A part of me misses the days when random ideas became video games. Abstract ideas could turn into strange but heartwarming memories of Christmas. Now, though, it’s all about money and how much money this game makes for shareholders. I understand it’s because the cost of game development has skyrocketed from the golden age, and one bad game can bomb a company, but those budget titles/eccentric cult classics bring something to the industry that’s dead and gone. Unless you’re Hideo Kojima… Who’s a hack.
What I’m trying to say is E.V.O. Search for Eden is a strange game.
You play some weird organism that can adapt on the fly to a number of external issues. You begin in the sea, bite other sea creatures to steal their essence, and then evolve into a stronger being. You grow throughout the five ages of prehistory, guiding evolution as you go. You, yourself, don’t actually get to say what lives and dies, but you block the bottlenecks that do. Tyrant sharks, plant devouring insects, and planet conquering birds lie in your path. You also orphan a yeti for some reason… None of these bosses seem to matter, as they’re just tools of something beyond. A rival, perhaps? Everything but you fights for the mysterious crystals that other organisms talk about. What guides you is the pretty naked lady with parallax hair, Gaia. I think that’s what parallax means? Her hair is stationary, but its color has animation. It’s very trippy. Regardless, Gaia is really into the Earth and is seeking a companion. Should we evolve enough, we can marry her and become a god ourselves. Praise the Son!
Gameplay consists of eating everything. This is it. Building up enough Evo points to increase your bite takes a long time, so E.V.O. is a game for grinding. Jumping is also a strategy, but that never does as much damage as eating, has a cooldown, and the timings can be wonky. Enemies also like to pounce on you. You can also evolve horns to charge, but those break pretty fast. Wasting 5000 Evo points sucks. Evolve your tail for moment boosts, and your body for more HP. There are various ways to get to max stats, and there are even a few neat tricks hidden around in secret areas to make exploring worthwhile. But the main loop is still the same, and gameplay variance won’t be high.
The music is a mixed bag. I’ve already added three songs to my Spotify playlist, but there are four songs that made me mute the TV. They’re variations of each other, so it explains how one took down the whole lot. And you’ll be hearing the awful songs way more than the good ones. They’re an era theme that’ll play in subsequent sub levels. Koichi Sugiyama, the Dragon Quest guy, did the OST, so I should expect better.
Graphics are also odd. I liked the backgrounds, and the neargrounds were detailed. Sprites were cute, but the game lacked something. Depth? Variance? It felt like there were only four or five areas to explore, and mazes were terrible to navigate.
E.V.O. Search for Eden is a fun concept. It was unique for the time (ignoring that it’s a spiritual sequel), and it’s never been emulated by a newer developer since. But the concept doesn’t hold up with repetitive gameplay, bland visuals, and a weird storyline. At the end, I was left wondering things like what that final boss was, were aliens the big boss guys, and did I just bang a planet? With the way the Son spoke to me, I like to think I did. I banged that planet hard. Also, sorry for squandering your gift, father-in-law. 31/50
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