Part 1 (Sep 2023) · #11 of 35 in that tierWatch the moment (1:42:40)
One Step From Eden
- Developed by
- Thomas Moon Kang
- Published by
- Balor Games, Maple Whispering Limited
$19.99
Build a powerful deck, cast spells on the fly, battle evolving enemies, find game-changing artifacts, make friends or make enemies, just make it to Eden.
Consensus
A76.4/100
Steam players93.3% positiveVery Positive7,664 reviews
Metacritic ↗82/100Users: 7.8/10
VG Insights estimate ↗≈230K copies · ≈$3.4M gross
What creators say
Ranked Apr 2022 · #2 of 8 in that tierWatch the moment (0:21:37)
Ranked Jun 2023 · #2 of 14 in that tierWatch the moment (0:47:25)
Ranked Apr 2023 · #1 of 16 in that tierWatch the moment (2:03:54)
Ranked Aug 2025 · #2 of 14 in that tierListen to the episode
Ranked Apr 2025 · #3 of 5 in that tierWatch the moment (1:12:09)
What players say
A real-time, grid-based action roguelite by Thomas Moon Kang where you build a spell deck and dodge enemy attacks on a 4x4 battlefield, openly inspired by Mega Man Battle Network and Slay the Spire.
Both players and critics rate it well. Steam lists it as Very Positive (about 93% of roughly 7,700 reviews), PC Metacritic is 82 from 9 critic reviews, and the user score is 7.8 from only 41 ratings. The praise goes to the deck-and-dodge hybrid, the build variety, the pixel art and the soundtrack. The complaints are the brutal early difficulty, screen clutter and thin explanations. It left Steam early access on March 26, 2020, and has since come to PS4, Xbox/Game Pass and Switch. Its spiritual follow-up Duelists of Eden came out in 2024, and the Steam reviews show people still playing with mods in 2026. The Switch version scored noticeably lower (74, mixed) than PC.
Players love
- Fast, dynamic mix of deckbuilding and dodge-based action. Reviewers and players call it easy to learn and hard to master.
- High replayability: 9 heroes with distinct playstyles, 200+ spells, 100+ artifacts, alternate kits to unlock, and 'god seed' sharing of exact runs.
- Skill matters more than luck. Screen Rant called the roguelike structure a highlight, and players say knowledge of cards and enemy patterns is rewarded.
- Focus and type-preference systems let you steer which spell categories you are offered, which softens deck RNG.
- Pixel art, character design and animation are widely praised.
- The soundtrack is repeatedly called outstanding; some reviewers say it sits in their playlists for months.
- Deep difficulty and modifier ladder (Hell passes up to Hel Mode 14), multiple endings (pacifist, genocide, a secret one) and the shopkeeper challenge give very long-term goals; several reviewers have 100-500+ hours.
- Strong nostalgia pull for Mega Man Battle Network fans, plus Steam Workshop mods, local co-op and PvP.
Common complaints
- Extremely fast pace with poor readability in busy fights. Enemy and hazard sprites blend into the background and into each other, and many low-hour negative reviews cite this.
- Steep, punishing opening hours. Critics say the first hour is disheartening, and even the lowest difficulty is too hard for some players.
- Weak tutorial and explanation: many keywords and status effects are only learned by trial and error (PC Invasion and Screen Rant both flag this).
- Enemies feel unfairly strong compared to the player: large AoE attacks, locking you to a tile, limited telegraphing.
- Some characters lock you into one archetype (for example a frost hero only makes sense with frost), so the deckbuilding feels narrow.
- Slow unlock progression for new abilities and characters (GameMAG, TheGamer).
- Multiplayer modes were criticised as poorly designed in the Wikipedia reception summary.
- Too many keywords and status effects with too little in-game explanation; the top negative Steam reviews call for an intricate UI rework.
Can feel tedious
- Hunting the remaining unlocks, endings and Hell Mode levels can feel like a grind, and unlock pacing was called slow.
- Layered RNG (spell offers, artifact offers, focus picks) can ruin a run even when you play well.
- Memorising enemy and boss patterns is the main route to improvement, which some players find wearing.
- Many spells are niche or weak, so filling out a coherent deck can feel like sifting through clutter.
- Runs start the next battle immediately, with no beat to read the new enemy lineup.
- Some players say the speed and screen clutter make it feel like luck rather than skill, and that the real-time format loses the deck-perfecting of Battle Network.
What's unique
- A genuine real-time action take on the Mega Man Battle Network chip-and-grid formula, not turn-based deckbuilding.
- Cards (spells) are cast continuously from a cycling deck while you dodge, so your deck is also your moveset.
- Defeated bosses become playable characters, and every hero has its own mechanics and alternate loadouts.
- The Shopkeeper 'pacts', the pacifist / genocide / secret ending structure, and the Hell pass difficulty ladder.
- Seed-based runs you can repeat exactly, plus Steam Workshop mods, local co-op and PvP.
Players want
- Clearer UI and keyword tooltips, plus a more thorough tutorial.
- A better difficulty curve or gentler onboarding between casual play and bullet-hell difficulty.
- Better visual clarity and animation so enemies and projectiles are easier to tell apart, for example spawning enemies in one at a time before a fight starts.
- Some kind of pacing or rhythm indicator (a 'metronome' UI was suggested) to help read action flow.
- Faster, more rewarding unlock progression.
- More spells and content to bridge the casual and expert difficulty tiers, and better balance for trap or useless spells.
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Action RoguelikeDifficultRogue-liteCard BattlerDeckbuildingActionReplay ValueAction RPGAdventureCard Game
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
One Step From Eden is a real-time, grid-based deck-building roguelike where you cycle spells while dodging and positioning on a tile board. He stresses it is extremely fast and forces your brain to juggle spell knowledge and movement at once. He play-tested it in beta and was excited for release. He finds it fun but demanding and not for everyone, and he places it in high B tier.
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