Editor’s Note: The following review (and game) references things that are meant for adult audiences only. Reader discretion is advised.

With a woman in a short skirt and white shirt, a tentacle for a right arm, and talk of dating apps and pornography, Eternights isn’t shy about its material, for lack of a better term. The anime-styled Persona-like hack and slash action dating sim that caught a few eyes this faux-E3 is something I’ve had my eyes on since Summer Game Fest. Typically I’m not one for the dating sims, anime, and other tropes that Eternights might fall into. However, I think it is safe to say Studio Sai’s first title might be dodge-rolling some of those tropes for the better.

Set in an unnamed Asian city, you play as a character (whom you can name) that gets signed up to straight people’s Grindr to do as everyone does, get a couple of matches, never go on a date, and ignore each other for the rest of time. That’s until you are matched with a crazy 800+-year-old (Lux) with the voice of a teenager who needs you to save the world. Maybe once that’s done, you can use your tentacle arm to save her world if you get my drift. After you get a match, the world goes to pot, there is a zombie uprising, oh and the person you matched with is one of the two “Architects” that are basically yin and yang.

Thrust into a three-person party (to start with) you join forces with your friend and a pop star in a skimpy skirt. From there you are thrown into the apocalypse with your newfound friends and anyone you meet along the way to create the ultimate fighting force. With the power of your right arm, you can beat off anything. That sounds inappropriate but not half as much as the downright stupid moments in the plot: Early on you are asked what porn you stole from your granddad (I chose anime). As you can guess by now, Eternights isn’t one for the kids.

One part action to one part Persona, Eternights doesn’t try to become an all-time masterpiece of writing to rival the classics. Sometimes it is just using a sledgehammer to get the plot moving. Other times it is doing something fun, you remember fun, it is that thing we used to have before people complained that they don’t like something (and you shouldn’t either) not because it was bad but because they disagree with it. That isn’t to say some of the writing lacks some creepiness common in dating sims, though it somewhat makes up for that with its more hilariously ridiculous moments.

Eternights is supposed to be light in a number of aspects. Combat and character movement are often something I compare to Dark Souls/Elden Ring (favorably or not). While that isn’t how Eternights controls that doesn’t mean it is bad. Some might find it more annoying than others, but combat is more aligned to spectacle fighters than heavy-feeling Souls-likes. Initially, your sole attack is on X with a heavy attack later unlocked for Y and parry available on B. Though you have several special attacks available through LT which you’ll also unlock with party members and upgrades, essentially allowing you to take on bigger and harder foes.

While you are the sole offensive member of the team, your party members are (quite literally) there to support you. The popstar in a mini skirt (Yuna) heals you and has a fire “attack,” for example. Party members basically stand in the corner of the rooms you get locked into and the walking dead focus all their attacks on you. It is directly commented on as your right arm that you use to beat them is the brightest thing in these combat arenas. Sometimes it is difficult to really tell who’s a party member or who’s an Asian businesswoman that was infected and became a puppet of the villain of Eternights.

Different party members will provide different effects to help in combat. As you get to know them, you will rank up and unlock more upgrades to purchase with your essences. Black Essence is used for your protagonist while White Essence is used to up the stats of those in your party, both of which are gained through gameplay. Black Essence is easier to find in abundance. White Essence is found out at night when spending time with party members, for example, out scavenging for things they need. The latter portion of that is your Persona gameplay.

It is established early on that you’ll spend days fighting in the (basic-looking) Asian city destroyed by the virus and the fight between the Architects. Meanwhile, at night you’ll try to get closer to the party members on the magic train you ride on, all in aid of ranking up your relationship and climbing in their underwear. The social gameplay plays out throughout conversations where you’ll decide how to respond. Depending on those responses you’ll gain points in social stats.

