The Star Named EOS [Review]
Solve puzzles and snap polaroids in The Star Named EOS.
The Star Named EOS. Credit: Silver Lining Studio / PLAYISM
The Star Named EOS is a narrative point and click adventure game from Silver Lining Studio and PLAYISM. EOS is a short but engrossing puzzle game where puzzles can be difficult but are never unfair. I played through the game in one evening and had a great time figuring it all out.
In The Star Named EOS, you play as Dei, a man tracing his mother’s journey through their shared love of photography. You complete each chapter of the game by recreating a photo given to you by your mother as you follow in footsteps.
The Star Named EOS. Credit: Silver Lining Studio / PLAYISM
In each of the game’s environments, recreating the photo plays out by solving a series of puzzles set up like an escape room. You must find tools around you as well as clues to decipher combinations to locks, culminating in finding objects that you use to set up the scene before snapping it with your instant camera. This setup changes a bit over the course of the game. Even so, getting through each chapter is still an escape room of sorts.
Some of the puzzles are challenging, but every solution can be found if you read your environment carefully for clues as all the information you need is there for you. No puzzle was unfair and I had a lot of great “aha” moments as solutions became clear.
The Star Named EOS. Credit: Silver Lining Studio / PLAYISM
For the most part, each chapter is a single scene, presented as an image you can view in 360° left, right, up, and down. Despite otherwise being flat images, the panoramas still feel like they have depth and the art is very polished. You click on objects to interact or take a closer look, which may change your perspective in order to present you with a puzzle. At times you must open up your inventory and drag items into the scene to use them. You can also pull out your camera both to snap pictures and to zoom in for a closer look.
The Star Named EOS is a story-rich game. While it strives to be an emotionally affecting narrative, it just didn’t hit for me. The writing dulls the impact and it doesn’t help that the protagonist is a silent, emotionless non-entity. Even though the story is a dud, the puzzles are good enough to carry the game.
The Star Named EOS. Credit: Silver Lining Studio / PLAYISM
If you enjoy escape rooms, The Star Named EOS is a game for you. The ones it builds are sometimes clever and you can solve them without the pressure of a ticking clock.
The Star Named EOS is available now on PC (Steam, Epic, GOG, Humble), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Overall Score: 7/10
Played on: PS5
