Summary
Eternal Strandshas been confirmed as a day-oneXbox Game Passrelease. This upcoming arrival promises to strengthen the selection of compelling action adventures onXbox Game Pass.
Eternal Strandswas officially unveiledin April 2024, following some four years' worth of development. It is the debut title from Yellow Brick Games, a Quebec-based studio founded by former BioWare developer andDragon Agedirector Mike Laidlaw and several ex-Ubisoft Quebec staffers. The game itself puts players in the shoes of Brynn, a young magic “weaver” on a quest to reclaim the cultural homeland of her people. It is in development for the Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.
Eternal Strandshas now been confirmed as a day-one addition to the Xbox Game Pass catalog. Its arrival on the service, which is planned for early 2025, was announced via a new trailer that debuted during thelatest Xbox Partner Preview event. The October 17 video also features over a minute’s worth of gameplay footage, including glimpses of boss fights with giant enemies called Ark of the Forge and Ark of the Living Flame.
Eternal Strands Promises Endless Experimentation Opportunities
The trailer highlights the fact that experimenting with theEternal Strandsmagic system will be an important part of its gameplay loop. These mechanics will allow players to do things like burn grass for crowd control, freeze enemy limbs to stop them in place, create ice bridges, turn anything into a projectile, and combine any such two spells with one another. “The world is your weapon,” states the trailer at one point, in reference to this so-called “cast and combine” system.
Eternal Strands Will Have Open Levels Rather Than an Open World
In a recent blog post, Yellow Brick cited the ability to pin drakes to the ground, trap enemies in “forcefield bubbles” created with a bow and arrow, and cool flaming creatures with an ice wall stuck to them with a gravity spell as some of the examples of this system in action. If such a level of freedom soundsreminiscent ofTears of the KingdomandBreath of the Wild, it’s not the only thing that the recentZeldagames have in common withEternal Strands. They also share the ability to climb any surface. However,Eternal Strandswill not be an open-world game, but rather a varied collection of open levels.
Eternal Strandsis not the only2025 title that was confirmed as a day-one Xbox Game Pass releaseduring the mid-October Xbox Partner Preview broadcast. The same goes forFBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment’s first-ever multiplayer game set in theControluniverse. Overall, 2025 is already shaping up to be a strong year for Xbox Game Pass, with the service being expected to add titles likeAvowed,Fable,South of Midnight, andDoom: The Dark Ages, among other day-one releases.
Eternal Strands
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as Brynn, a young but fearless Weaver, determined to recover her people’s cultural home in the debut fantasy action-adventure title from Yellow Brick Games, a new independent studio founded by industry veterans.Armed with powerful magical abilities and an arsenal of magical weapons, face enemies that range from humanoid constructs to towering beasts. Use the environment and temperature to your advantage in battles against a diverse roster of fantastical creatures, like turning a dragon’s fiery breath against ice-covered minions. Climb every surface and use arcane skills to create new paths. Explore the world in pursuit of the Enclave’s lost mysteries and challenge giant titans on your journey.The World is Your Weapon: At the heart of Eternal Strands beats a revolutionary new system for gameplay interactions: heat spreads, cold chills, and real-time destruction allows for unprecedented reactivity in combat. Hurl burning tree trunks at enemies with telekinetic powers, snap nearby trees to block opposing fire, or channel raw telekinetic force to rip boulders from the ground.