Social stats are what are supposed to allow you to advance the relationships, though if I’m honest, I think that is more smoke and mirrors than the skill itself with the plot pushing relationships to a certain point more visibly. The plot itself isn’t offensively bad but nor is it world-beating. I’d suggest it is trope-y in that way you think of dating sims to be with occasional moments to draw out the bizarre for a sense of levity. The more creepy elements you think of as common with dating sims are sometimes turned on their head to play as comedy, something similar to raunchy teen sex comedy films of the ’60s-80s.

I think if you are coming into Eternights for the plot, you might be disappointed. While it is there it is a plot you’re familiar with far too often. Coming in knowing that it is a bit (I hate using this) “silly” then you’ll probably have a fun time with it. Taking it seriously would be a disservice to all the attempts Eternights warns you about the upcoming wackiness. Its offbeat peculiarities are what make it and its characters endearing in the end, though don’t expect RPG levels of detail as you are still mostly a blank slate to project onto.

Eternights’ accessibility is something I will bemoan though, as there practically isn’t anything noticeable. As I said above, the combat is mashing your limited attacks and is QTE-based. While I’ve had no real issues with that, I know QTEs can be a problem for some. There are three options of “game mode” in “Normal,” “Easy,” and “Expert,” but for the life of me, I can’t tell the difference that I’m supposed to see between them. On top of that, controls aren’t remappable and there aren’t tool-tips to explain portions of the rather basic options menu.

I also think that I am an adult (believe it or not) so only saving at specific points can get aggravating when you have something else to go do and lots of cutscenes to get through. Out in the world, you are supposed to save at these fast travel points, similar to Dark Souls/Elden Ring’s bonfires/lanterns. Unlike bonfires, these points aren’t how you heal, they are just how you save and fast travel. I wouldn’t say they are too far from each other, but it can be annoying when you have anything to do but don’t have one on hand to save and leave for a short while.

Cutscenes are also something I think is worth comparing, as the number of styles almost rivals Yakuza. A majority of Eternights is fully voiced (minus whatever name you pick), though there are occasional points where it returns to a text-box dating sim. At other points, the text boxes go away for something a little more clear and simple but you still press A to continue, and sometimes the pacing is taken away from you too. A more traditional anime style also breaks through and sometimes there is a stop-motion sketch style as well, making it about 6 different styles of cutscenes throughout your time with Eternights.

The partnerships you are trying to romantically connect with in the apocalypse aren’t bad but are very much a dating sim trope. Yuna is your sugar, spice, and everything nice, Sia is a brainy goth, Min is sporty spice, and Yohan is the gay one. No really, while Yuna, Min, and Sia have a large number of things you can collect for them in your nightly scavenger hunts, Yohan’s is maybe half of that. It may be a pacing thing, but I’d have liked to have seen something a little more equal in content, or at least some variety in how you are connecting with all four.

The powers they and Chani bring do give them a sense of self as well as the characteristically over-the-top reactions they have to things. I’m particularly fond of Sia’s “For science!” before poking and prodding things that shouldn’t be touched (for science!). Meanwhile, Min’s introduction forces you into a rather trite stealth segment that did nothing but annoy me given its side-scrolling limitations. It almost made me not want to spend much time with her at all. She might be a runner, she might be a track star, but she was the most exasperating.

Blending action with the romance of the apocalypse, Eternights tries to do a lot with limited resources. Developed by a small team with only one full-time developer, Studio Sai achieves a lot for those limitations. No, its sometimes hokey plot and simple tools aren’t the greatest you’ll see, but with enough surprises and occasionally out-there plot points, there is a charm and wonder to finding your not-so-perfect match among the zombie uprising and world-ending events. Ultimately, Eternights is a fun flash of action blending with romance and Persona, topped out with an arm that might occasionally turn into a tentacle.

A PC review copy of Eternights was provided by Studio Sai for the purposes of this review.

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Eternights

$29.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Fun action-based gameplay.
• Off-beat moments making the tropes funny in comparison.
• VO throughout most of the story.

Cons

• Forced QTEs and stealth.