Fossil Echo

I love that the game is very short. I played it through in 80 min, finishing 5/8 shrines. Its really nice with these short little games that don't ask a lot of you as a player. Finished in an hour or two without feeling like a demo or something. They are kind of rare so that is one reason I didn't give this one a 3 rather than a very strong 2/5. The problem is that even though the game was of ideal length for a sleepy late evening the game itself is in need of some polishing. Levels are a bit uneven in quality with some being frustrating. Some of the optional stages are frustrating but since they can be skipped it's not a massive issue. I was disapointed with the many enemies, instakills etc. The game would have benefitted from focusing more on the atmosphere and making sure that playing it felt smooth and enjoyable. The visuals, music and story is relaxing and doesn't go well together with the frustration sometimes felt throughout the game. The graphics are surprisingly good. Felt nicer than in the screenshots while playing. Music and sound was also very good. I'd recommend the game on a sale. 3/5 may sound a bit low but for what it is it is a good score. Just a quick break. It's not a life changing ecperience and didn't try to be. 3/5 is a good score.

Well, the store description tells you most of what you need to know about Fossil Echo - I can't say that I'm that mesmerized by the soundtrack but it works and the cutscenes are nice despite the story not saying very much. It's a boy, sneaking past a band of thugs with Spider symbols on their jackets while climbing a big tower. That's it. The platforming is indeed challenging and it took me almost 2 hours to beat Fossil Echo since I decided to actually master all the optional challenges where I spent a good part on 2 sections where I got stuck and almost stopped playing. The platforming can be really frustrating and feel cheap when the margins of error are practically zero in the most challenging parts but when you finally land them, the satisfaction is complete. What I am critical of however is that most of these have ledges and platforms that are destroyed after a few seconds to force you to move with speed but if you fail an attempt and land on a solid platform mid-section, these temporary platforms don't respawn like they do in other games, forcing you to jump to your death in order to restart the entire section. That honestly feels more like a design flaw than an 'extra challenge' but besides that, I'm happy with my experience!