Eternal Strands’ Magic and Physics Offer a Zelda-Like Level of Combat Freedom – IGN First

ign.com:

While you’re exploring the land of the Enclave and taking on gargantuan bosses in Eternal Strands, you’ll unlock more and more magical abilities to help you on your journey. But unlike many games where magic might let you toss a fireball or Force push an enemy off a cliff, Eternal Strands has a unique approach to the nine physics-altering abilities it puts in your toolbelt, all of which allow for an impressive level of freedom. Continuing our month-long exclusive coverage of the upcoming action-adventure game from a new team comprised of ex-BioWare and Ubisoft developers, today we’ll be taking a look at a few abilities at the heart of this battle-heavy odyssey and how they can be combined in surprising and creative ways.

In the same way that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gives you a set of powers that allows you to manipulate the physics of its world in order to solve puzzles and get across the map, Eternal Strands gives you a similarly playful toolset and asks you to bring them to bear in battle – including against the massive bosses that roam land of the Enclave. Instead of creating a makeshift boat with magnets and fans to sail across a river, you’re using telekinetic wormholes to launch yourself onto the back of a flying dragon or generating a block of ice to seal a giant’s leg in place before climbing up it to deal damage with your sword.

That alone can be a lot of fun, especially once you discover the interesting ways those powers have an impact on enemies and the surrounding environment. For example, when fighting a heavily armored boss who uses fire-based attacks, you might discover that prolonged exposure to ice attacks begins to make his armor brittle, which can then be cleaved off, exposing a new weak spot to lay into. Or maybe you’ll be hounded by a giant dragon who breathes fire down on you, and discover that with the right telekinetic ability, you can redirect those flames right back at him. It’s especially cool how the enemies themselves