For this Eldrador Creatures PS4 review, it has to be said that the promotional material advised that this was targeted at children new to the turn-based genre.
In a bid to get my eldest involved, it was my three-year-old who warmed to the game. Granted, she couldn’t play it by herself, and to my surprise, the game does get tricky in sections, but it’s overall a forgiving experience. Perfect then for encouraging kids.
The following review is for the PlayStation 4 version, played on a PlayStation 5, but other than loading times, there’s no bells and whistles here, but playing on a console might be a better scenario for most families.
Eldrador Creatures PS4 Review
The relevance of playing on a console applies if you have a setup in the lounge, keeping an eye on the kids and getting involved if necessary. Given free reign, perhaps Fortnite would be more appealing if left to their own devices, which was the case in the end.
With Eldrador Creatures, it’s a videogame experience of a physical line of toys by Schleich. Having girls who like action figures and all, it’s not a brand we’ve come across or interested them. If that applies to you too, here’s some simple info.
Set in the land of Eldrador, four elemental groups are battling it out for an elemental sword that gives them precedence over the remaining lands. The four divisions consist of Ice, Lava, Rock and Jungle.
Each team will have their main hero, and as you progress, you’ll unlock other warriors that play out with numerous skills such as decoys, tank-like skills and more. As the eldest was busy with Fortnite, our three-year-old was in control and put us in command of the Jungle clan.
Welcome To The Jungle
With a two-headed plant-like serpent at the helm, we ran through a few levels of tutorials, with a rather charming voiceover explaining everything as we went along.
Though the Eldrador Creatures PS4 version isn’t discriminating for an audience of kids – anyone can play – when I was looking up the series, I came across a few comments about how easy or simple it was.
Sure, this isn’t your typical turn-based strategy, but it still requires thinking, and it’s certainly entertaining. At least in our experience. The time spent with my daughter made Eldrador Creatures so much fun playing together that it was a highlight of a big ol’ pile of games.
Though the presentation is pretty sparse, there’s not much going on – terrains and enemies look rather barren, and the gameplay isn’t watered down. It’s very clear what the objective is, without any distractions or over-complicated controls.
Mini-Me
Moving your heroes about in Eldrador Creatures is performed with a cursor on a grid-based map. Commands are limited to movement, attacks and specials that are specific to the character. Once your action points are up, it’s the next player’s turn.
There aren’t that many characters on a map simultaneously, so there’s not much hanging around – perfect for impatient gamers. In-between these turns, you’ll have access to mini creatures which function as your support line.
Like the physical counterpart, these are awarded in random packets you tear open at the end of each battle. Awards can be anything from health restoration to increased movement or reducing the damage of another player.
We didn’t pay attention early on and thought that you had to play these regardless, but you can skip their turn and use them when required. You’ll also be able to replay previous battles and stack up these buffs for future battles. Believe it or not, a lot of the time these are real game-changers.
Power In Numbers
Players can disperse three Eldrador creatures at a time from a selection of five once you unlock them. The more you play a creature, the likelihood of improving its rating and skillset, and each one offers a different style of play.
In our case, we opted for the Jungle crew, so as an advisor, encouraged the commander (my daughter) to go into battle with the tank, a.k.a. a crocodile. She was OK with this as long as we could use the Shadow Panther as it could split in two. That’s the decoy trick.
The levelling up isn’t particularly in-depth, but it is more than enough for enjoyment's sake. Each time you go into battle, you are given a star rating out of five. Surprisingly, it doesn’t matter if you lose members – they come back in the next round, but you do need to complete in as few moves as possible.
Still, that’s optional, and Eldrador Creatures doesn’t discourage or penalise players if they want to do it their way. The core gameplay remains though: beat your opponent before they beat you. It’s not bloody, though, and perfectly family-friendly, depending on how you feel about the PEGI ratings.
As an introduction to turn-based games, Eldrador Creatures on the PS4 has been fun, though it backfired in the sense that it didn’t lure the ten-year-old into the murky depths of strategy. On the contrary, the youngest wanted to play For The King while sitting on my lap, so it wasn’t all that bad.
Eldrador Creatures PS4 Review Summary
Eldrador Creatures is definitely for a younger audience and hits the mark in that sense. I did attempt to play on my own, but it wasn’t for me. It was slow, and lacked the experience I seek, as I’m sure it would for other experienced fans of the genre. But it’s not about us. Think of the children.
