Eternal Threads

Eternal Threads is a scifi down to earth kitchen sink drama, with both walking sim and puzzle game elements. Rather a mouthful for a game that’s not exactly massive. The premise is very scifi. There’s been some sort of time travel related accident in the future which cascades radiation back through time, causing corruption in the timeline. Agents are sent back to correct this while making as few direct changes as possible. The game does not elaborate deeply on the nature of the accident really, nor the group you work for. It is at the beginning seemingly there as a framing device to set up why you are in a burnt out house using a device to manipulate past events. As the story develops the scifi aspects do come back into play in an intriguing way, which I was pleased to see, but the game does end on a cliff hanger. The devs still seem to be going, but in typical modern game development timescales, it’s 4 years later with no sequel as of yet, which is frustrating. The main meat of the game is the human drama though, 6 housemates living in 2015 Northern England going through various dramas, with your job being to alter events via the decisions they made in the week leading up to it. The main objective is to save their lives, and ideally to get an optimal outcome for their personal problems as well. The human drama is pretty well done, it’s a little soap operaish that every single one of the characters has some sort of drama or problem that they need resolving, but fortunately mostly the characters behave like grown-ups and are decently written so it’s not irritating to deal with. Indeed with the default story before you start altering things, while everyone has their problems and they aren’t dealt with, there isn’t really any dramatic confrontations, as in real life everyone sort of just plods on with things. It’s only when you start tinkering with things do dramatic arguments and reveals start, and amusingly that can lead to some histrionic meltdowns. Finding the right choices does lead everyone to deal with their problems like mature adults, however, and this aspect of the story is resolved fully by the end of the game. The atmosphere is on point, with both the graphics and sound working well. I think for quite a low budget game the character models aren’t that detailed, but because the characters are all presented in a slightly grainy format through your time visualiser it hides any imperfections in the character models. The burnt out house itself is suitably creepy, and for what is a limited space for a game, literally a single house and garden, there’s good use of that space, but without falling into horror cliches. The voice acting is pretty much excellent. The game ran well for me as well, though it’s not that surprising considering the limited scale. Gameplay wise this is where the game is at it’s most simple. You wander around the house, using your visualiser to show scenes from the housemates. At points you have the choice to change decisions made, which then unlocks different scenes and outcomes. Some areas of the house are locked off to start with, so discovering different scenes to identify where keys are is crucial to uncover more of the story. There are also various notes and voice messages around the house that adds more context. I chose to play out the story as it was at first to understand the context, it does mean that in this form the first few hours are essentially a walking simulator, but once you get into the decisions it’s interesting seeing how they interact and change things. This aspect is puzzle like, though not particularly complex. You do have access to a timeline of scenes, and towards the end of the game this is very useful to quickly change events via this to rapidly access new scenes or see new outcomes, however I did find the interface for this quite clunky. Overall this is an interesting little game. I’m not sure I would have been so enthused had I bought it full price, but when on sale it goes pretty low, and I got it for £3.19 last year. If you enjoy story based games it’s well worth a punt for 7 or 8 hours of decent story and atmosphere.

Great game! Storyline is phenomenal. I enjoyed every second I played, I one shot it. Almost 12 hours but it was well worth it.

Naprawdę spoko gierka narracyjna, z satysfakcjonującą możliwością swobodnego poruszania się po osi czasu i oglądania wydarzeń z różnych perspektyw. Szukanie zależności między postaciami, i kombinowanie, jak zmienić bieg ich losów, biorąc pod uwagę efekt motyla, było naprawdę wciągające - idealne do luźnego wypicia sobie herbaty, bo przez 93% czasu stoisz i obserwujesz, co się działo w przeszłości. Jak takie oglądanie filmu, którego zakończenie znane jest od początku, jednak mamy wpływ na to, jak potoczy się historia. Polecam bardzo

Eternal Threads opens with a concept that immediately stands out—an agency tasked with repairing broken timelines, nudging events just enough for the butterfly effect to correct the rest. It’s a narrative-driven experience built around observation and manipulation rather than traditional gameplay, and that unique structure is what hooks you early. Instead of playing through events linearly, you explore a web of moments, rewinding and altering key decisions to reshape outcomes. It’s a refreshing take on time travel that feels less about control and more about careful intervention, giving the player a constant sense of curiosity as each change reveals new possibilities. What makes the experience land is its cast. Every character is fully voice acted, and while some accents can feel rough around the edges, they ultimately add to the grounded UK setting rather than detract from it. Learning each character’s story—uncovering their relationships, secrets, and how their lives intertwine—is where the game thrives. Even for players who don’t typically gravitate toward narrative-heavy titles, the act of altering timelines to unlock new dialogue, shift outcomes, and open entirely new paths forward keeps things engaging. It turns what could have been passive storytelling into something more interactive and investigative. That said, the game’s length and pacing may not justify its full $20 price point for everyone, especially given how quickly you can move through its core content. Still, the thought and design behind its branching structure are clear, and the autosave system—triggering after each event—makes it easy to step away and return without friction. It’s a shorter experience, but one that values experimentation and attention to detail, making it worth picking up—especially on sale—for players interested in a different kind of narrative design. —The Ember Archives https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45601239/

