but in other cases, it can be a massive letdown when a bigger budget could have helped the game reach its full potential. EDENGATE: The Edge of Life sits somewhere in the middle, but it has its heart in the right place and makes use of its resources the best it can to present a game that's entertaining and interesting enough to be worth completing all the way through, and even getting all achievements for.
EDENGATE: The Edge of Life follows the story of a young woman named Mia who wakes up in a hospital with very little recollection of how she got there or any current or prior events. The world is empty and devoid of life, with only objects and notes of the past that give a bit of direction as to what had happened. With very little to go on, the player goes through a few seamlessly connected chapters and forms the story on their own as they interact with a multitude of objects throughout. Handling small puzzles that usually are related to passcodes for keypads, uncovering various objects both direct and indirect that contribute to a larger gallery mode for the game, and going around obstacles across a few environments throughout the hospital, the city streets, labs, and more, EDENGATE has enough interaction to keep the game from ever feeling particularly boring through its roughly two-hour run, though it does almost reach the point of overstaying its welcome but thankfully doesn't.
As a biologist, a lot of Mia's memories come back to her as she interacts with highlighted objects throughout the game. These objects are placed sporadically but also can't be missed as they have a massive highlight and fog-like substance exuding from them, and these will provide the bulk of the background for both Mia and the course of events that have brought everything to where it currently is that the player is experiencing. Though the game can be finished in two hours, however, just about everything interactive other than the occasional passcode blocking further progress can essentially be ignored, so for those that want to run through the game and have the cutscenes speak for themselves - which unfortunately isn't much - then players can likely run through the game in less than an hour. All of these environments, memories, and narrative segments are conveyed through a chapter-like format, yet the way EDENGATE goes about this is a bit unorthodox. Interestingly, despite there being a chapter system within the game, there's no real indication that you're in a new chapter until an achievement pops up as the game seamlessly flows from area to area without ever giving any sort of title, loading screen, or indication that a new chapter has begun. I was surprised when my first achievement popped up for collecting a pin in the hospital in chapter 1, but it led me to keep my eyes open for the rest of the game for collectibles in each succeeding area (which is the only real indicator of chapter changes - and even then).
Though I was rarely lost as EDENGATE is a fairly linear experience, the story felt anything but linear and the memories provided - of which I interacted with every single one - didn't really allude to much. A lot of it was a jumbled sequence of memories that, while coherent, ultimately felt like it led to a larger whole that never really felt particularly realized. This especially rang true when by the end of the game there was a sudden fade to black with a message along the lines of "dedicated to those we've lost and those who are recovering". This took me aback because not once did I feel like the story had anything to do with a fight against depression or any other form of mental illness, though Mia certainly seemed to have been ostracized more often than not in her memories, which could have attributed to her anti-social behavior and sense of loneliness, where the world around her was devoid of life because that’s how she saw it. Either way, even if metaphorical, it was still almost too literal and grounded in the reality of the game that it was hard to discern what was really meant to be seen as the current state of the world instead of what was in her mind. It's not like The Evil Within, Hellblade, or, say, Layers of Fear which all interpreted dream states and mental perception in different but effective and evocative ways that still held their own identity.
There isn't much to the overall structure of EDENGATE that leaves much to really think back on or speak about, but for those looking for a quick and easy palette cleanser that will scratch the itch of both sci-fi and storytelling, EDENGATE should accommodate what most players on a budget are looking for. Everything EDENGATE does do outside of its gameplay, however, is actually exceptionally done, and if the game was slightly longer it actually wouldn't be too crazy to think that a game like this could be sold for even as high as $19.99, so the $6.99 asking price is a modest one that won't necessarily leave a bad taste in the mouth by the time the credits roll. For personal tastes, I can't necessarily say I had fun with it, but I certainly wasn't bored either - there just wasn't much of anything happening, but the environments were detailed and immersive enough that it served as a hook. EDENGATE had an interesting concept but a lot of untapped potential that I believe may have been hindered by a lack of budget (though the resources available to the team were well distributed) and a clear-cut vision.
PROS:
Great environmental design
The voice acting is really well done for such a low-budget game
A fair length for what it tries to do
CONS:
Despite its positive message, the story itself doesn't really flow well or make much sense
Can be falsely misconstrued as horror but is instead mostly a walking simulator
It can become rather repetitious, but thankfully doesn't overstay its welcome
A big thank you to HOOK for providing us a copy of EDENGATE: The Edge of Life for the purposes of this review!