The first release from Baby Robot Games,Ereban: Shadow Legacy, is a stealth game featuring Ayana, the last of the Ereban—a race with the unique ability to blend into shadows. She arrives in Helios, a megacorporation that claims to have saved the world by discovering a way to provide unlimited energy. However, Ayana has a nagging suspicion that not everything is as it seems…
Baby Robot Games’ debut title, Ereban: Shadow Legacy, is a stealth game that centers on Ayana, the last of the Ereban—a race with the power to merge with darkness. She arrives at Helios, a megacorporation that appears to have saved the world by developing a source of unlimited energy. However, Ayana suspects that Helios might be hiding something about the Ereban’s fate. In a crowded field of indie and double-A stealth games, what sets reban: Shadow Legacy apart?
As expected, Ayana’s suspicions are validated, forcing her to make a quick escape before Helios can exploit her for their sinister plans. Assistance comes from an unexpected ally—a Helios employee who is secretly part of a resistance group known as the Second Suns. This sets up the core of the adventure: Ayana must uncover Helios' dark secrets, learn about her people, and understand what it means to be Ereban.
However, the game struggles with its twists and turns, as it often fails to build suspense effectively, making many of the reveals predictable from the outset. Even when the twists aren’t obvious, they lack excitement. Despite some impressive voice acting, especially for a debut from a small studio, neither Ayana nor the minor characters she encounters are compelling enough to make the story resonate. A major issue is the lack of meaningful interactions between Ayana and other characters. The resistance leader has minimal screen time, and the only relationship Ayana develops is mostly over the radio. This minimal interaction and weak rapport make the later attempts to portray a deep friendship feel unconvincing and forced.
It’s disappointing because the game’s backstory and premise are quite intriguing. As the lore unfolds, I couldn’t help but think that a game exploring the events leading up to Ereban: Shadow Legacy might have been even more captivating than the current one, which feels like the best parts have already passed.
To be clear, I don’t think the story is bad—just rather uninspired and forgettable. A few adjustments could have made a significant difference. For instance, developing Ayana’s relationship with the first resistance member she meets in a more natural way would have been beneficial, rather than suggesting a deep bond through fragmented dialogue when it’s clear to players that the connection never truly formed.
The primary antagonists in the game are Syms, large, clunky robots with predictable movement patterns. While these robots deliver some genuinely funny lines, their role is to be either avoided or destroyed as you choose. Throughout the relatively brief 5-8 hour campaign, you’ll encounter different types of Syms, such as long-range snipers and a model capable of reviving fallen allies. Although you’re equipped with a retractable blade that can take down a Sym with a single hit, combat is not the focus. Ereban: Shadow Legacy adheres to a purer stealth approach, where being spotted by a Sym typically results in immediate game over, rather than an opportunity to fight back with heavy weaponry.
Being spotted is quite rare, though. The game’s enemies aren’t particularly intelligent. Their field of vision is narrow and limited, allowing you to get away with some rather blatant mistakes. Even if they discover a fallen comrade, their searching method is comically ineffective, and they quickly return to their usual patrols. Sneaking past them is generally easy, as the enemy layouts and level designs are basic by genre standards, providing minimal challenge. Patrol routes are straightforward and simple to navigate, making the game feel like a basic introduction to stealth. While this simplicity might benefit newcomers, the game fails to evolve its layouts or increase difficulty over time. Even in later levels, you’ll still find yourself sneaking past one or two enemies with plenty of time to plan your next move, with no particularly tricky sections requiring pre-planning or quick decision-making.
Ayana’s special ability, derived from her Ereban heritage, lets her “merge” with the shadows, transforming into a dark sphere that can traverse through unlit areas, move beneath enemies, and ascend walls. While this ability is mechanically similar to traditional stealth techniques—staying hidden in shadowed areas or climbing—its presentation as a shadowy orb adds a unique and cool visual twist. Despite the gameplay being fundamentally the same as standard stealth mechanics, the transformation into a shadow ball gives it a fresh and distinctive feel.
Ayana’s special ability, derived from her Ereban heritage, lets her “merge” with the shadows, transforming into a dark sphere that can traverse through unlit areas, move beneath enemies, and ascend walls. While this ability is mechanically similar to traditional stealth techniques—staying hidden in shadowed areas or climbing—its presentation as a shadowy orb adds a unique and cool visual twist. Despite the gameplay being fundamentally the same as standard stealth mechanics, the transformation into a shadow ball gives it a fresh and distinctive feel.
.jfif)
I can’t shake the feeling that Baby Robot Games doesn’t fully explore the potential of their idea. Mostly, the gameplay involves merging into shadows, slipping past a few enemies, moving to the next section, waiting for patrols to clear, and repeating. This loop is the most basic form of stealth, akin to crouch-walking past enemies and then hiding behind walls. While there are a few creative uses of the ability—like navigating across a large wall using the shadow of a giant fan—these moments don’t feel particularly exciting. I kept hoping for more inventive applications, such as destroying lights to create new paths or more complex sections with intricate moving shadows. Some platforming segments attempt to combine shadow merging with traditional jumping, but these are undermined by a somewhat clumsy camera and controls that often send you off course when shifting between floor and wall.
Humans working for Helios are much rarer than the robots, going about their daily routines. This introduces *Shadow Legacy’s simple morality system: if you avoid harming the humans, you’ll unlock pure stealth skills designed to help you sneak by unnoticed. If you choose to eliminate them, the skills shift towards a more lethal approach.
The basic concept of the morality system is sound, but its execution falls short. The real issue is that there’s never a situation where killing humans feels necessary due to the lack of challenge. Sneaking past without alerting anyone is too easy, meaning you’d have to deliberately seek out and kill humans to use the lethal skills. Ideally, a system like this would place human enemies in challenging scenarios, forcing you to choose between making things easier by killing them or taking the more difficult stealth route. Since it’s so simple to avoid detection, there’s no real decision to make. The only incentive to kill is to unlock the lethal skills, which aren’t engaging enough to justify the effort.
.jfif)
Ayana can unlock and craft several gadgets to enhance her stealth abilities, but first, she must find hidden tech cards to access them. These gadgets include items like a mine that temporarily stuns enemies and binoculars for scouting large areas. She also gains new Ereban powers, which require collecting special items scattered throughout the game. These powers include blinding enemies and deploying a decoy to divert attention.
Unfortunately, I rarely felt the need to explore or use Ayana’s skills and gadgets. The game’s straightforward stealth mechanics and the ease of progressing through areas meant that I never felt particularly challenged, so there was little incentive to employ these additional tools. Ideally, you’d use them for fun, but the gadgets don’t offer enough excitement to make that worthwhile. The only skill that felt genuinely enjoyable was briefly possessing robotic foes, though its use is limited to moving them a short distance. I occasionally used mines to take out multiple enemies, but this was more out of a desire for variety than necessity, as it was just as easy to bypass guards without using any extra abilities.
This review might come across as quite critical, so let me clarify: Ereban: Shadow Legacy is fine. The issue with discussing games that are merely "fine" is that they often come off as more negative than intended. As a debut title from a new studio, Shadow Legacy is competently designed and shows clear inspiration from games like Aragami, even including a nice easter egg. However, I struggle to find anything particularly exciting about it, which might be due to my own preferences. Those new to stealth games or looking for a simpler experience might find it more enjoyable, whereas seasoned stealth enthusiasts might appreciate its straightforward approach as a refreshing change of pace.
