Ereban: Shadow Legacy Review – A SUPERIOR STEALTHY SUCCESS?

In Ereban: Shadow Legacy you play as Ayana. She is the last known of her kind, the Ereban, which are a forgotten race that can become one with the shadows. You have been recruited by Helios, a power company that claims to be the “Giver of Energy to every corner of the galaxy.” Despite their seemingly positive exterior, it doesn’t take long to realise that something is truly amiss here. So, Ayana takes it upon herself to find out the truth about Helios and their ties to the disappearance of her people. 

Ereban: Shadow Legacy Setting

Being set in a dystopian, morally grey universe, Ereban: Shadow Legacy gives you the responsibility of seeking out your ancestry and finding out what exactly Helios did that led the world to such ruin. This approach to the narrative is definitely intriguing. Whilst the “evil corporation takes over the world” plot is not exactly a new idea, the game definitely leaves its own unique mark on the concept, with its involvement of rebel factions, curious AI that are both used by Helios and others, and the far reach of the Ereban race itself. 

There is a lot to uncover as you traverse your way through the various ruins and temples turned into Helios facilities. The game is also fronted by a very cynical Ayana, who is full of distrust and isn’t afraid to show it through a series of wit and sarcasm. Ayana’s character fits perfectly with the world that she has been thrown into. Her witty banter made me laugh often, whilst still maintaining a level of severity that the narrative required! Major props to Ayana’s voice actor for getting that balance right! However, it is in the gameplay where this title truly shines!

The approach to stealth in Ereban: Shadow Legacy

Ereban: Shadow Legacy has a strong focus on stealth. Actually, it’s the only way to survive against Helios constant threat. Using the shadows to your advantage, you can choose to either slip past your enemies or take them down one by one. Playing as Ayana, a descendant of the Ereban race, you merge with the shadows to defy physics and glide up walls, along the ground and even slip through blocked areas. You can even channel your inner Dark Knight and drop into grates for an easy through to your objective. 

Now as I mentioned, stealth is your only option. If you get caught by Helios’ robots, it’s game over. You have no way to fight them head on. I was initially a bit torn by this! The traditional action-adventure side of me wanted to throw down the moment I got caught… which initially was a lot… But after I brushed up on my sneaking skills and upgraded some of the shadow abilities, I found myself really enjoying the gameplay.

Strategy and planning are occasionally required!

Ereban: Shadow Legacy does require a degree of planning though! You can’t just rush through each section, like I tried to! Getting to the end of the level in this way will not be easy. You won’t have to slow down to a crawl! However, taking your time to see where the shadows lie, and how they move, will help you find the ideal approach. It can be tricky to keep to the shadows though, especially because of how your foes will use light to try to hinder your progress. Occasionally, this game felt like a puzzle platformer with how I had to work out my way through some tricky situations, especially if choosing the non lethal approach. On that point… 

The moral dilemma

Whilst this is a stealth focused title, you can still take down your enemies. The game even rewards you for doing so, but not without a few drawbacks. Taking down Helios’ robots may provide a harvest of spare parts or even shadow essence, which is great for crafting ammo for various abilities. However, they can be repaired by other robots and will then hunt for you.

You can also choose to take down Helios’ human workers, but this is where things are a bit dicier. Lethally eliminating human enemies will provide a boost to your shadow metre meaning you can shadow merge for longer periods of time. But, it will affect your mortality metre which can have significant consequences as the game progresses. So, the choice is yours. You can either be a benevolent pacifist that is just trying to get the job done or a violent assassin that dispatches anything in your path.

The intriguing level design

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is played in chapters, with each new one placing you in a different environment to explore. Whilst the game is broken up into levels, most of them feature a semi-open design with few main missions and side quests available for you to tackle. Most of these quests are just brief sidesteps from the main story. Mainly consisting of investigating nearby areas or dealing with certain issues along your way to each primary objective. So you will never find yourself bogged down by these quests. Instead, they just add a little extra to your exploration of each area. 

Each chapter also has a score system. Depending on how you complete a level will determine the letter grade that you receive. This is a great way to incorporate replayability into the game. I found myself playing certain chapters multiple times to attain all the medals, particularly the Ruthless medal. Also, attempting to speed run each level, and get all the collectibles adds an extra challenge. Depending on what you are trying to achieve in your replays can vastly change how you play, so the chapters can feel a lot more varied just based on your approach. 

Ereban: Shadow Legacy looks stunning!

Now I do have to make a brief mention on Ereban’s visuals. The cell shaded design looks fantastic and works so well for this style of game. The vibrant colours make the distinction between some shadows and light super clear, which I know can sound silly, but trust me, this is important! The last thing you would want is to be sneaking your way through a facility and think you’re in the shadows and attempt to merge only to realise that you are technically in the light… It happens, not too often, but it does happen!

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is well designed, but it isn’t free of a few bugs. Now, I will quickly mention, I didn’t encounter too many bugs in my playthrough. The ones I did encounter though, were a bit of a hindrance. There have been a few occasions where, whilst merging with the shadows, Ayana would randomly fall through the floor and be walking on air underneath the play area. I tried to find my way back when this happened, as there seemed to be a way back in sight, however I couldn’t, leading me to having to restart from a previous checkpoint. Sometimes this wasn’t a big issue, because the game had saved moments before. However, at other times, I would have to redo large sections of a mission as a result. Like I said, it didn’t happen too often, but it was annoying when it did!

Decision 

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a great stealth adventure. The intriguing narrative and stealth platforming are combined well with intuitive level design to provide an engaging experience. The game will push you to retrain your thinking a little and actually try to avoid encounters wherever possible. Even though there are some bugs here, the game is fun to play and will provide hours of entertainment!

By Samuel Incze – Reviewed on PC

Great

Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a fun stealth adventure with innovative shadow mechanics and a captivating world. Despite some bugs, the core gameplay and cleverly designed levels create a rewarding stealth experience.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Baby Robot Games. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.

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