I’m as big a proponent of console gaming as you’ll find out there right now – I firmly think that, for most people, a Switch 2 or PS5 probably represents smarter value than trying to build their own PC or buy a pre-built option, especially given the ongoing fallout of RAMageddon.
That said, I’m also in the lucky position that I don’t have to choose between platforms, with a super-powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti sitting at the heart of my PC gaming rig, a PS5 Pro on my desk above it, and a Switch 2 as my portable go-to. If console gaming is the safe play for many people right now, though, I just played a game that exemplifies an advantage that PC gaming will probably always have.
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Sure, those are some big words, but the point I’m making to start with is nice and simple – this is the sort of experience that you can very often only get on PC at first. It’s a game that, if we’re lucky, will make its way to consoles eventually, perhaps with the addition of voice acting and more content, but right now it’s only available on PC (through Steam, for most of us).
This is a template that hundreds of games have followed – find an audience on Steam, get some positive reviews and word of mouth, and then snowball things from that point. It applies to the likes of Hollow Knight years ago, and even giants like Baldur’s Gate 3 in more recent times.
Sure, you could look at those games and say that waiting to play them on console was no great sacrifice, but the real point is that not every brilliant game has the stars align to get a console release. Esoteric Ebb is fantastic, and I’m in its playable epilogue right now, having found it incredibly memorable and engaging.
It’s debuted to a resounding Metacritic score of 87, but it was released at a time that made standing out extremely tough, with huge releases like Resident Evil Requiem sucking up people’s attention. That’s seen it do solidly, by all the signs, but not exactly break out into a huge runaway hit.
It deserves that level of attention, in my view, not least because of how singularly well-written the majority of the game is, but because it could clearly use the funding for just a little more polishing in patches. I’ve occasionally run into logical hiccups in conversations, and the odd time where characters don’t react to things I’m doing or wearing in the way I’d expect from such an inventive game.
These are tiny, minuscule gripes, mentioned only because they underline just what makes PC gaming feel special right now. It opens up a whole world of new titles to you, without your knowing which ones will go on to become touchstones for future generations, and which will simply stand as interesting monuments to what might have been if sales had been high enough.
If you want to play a choice-based RPG that rewards almost every impulse you have to screw up an idea or pull at a wild thread, though, Esoteric Ebb is a brilliant new entry in the genre. Frankly, anyone who enjoyed Disco Elysium should check it out without asking any more questions.
The best part? While I love my 5070 Ti, you don’t need one to play this – it’s a game that doesn’t make sky-high demands graphically, despite a fun art style. That should make it nice and approachable for low-end and mid-range systems alike.