Sony’s State of Play a few days back had some big announcements and reveals. Among those big announcements, Eternights was a nice little surprise. In development at Studio Sai, Eternights is a “dating action” game that will allow you to enjoy both action and romantic relationships with other characters in the game. The game derives inspiration heavily from games like “Journey” and “Persona”.
While the reveal trailer for the game was impressive, we wanted to know more about the game. So in our quest for more information, we had a chance to interview Studio Sai director and founder Jae Yoo about Eternights. He was able to share some interesting tidbits about the game. The full Interview is as following:
Q: Let’s start with a small introduction. Tell us about Studio Sai and when did the journey of Eternights development begin?
Jae Yoo: Studio Sai’s “Sai” means “relationship” in korean but not just a relationship but it also means “distance” between 2 people in a poetic tone. The games from the studio will alway revolve around the relationship between the character and the player. Mostly romantic.
Our games are about the relationships you can forge inside slightly peculiar worlds.
I posted some barebones gameplay ideas and footage on Reddit in early 2020. As Beyond Kafka (that was Eternights early name) gets more and more attention through social media, I felt that there were lots of people that had similar tastes as myself.
Q: There must have been some inspirations behind the development of Eternights, can you share them with us?
Jae Yoo: I always wanted to create a strong character relationship with the player in an interactive media format I always wanted to use games to make players develop strong relationships with characters. Journey from Jenova Chen was one the closest games that gave me the feel that I wanted to create. Then, I played Persona 5 later in 2019 which gave me a great inspiration on genre mixing.
Q: Time will play a crucial role in the game right? Could you elaborate how the game will test players to manage different tasks during specific time frames?
Jae Yoo: The player has total control over how they can spend his time. So, it’s up to them to decide if they want to hang out with the gang, train or visit the dungeon. The challenge comes from the fact that player doesn’t have an infinite amount of time, so he will have to choose wisely.
Q: So players can control and play with different characters right? Or will it be that you choose one from the start of the game and stick with it? How will character switch work?
Jae Yoo: There is no character switching, the characters you date give you skills and powerups that you can use in battle.
Q: How exactly the romantic relations with other characters will benefit players? Can you have romantic relationship with multiple characters at a single time?
Jae Yoo: Spending time with characters will give you skills and powerups. Well, that, I will leave up to the imagination.
Q: Since the reveal, the game has drawn a lot of comparisons with the Persona series which is a good thing however, how does Eternights differentiate from Persona?
Jae Yoo: Persona was definitely an inspiration, and I don’t hide that. The easy thing that we can point to is our hack and slash combat system and how the game’s story revolves more around romance and the apocalypse. We’d like to share more things that make our game unique, but that would be spoilers!
Q: Let’s talk about combat a bit. What can fans expect from combat. We know that it’s hack n slash mostly but is there more to that? How will players feel more powerful (combat wise) as they progress through the game?
Jae Yoo: Each character has a special set of skills and spells that they can use in battle. You unlock new skills and spells as you grow closer to them.
Q: Players will unlock different skills and abilities as they progress through the game, right? Can you tell us that how diverse these kills are going to be for each character and how many of these skills are there for each?
Jae Yoo: Plenty! Sorry, I just feel it’s more fun for the player to discover that themselves.
Q: Does Eternights have any choice system? If so, will those choices affect the outcome of the game?
Jae Yoo: Yes, we do have a choice system and the choices you make do affect the game.
Q: On average, how long will it take players to beat Eternights? What about replaybility? Do you think the game will nudge players to play it again after the first playthrough?
Jae Yoo: We are still in the development stage, but it will be long enough for you to bond and create a relationship with the characters.
Q: The game is PlayStation console exclusive at launch. Any specific reason for that? Could you share with us how did you partner up with Sony for State of Play reveal?
Jae Yoo: I felt that Sony’s State of Play was an excellent place to showcase our game and it was. The response we have gotten has been amazing. It’s surreal! My game was announced next to FF16! I grew up with that game.
Q: Will Eternight support Dualsense specific features on PlayStation 5 like adaptive triggers and haptic feedback?
Jae Yoo: That will play a really important role in the gameplay.
Q: Do you have plans to bring the game on Xbox and Nintendo Switch as well?
Jae Yoo: No comment.
Q: Any message you want give to the fans who are quite interested in buying the game after its reveal?
Jae Yoo: If you want to support us, please wish-list our game on Steam or follow us on different (channels).
We are aware that fans want to know if Eternights will eventually come to other platforms as well or not. Well, for the time being Jae has refrained from commenting on the topic. If we hear more about it, we will update the interview accordingly.
Eternights is scheduled to release in early 2023 for PC, PS5 and PS4.
