The Star Named EOS Xbox Series X review

The Star Named EOS Xbox Series X review – A nostalgic journey through puzzles and photographs

With a fondness for the classic Polaroid camera, can this nostalgic puzzle game draw you in and give you a new perspective?

The Star Named EOS asks you to unravel a story and practice your photography. The prologue appears to be a dream, helping you learn how to control the cursor with the left stick and look around with the right. The cursor helpfully changes shape when it is over an object or area that can be manipulated or looked closer at. Once you have followed the initial instructions, you wake up in your bedroom. Switching on the bedside lamp reveals a letter from your mother – and a Polaroid image. This then sets the template for the rest of the game; in your current location, you must recreate that image and take a photograph that resembles it. First, you must find a way to remove your camera from the box with a combination lock.

Looking around the room, there are areas you can look closer at (the cursor becomes a magnifying glass) and objects you can open or move (the cursor becomes a hand). Very often there will be picture clues or references that will help you solve another puzzle, either a combination or a hint to where something useful might be. A particularly clever puzzle later has you holding a rope, clicking the hands in the right sequence to tie a knot – having learnt how to do it from a book. Reassembling the fragments of a letter or taking a picture in the right place will also reveal more clues. The camera is easy to use by pressing a button to use it, moving the viewfinder, adjusting the zoom, and then taking the picture. Fortunately, the description of each object in your inventory (pulled down from the top of the screen or opened quickly with Y) will help guide you to what to do.

Having recreated the scene around the window, including the curtains and flower vase being in the right place, you move on from the bedroom to a train. Here you must unlock a suitcase, moving the objects inside around to reveal a vital ticket, and play a sliding tile puzzle with a gorgeous little train. Once you have ordered lunch, you move on to a café where a van is blocking the view and the clock on your table is missing a hand. Out in the countryside, the fishing rod and message in a bottle will prove handy. And if you can make out of the stormy night, a familiar-looking but abandoned bedroom is the next location whose mysteries you must solve – all in the footsteps of your mother but leading you to meet someone new.

This game has a very nostalgic feel, including the soft-focus filter of the graphics. In many ways, it resembles the classic 1990s CD-ROM game Myst where you gradually piece together puzzles from clues around you. The puzzles are never too obtuse though, thanks to the clues pointing you in the right direction. The controls work well, although it feels like it was designed around a mouse first and then acquired console controls later. Recreating static photos is a clever mechanic, although the actual photography itself is simplistic in how you position and frame each shot. The music is worth mentioning, as it is tranquil and beautifully fitting for the locations. The vocal performance in the song over the final credits, with its lush orchestration, is particularly enjoyable and sets the seal on the game nicely.

The real concern is how short the experience is, being completed within a couple of hours. There were only a couple of puzzles where I resorted to using an online walkthrough, mostly from not lining up the camera or a particular object in the right way. If you are observant then many of the clues will stand out easily, but others require careful consideration of what is around you. I did discover one or two of the secret Achievements on my first playthrough, more by luck than judgment; certain tasks are obscure to the point of extreme difficulty, while others can happen naturally as you try things out. The story that plays out is emotional, if at times a little confusing, even as you try to puzzle out the solutions.

The Star Named EOS Xbox Series X Review summary:

This charming puzzle game based around memories is too short-lived to recommend to all players. However, with its dreamlike moments and nostalgic ambience, it will prove unforgettable to those who decide to play through.