Ahead of Eternal Strands‘ release, a lot of attention has been paid to how much Yellow Brick Games’ debut title resembles beloved action-adventure games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus. And while there are definitely elements of those titles present in Eternal Strands‘ gameplay, it might surprise players to learn that one of the title’s core inspirations was originally Capcom’s Monster Hunter series. As it turns out, much of the Monster Hunter DNA that inspired Eternal Strands remains present in the upcoming final product.
During a recent conversation with Game Rant, Eternal Strands directors Mike Laidlaw and Frederic St-Laurent discussed the game’s combat and progression, which should feel familiar to any Monster Hunter fans. The core gameplay loop of Eternal Strands is centered around the feeling of an expedition, and character progression is entirely governed by the spoils from these expeditions. As such, it relies more so on the loot that can be crafted rather than more traditional RPG systems. Together with the massive, kinetic beasts that roam Eternal Strands‘ enclave, the game’s progression and mechanics should feel right at home to fans of the Monster Hunter series.
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Every Feature Confirmed for Eternal Strands So Far
Eternal Strands is an upcoming action-adventure game from Yellow Brick Games, a studio comprised of BioWare, Ubisoft, and overall industry veterans.
Eternal Strands’ Gear is the Cornerstone of Character Progression
While Eternal Strands might have some immediately recognizable influences based on its moment-to-moment gameplay, the way that the game handles character progression and power curve is different from what many might expect given its Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus comparisons. Laidlaw and St-Laurent were ready to point out multiple times that the general flow of combat and the way that Eternal Strands handles character progression is actually more similar to Monster Hunter. As St-Laurent notes, “…we don’t have an XP system, so it’s not by completing quests and earning XP that you level up. It’s all based on loot and on gear that you craft. You don’t find any weapons or armor in the game. Everything is crafted by your crew at the base camp.”
Thanks to Brynn’s thermodynamic powers, players also have some degree of strategy when it comes to influencing the all-important loot pool. St-Laurent further elaborates on the dynamic nature of harvesting materials in Eternal Strands:
…if you burn, let’s say, a hound or something, then all the fur-type loot is going to be destroyed in the process…If you go for enemies that are made of metal, you use ice and you brittle them, and they break, then you’re going to shatter all the metal components you could forge or carve…If you’re looking for certain things, you’re going to go for certain monsters, and you’re going to defeat them in certain ways.
Like Monster Hunter, Eternal Strands’ Gameplay is Built Around the Idea of the ‘Expedition’
Aside from its gear-based progression and emphasis on harvesting materials and crafting, Eternal Strands is also built around the idea of the “expedition,” something that factors heavily into both Monster Hunter and Dragon’s Dogma. Laidlaw notes that “…a sense of expedition and then coming back home and sort of resting up” is one of Monster Hunter and Dragon’s Dogma‘s core elements that’s “quite present” in Eternal Strands‘ gameplay.
Eternal Strands still has several elements that help to set it apart from the two Capcom franchises it draws a lot of inspiration from, but it may still resonate with fans of those games. As Laidlaw puts it, “…we’re not spot-on Monster Hunter, but the kineticness of the creatures and so on is a big part of Eternal Strands. I think, honestly, Monster Hunter players are going to be very familiar with how we’ve decided to do progression.”
- Released
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January 28, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Yellow Brick Games
- Publisher(s)
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Yellow Brick Games
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence, Sexual Themes, Drug Reference