One Step From Eden

Lore & Background

Development of One Step From Eden began in April 2016, with Thomas Moon Kang citing a 'Megaman Battle Network sized void that no other game could fill' as the reason for creating the title. The theme and feel were influenced by The World Ends With You (2007), and the title itself is a reference to that game. Other inspirations during development included FTL: Faster Than Light (2012), Nuclear Throne (2015), and Slay the Spire (2019). The game was put on Kickstarter on January 3, 2019, seeking $15,000 in funding, alongside a free demo featuring one zone and three bosses. The campaign hit its target in two days and reached additional stretch goals including a pet summoning mechanic, a Nintendo Switch release, and music from VA-11 Hall-A composer Michael Kelly.

Gameplay involves navigating a map with branching paths leading to combat encounters, treasure chests, and shops. Combat takes place on a 4x4 grid where the player moves one square at a time and, with enough mana, attacks using spells from their deck. Spells include close and long range attacks, status effects, and health restoration. Enemies move on a separate 4x4 grid, and their spells follow patterns the player must dodge. Some battles have special conditions, such as saving or defeating non-player characters. Each completed encounter awards experience points and a choice to add new spells to the deck. Leveling up and some events grant artifacts with positive and negative passive abilities. Falling in battle sends the player back to the start with all spells and artifacts lost, but progress in the completion bar remains, unlocking new characters and spells for future attempts.

A follow-up titled Duelists of Eden, a deck-based fighting game published by Thomas Moon Kang, was released on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux on March 7, 2024.

Reader's Guide

One Step From Eden received mostly positive reviews upon release, with praise for its visuals, combat, and controls, and criticism for its multiplayer modes and high difficulty. The PC version received 'generally favorable reviews' on Metacritic, while the Nintendo Switch version received 'mixed or average reviews'. OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, recommended by 68% of critics. IGN Japan's Shin Imai called it 'a revolutionary title' and a game 'anyone should try'. Nintendo Life's Stuart Gipp praised its combat, responsive controls, visuals, and sound, but criticized the slow rate of unlockables and unforgiving difficulty. Jordan Rudek of Nintendo World Report noted the steep difficulty curve and a lack of accessibility options, but was generally positive about the interesting premise and variety in spells and perks. Nintendo Enthusiast's Miguel Moran complimented the depth in single-player but found the cooperative mode awkward, with two players sharing one deck, and the player versus player mode problematic due to predetermined decks with no way to study them. The game was added to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC on November 11, 2021, the same day as its Xbox One release.

Did You Know?

• The game's title is a reference to The World Ends With You (2007), which also influenced its theme and feel.
• The Kickstarter campaign for One Step From Eden reached its $15,000 goal in two days.
• Stretch goals from the crowdfunding campaign included a pet summoning mechanic and music from VA-11 Hall-A composer Michael Kelly.
• A follow-up titled Duelists of Eden was released on March 7, 2024.