As gamers, we’re pulled in by different things. This might be anything from the razor-sharp reflexes and pinpoint accuracy of a run-and-gun to the mysteries of exploring a new world, to kicking a ball about… sorry sports fans, I love you dearly but I don’t get it. These are all very obvious things but the skills needed for the different styles lend themselves to our individual characters as gamers and you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their videogame library. Evidently, if you look at mine you’ll note that I have a screw loose at best and probably need serious help at worst. This being said, I have a deep love of the strange and peculiar, and games that embrace this always seem to find their way onto my love list. A new addition to said list of curios may well be Everhood, which has just released on Switch and Steam.
Coming from the smart souls over at Foreign Gnomes, Everhood is an RPG that bends reality. In this adventure, you are invited to meet the residents of the titular Everhood, a realm that exists on the fringes of space and time. The denizens of this place are an odd lot and these otherworldly entities spend their time wandering labyrinthine castles. Clubbing and board games are also both popular pastimes here. This is, of course, until things start going wrong. A gnome steals the arm from a wooden doll called Red. The quest to reclaim this appendage begins to pull at the fraying threads of this strange world, unraveling a mystery and reality in the process.
Prepare to take a trip through the doors of perception as you explore fantastical environments in your hunt for the stolen limb. Your activities will range from playing hide-and-seek with animate mushrooms in the forest to go-carting with mages, sentient save-points, robots, and more. As you go you will discover more about Red‘s past and unveil the Absolute Truth of the universe.
Not all of the eclectic cast of characters living in Everhood are content to let you roam the world freely. You will find yourself engaging in musical battles with multi-legged monsters, brothers who run a plank-selling business, and of course, the fearsome Gold Pig. These battles will see you avoiding incoming attacks by moving, grooving, and leaping out of harm’s way. All the while you’ll find yourself jamming out to battle themes as eclectic as Everhood’s curious inhabitants.
This isn’t just Red’s story. As your adventure unfolds and the mysteries of Everhood are revealed, the little doll will find himself making choices that won’t just impact his future but determine his role in the individual futures of all of the characters he meets. Red‘s journey is teeming with secrets and world-altering revelations so there are bags for you to explore and uncover.
In Everhood, you’ll experience an ever-twisting story set across five difficulty modes. There is also an unlockable New Game Plus feature that calls into question everything that’s happened before it.
“Everhood began as a side project between my co-developer Jordi Roca and me,” said Chris Nordgren, co-founder, Foreign Gnomes. “Since then, it’s evolved into the strange, vibrant, and mysterious game that we are so proud to share with everyone on Nintendo Switch and Stream today. Sign the contract, sell your soul, and join us in Everhood.“
If you’ve been looking for a new, utterly bizarre, world to explore, Everhood might just be the right call for you. It’s now available on your Switch for $14.99, and Steam for $9.99. PC owners will also be given access to beta mod support in the form of a fully-featured custom battle editor. Something a little extra for the creative folk amongst you.
