What is this Eternal Eden: Mandela Edition all about?

This blog post has been written by Elder Prince, Creator of Eternal Eden.

Eternal Eden Mandela is a project I had briefly announced in 2018 to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the old 2008 version, but due to tragic events in my life I had to cancel it almost instantly.

Thankfully, I finally saw an opportunity to release it close to this current holidays period. Currently, the game has been 90% shaped but the beta testing phase is still a time-consuming step.

What NOT to expect:

• It’s not a sequel. It’s not a prequel either.
• This version won’t package improved contents. The game uses the same assets; music and graphics.
• It’s not a new storyline. The events are exactly the same.
• Fixing typos of the 2008 version isn’t part of the plan. Sentences won’t be revised. You’ll possibly find the same grammatical mistakes.

What to expect:

• new dungeon layouts.
• new puzzles.
• new inventory collectibles.
• new challenges.
• and more importantly, a new chapter leading to a secret alternate ending.

After a decade of endless torments, you will finally have an opportunity to free Downey of his prison, which was not possible in the 2008 edition.

WHAT IS THE MANDELA EFFECT?

In a nutshell, the phenomenon is tied to the rising of the multiverse theory in pop culture. A large amount of people claim that South African leader Nelson Mandela died in the 1980s, even though his death was reported in 2013. Since then, there were a large variety of similar reports around the world. It’s the idea that people’s consciousness move between parallel universes with hybrid memories. Is it “The Berenstein Bears” or Berenstain? Etc. I will let you search the #MandelaEffect hashtag on your own. If you’re interested to the Mandela phenomenon, the ebook I wrote five years ago (Timeloop: Project Dechentreiter) is very close to this concept.

Having explained that, you probably have a better understanding of what Eternal Eden: Mandela Edition is all about now. It’s the same 2008 version but it’s been completely reshuffled. Your profound memories of the first game will be so distorted when you play this new edition it will feel like a brand new experience.

Think of this version as if it was released in an alternate reality, it’s the EE1 game you would have played on Earth II (or Earth IX for that matter… uh, whatever).

WILL IT WORTH IT?

This new edition is definitely a love letter to fans of the first game. It has been designed for those who have made it a tradition to play it every year or so, but this time the quest is played completely differently. I would not invest my precious time making it if it wasn’t worth it. It’s definitely an interesting twist and I’m excited to rediscover the 2008 game in a completely different way.

Other similar analogies is when you beat Zelda 1 on the Nintendo 8-Bit and the second quest is completely different. Or think when Nintendo made Zelda: A link between Worlds, which borrowed heavily from Zelda: A Link to the Past.

YOUR SUPPORT WILL HELP MAKE OTHER ETERNAL EDEN GAMES A REALITY

This new version will be offered free of charge. However, making it free may not be the safest strategy to guarantee that other upcoming Eternal Eden games will be released. 2022 has been a very tough year for me financially, it was mostly a race to get bills and debts paid. I seek to have an impact during 2023 but the harsh truth is that without funds I’m wasting precious time doing other minimal wage jobs rather than putting time in my game development. 

So if you wish to play this new edition the soonest date possible, consider making a donation when downloading the original game right here: https://blossomsoft.itch.io/eternal-eden-2008