ECHO is a Third-Person Science Fiction Adventure.
After a century in stasis the girl En arrives at her destination: A Palace out of legend, a marvel of the old civilization eons gone, still awaiting its first human occupants. Out here, using forgotten technologies, she hopes to bring back a life th...
After a century in stasis the girl En arrives at her destination: A Palace out of legend, a marvel of the old civilization eons gone, still awaiting its first human occupants. Out here, using forgotten technologies, she hopes to bring back a life that shouldn’t have been lost. But nothing could prepare her for what she’ll face in the ancient halls below.
The experience starts as a character driven journey of discovery, but as it unfolds it evolves into something altogether more punishing. The Palace studies everything you do, everything you are, to use it against you. Gameplay revolves around stealth, action and manipulation, as you face off against the ultimate enemy: Yourself.
THE WAY YOU PLAY SHAPES THE GAME In ECHO everything has consequence: As you try to wield its magical technologies it becomes apparent that the Palace has a will of its own… It creates “Echoes” – exact copies of you in every way – that behave like you and only do the things you do. So the way you play the game shapes your enemy. If you sprint, soon the Echoes will get faster. If you sneak, they will get stealthier. If you shoot, they will learn to shoot back. The game constantly reacts to your every choice and input.
LEARNING MECHANICS The Palace "reboots" every so often, resulting in a blackout. This blackout-cycle is the rhythm at which the Echoes get updated with your latest behavior, learning and unlearning from your actions. During the blackout the palace is blind, giving you the freedom to act without consequence. This is the time to run and gun and do all the things you don’t want the Echoes to learn. The experience is one of being up against your own choices from the last blackout-cycle, giving you a way of shaping the game from cycle to cycle. So no matter if you prefer to go stealth or action one thing is certain, you need to keep your wits about you if you want to survive the Palace.
RICH STORY AND ATMOSPHERE At the heart of ECHO is the story. The game starts as a narrative experience, focused on En and her journey into the Palace and her past. Who is she and what is her connection to the Palace? Who is this man that she needs to revive, and what was the circumstances surrounding his death? Slowly these things are uncovered as she descends into the dark halls below.
Echo reminds me of Timeshift, in the sense that both are showcasing original mechanics, have really good gameplay, but lack in story department. The learn/unlearn mechanic is something everyone must see. Where else you can spend a few minutes eating grapes, playing piano and harp to guarantee that for the next few minutes enemies will be bumbling idiots unable to open doors? Where else you can teach them to extend bridges and guarantee yourself every route open? The story is there to fill the gaps and give you a break from constant stealthing and light/dark cycle; don't expect much there.
ECHO is a great game but everything about it feels stretched to pad the time. It has several unique ideas and what looks to be a very interesting world, a brilliant core gameplay loop idea that blends puzzle with stealth, a downright stunning aesthetic, two very interesting main characters (and the voice acting is also good), but the pacing feels like it could have been better if it was 4/5 of its size (incidentally, my score for the game :-P). You spend the first 30 minutes or so just walking with dialogs going on between you and the other character, to the point i started to wonder if ECHO was a walking simulator (...i played the game several months after purchasing it and had forgotten anything about it in the meanwhile). But after that things the "main" loop starts and the game keeps adding and tweaking gameplay elements up until the end - yet after it happens, it gets sticks around a bit too much - just past the point where it begins to feel repetitive.
Regardless, i recommend the game, even if it would benefit with a tighter pace.
The game is visually stunning but sadly it uses the same graphics with some very minor different through the game.
The thing that made me continue and enjoy it was the challenges escaping the levels and how you can do it in different ways.
The story is decent and the sound/music is fitting.
Picked it up on a sale and it is worth it.
it woud probably be like this. This game is so unique that you surely look up a lot of infos and vids to decide if it's for you. I did and it spoiled a good chunk of game for me. Because I could not get in with an open mind and experiment with what it actually means _to play against myself_ and how that plays out - gameplay-wise. This is a tactical stealth game, where you need to switch tatctics, take risks and lose. Clearing a levels is _not_ an option and it's not easy - even on Easy. The story is intriquingly vague and just adds to the minimalistic, artificial yet baroque design but you can piece it together, if you listened. To make such a game with so few assets, game-mechanics and dialogue (the voice actors are great!!) and with such a great directional sense, is a masterly brought together artwork that you should experience by yourself, if the concept appears even halfway interesting to you. I am glad I gave it a chance. Yet, this game definitely isn't for everbody and for all the greatness this little game achieves - this frakking thing needs a God/ Walking Sim-Mode!!
Opening Disclosure: I own the Steam version of Echo, not the GOG offering.
Echo's strongest points are its setting and storytelling. The laid back start to the game introduces you to the location and its two characters well. The visuals are great to start off with. When you get into the Palace proper they become phenomenal. The scenes are detailed, beautiful, and yet somehow oppressive.
The game’s signature mechanic is both a great strength and a hindrance. While the game is centered on teaching or not teaching your opponents your tricks, the game will teach you what and what not to do in brutal fashion as well. The main character cannot take much punishment and the aiming and fighting mechanics are rough enough to where if you get into a tight spot that the controls can speed your death. Once you learn what to do and what not to do, the game becomes an enjoyable challenge. Until you reach that point, unforgiving is the only word that comes to mind as to how the game handles any mistake.
Echo’s level pacing and its story pacing are all over the place. You will have a series of scenes that allow for lots of check points and then go for spells where you are begging for the opportunity to save. With some of the larger levels combined with the frequency of death, this design flaw can lead to frustration. The same can be said of the story. You get information dumps and then can go for a while before either character says another word to the other.
Overall Impression: A solid overall C with caveats and warnings. While in no way a direct comparison, Echo strikes me as a game much like The Void.* There are going to be people who love the game for the bold and interesting ideas it presents despite its design flaws. Others will hate it or want to avoid it like the plague.
*Nothing can really be compared The Void. It is a trip all of its own. If there is a game that can be compared to it, please message me with the title.
