The afterlife is not what it seems. Enter the Plane of Memories in DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters and save the afterlife from its own doom.
Have you ever wondered what the afterlife might look like? Ever thought about what the place would be called? DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters gives one the chance to experience an interesting outlook on what happens when we die. From Sandbloom Studio and HandyGames, comes a stealth-focused suspense voxel experience hidden within the Plane of Memories.
The afterlife may not be what we imagine. In one reality, we all materialize in the afterlife as skeletons. Many of the nine guardians have fallen at the hands of Donovan. He seeks to spread corruption and destroy the Plane of Memories, a dimension home to hundreds of thousands of souls. Become the Lux in DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters, restore the Pillars, and defeat the corruption a former guardian seeks to spread.
Only a handful of souls can become a Lux. This only happens when a soul enters the Plane after a guardian has fallen. With the light of a special artifact, one must unlock difficult paths to their objectives. In DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters, they must survive against creatures that are invisible without the light of the artifact. The Hidden, as these monsters are called, are driven purely by instinct, and they will end the Lux if they are not careful. They alone can restore balance to the Plane.
As the game suggested, I used a controller, choosing to go with an Xbox One controller. DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters is deceptively simple at the very beginning. One assumes, thanks to how the initial controls are introduced, it will be a voxel-graphics platformer. It was so much more, and it was a delight to find out. As the story unfolds and the Plane of Memories is slowly introduced, the Lux gains the initial power of the artifact’s light, indicated by a flashlight icon. Initially, this is activated by hitting the left and right bumper at the same time. Eventually, it is activated with the right trigger.
The light came off as the most important power, even after getting most of the others. With this bright light, it would light up the Hidden, giving them temporary shape. It allows one to take notice of a creature’s point of view and what route they are taking.
Useful as it was, having the light on for too long was dangerous. Monsters in DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters would begin to sound more aggressive, becoming increasingly aware. Indicated by a white triangle slowly turning red, if it became completely red, the Lux was done for.
It was certainly frustrating at times to have the light on for too long. However, it wasn’t hard to find a silly workaround. DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters makes it a point to tell the player not to keep the light on too long, lest the Hidden beat the Lux to death. To circumvent the awareness of the Hidden, simply aim the light in the direction of the Hidden’s path and ‘tap’ the trigger repeatedly without holding it. Doing this will prevent the creatures’ awareness indicator from ever filling up.
Sneaking past these creatures was another hurdle that took some getting used to. Aside from hiding behind solid walls, one can steer the Lux into the tall grass. Typically, one will find tall green grass. This is one of two types of grass in DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters to hide in. The other, being pink, can be ‘grown’ by shining light at it for about three or four seconds.
After doing one, it is possible to take temporary shelter in the tall pink grass. Once a path through the grass could be mapped out, sneaking past the Hidden felt amazing. It was hard not to have one’s pulse racing as they silently screamed at the Lux to hurry their bony feet.
The second power acquired, known as the Break Light, takes care of debris that might occasionally block Lux’s path. Like with the flashlight ability, this power has a chance of alerting the Hidden. It’s important to note in DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters that this ability will drive their awareness up almost immediately.
Oftentimes, it wasn’t until it was too late that I saw the Hidden were on me. Hilarious at times, it can be frustrating if it happens too often. Not only did it break debris, but it could also shrink certain objects back down. If one wanted to ‘increase their size,’ they would shine the artifact light at it until a shine crossed the object.
Pressure plates were also a huge thing throughout DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters. This was always one of my favorite mechanics when it was done right. With this title, the developers certainly did a great job implementing the mechanic. Instead of the simple drag and drop, one gained a third magnet power that allowed Lux to move objects that shined with a purple light. It took some time to understand, but the rewarding feeling after solving the pressure plate puzzles was almost euphoric.
Adventuring through the Plane of Memories was a task and a half. No matter where Lux went, puzzle after puzzle stood in their way. Every puzzle encountered was thoroughly entertaining. There’s no greater feeling than solving a puzzle that is ridiculously expansive. One of the most difficult of those puzzles was the ‘wind tunnel’ puzzle.
In order to access one of the towers, Lux had to travel through various wind currents, adjusting their paths along the way. It had to be accessed twice. The first time was to shake out a pest. Accessing, according to the characters that help along this section, it had to be done this way.
DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters was fascinating as a voxel graphics game. Going with the low-resolution style of graphics, this allowed developers to populate the worlds with more than a 4k game would allow. Even with the simple look, it was beautiful to look at. The bright colors were blinding in a good way, and the characters each had their own style. Thanks to the style, it isn’t too taxing on the PC being used.
The sounds were just as great as the graphics themselves. Each character had their own voice and was well-acted. It wasn’t hard to sense a character’s emotions based on the tones the actors chose to deliver. Hearing the Hidden roar was especially nerve-racking, thanks to a noise-canceling gaming headset.
The right headset truly enhances experiencing the audio of DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters. This title was surprisingly fun. Some of the puzzles can be frustrating, but it is important to take a step back and examine all avenues. DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters offers a fair challenge to those looking for it. And it offers adventure to those who hunger for a new journey to venture on. Only the bravest and most cunning can restore the Pillars to their power. Are you the Lux that will make that happen?