LOVED IT. good puzzle too (if you aim for good ending)

[h1][b] Reseña de Eternal Threads[/b][/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] Eternal Threads es ese tipo de “aventura narrativa” en primera persona que te mira a los ojos y te dice: “Tus decisiones importan”. Y tú le crees… hasta que empiezas a rebobinar el tiempo como si fueras el becario del multiverso arreglando el desastre emocional de una familia. La propuesta es clara: investigar, reconstruir eventos, manipular líneas temporales y empujar la historia hacia distintos desenlaces. Detective con control remoto del destino, básicamente. Como mezcla de Aventura/Indie/Casual con toques de Rol, no esperes combos, loot épico ni una IA que te humille. Aquí el “rol” es interpretar a alguien que mete mano en conversaciones, momentos clave y consecuencias. La “acción” es más mental que explosiva: rompecabezas narrativos, pistas, y esa deliciosa ansiedad de “si cambio esto… ¿se muere alguien por allá?”. Primera impresión: atmosférico, intrigante y con vibra de thriller emocional. Segunda impresión: también exige paciencia, porque el ritmo se cocina a fuego lento… y a veces se te quema un poquito si vienes buscando adrenalina. [h2]Lo que el Tiempo Arregla… y lo que el Tiempo Arruina[/h2] Lo Bueno: Historia con misterio y buena trama: te engancha con investigación y suspenso Manipulación del tiempo y finales múltiples: rejuegas por curiosidad, culpa o ambas “Las elecciones importan” de verdad: decisiones con consecuencias narrativas Experiencia atmosférica en primera persona: exploración con tensión bien medida Compatible total con mando + Steam Cloud: cómodo y práctico Lo No Tan Bueno: Comunidad minúscula (4 jugadores actuales): más solo que tu backlog en rebajas Si esperas “Acción” tradicional, aquí la acción es leer, observar y pensar… mucho Solo 10 logros: los cazadores de trofeos van a terminar antes de presumir Ritmo narrativo lento por momentos: si no conectas con lo emocional, se siente pesado [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Interacción narrativa sólida; más investigar que “jugar” en el sentido clásico.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]6[/td][td]Rompecabezas y decisiones; no hay IA destacable porque no va de eso.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]7[/td][td]Múltiples finales y rutas; se sostiene por la trama y la investigación.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]7[/td][td]Cumple y acompaña la atmósfera sin intentar deslumbrar a lo blockbuster.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]8[/td][td]Misterio, emoción y consecuencias; lo mejor del paquete.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]8[/td][td]Tensión atmosférica y vibra de thriller narrativo bien lograda.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]7[/td][td]Correctos; apoyan la manipulación temporal sin fuegos artificiales innecesarios.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]7[/td][td]Funcional y envolvente; acompaña sin robarse el show.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]7[/td][td]Aportan a la ficción interactiva; hacen que las decisiones pesen más.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Protagonista femenina y enfoque humano; no es un festival de variedad.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]7[/td][td]Experiencia estable en términos generales para un juego narrativo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]8[/td][td]Finales múltiples + elecciones: el chisme temporal invita a volver.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Muy Bueno)[/b][/td][td][b]7.1[/b][/td][td]Una aventura narrativa con buen gancho, exigente en paciencia y fuerte en historia.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión (Muy Bueno)[/h2] Eternal Threads es “Muy Bueno” porque hace lo difícil: que un juego principalmente narrativo te dé ganas de experimentar con el tiempo y ver cómo se desmoronan (o se salvan) las cosas por tus decisiones. Si te gustan los misterios, la investigación y la ficción interactiva con consecuencias, aquí hay material para obsesionarte un rato. Eso sí: no vengas buscando acción de la que explota. Aquí explotan relaciones, secretos y tu tranquilidad. Y aunque tenga 464 recomendaciones, el dato de 4 jugadores actuales grita “joya de nicho”: amado por quienes conectan con su propuesta, ignorado por quienes quieren algo más inmediato. En resumen: un viaje temporal emocional, atmosférico y con buenos rompecabezas narrativos… pero con el riesgo de que, si no te atrapa la historia rápido, termines rebobinando tu propia decisión de haberlo iniciado. [h3]Recomendación de Compra (Recomendado con reservas)[/h3] Puntuación Total: 7.1/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 4 Descuento máximo registrado: -85% Veredicto: [i]Una aventura narrativa de nicho que brilla por su trama y elecciones, pero no es para impacientes ni para fans de la acción pura.[/i] Si disfrutas investigar, reconstruir eventos y jugar a ser el “arregla-destinos” con finales múltiples, dale. Si tu idea de diversión es disparar primero y pensar después, el tiempo aquí no te va a salvar: te vas a aburrir en esta línea temporal.

great concept that makes the butterfly effect seem like a tangible everyday threat. rendering quality/visuals and world interaction are mixed, but temporal replay effect, room-based memory anchors and timeline are awesome. hopefully expansions will bring more 'missions' for 43, or maybe for 1...