ECHO Review Summary

Beautiful visuals and exceptional level design are let down by a weak story and repetitive gameplay, though the enemy learning mechanic adds interest.

Beautiful visuals and graphics: Players consistently praise the game's visual presentation, describing it as beautiful, breathtaking, and stunning across clusters on graphics, visuals, and art direction.

Enemy learning mechanic praised: The unique mechanic where enemies learn from and adapt to player actions is highlighted as innovative and brilliantly implemented, with multiple clusters emphasizing its originality and effectiveness.

Level design exceptional: The level design is frequently lauded as finely crafted, spectacular, and breathtaking, with specific praise for the palace's majestic and visually logical architecture.

Engaging story and narrative: The story is described as intriguing, compelling, and well-acted, with several clusters highlighting its quality and ability to pull players through the game.

Excellent voice acting: Voice acting, particularly by Rose Leslie and Nicholas Boulton, is consistently praised as top-notch, contributing significantly to character portrayal and storytelling.

Repetitive gameplay and environments: Players consistently find the gameplay and environments repetitive, with low enemy variety and slow pacing making the experience tiring. This is the most common complaint, affecting multiple clusters.

Weak story and narrative: The story is described as forgettable, non-existent, and convoluted, leaving many questions unanswered. This reduces player engagement and overall enjoyment.

Gameplay feels tedious and frustrating: The core gameplay becomes a chore and frustrating over time, with bare bones mechanics and lacking polish. This leads to an overall underdeveloped and annoying experience.

Difficulty balancing issues: Feedback indicates difficulty is poorly balanced: the game is either too hard or, on HARD, too easy. Changing difficulty settings has no noticeable effect, frustrating players.

Slow start and pacing: The game starts very slowly, nearly a walking simulator for up to 40 minutes, and the overall pace can be deliberate to a fault. This may discourage players early on.

Enemies copy player actions: The core mechanic involves enemy AI mimicking the player's actions and strategies, forcing constant adaptation. This is described across multiple clusters as a central and unique feature.

Stealth-puzzle gameplay: The game emphasizes stealth and puzzle-solving with strategic planning, often blending action elements. Reviews consistently describe it as a stealth-puzzle or stealth-action hybrid.

Learning AI adapts to player: Enemies learn from player actions over cycles, unlocking new abilities and adjusting behavior. The AI evolves with the player's habits, making each playthrough unique.

Third-person stealth adventure: The game is presented as a third-person stealth adventure with horror and puzzle elements. It features a stage-clear structure with diverse strategic layers.

Cycle-based day-night mechanic: The game uses a cycle system where actions during light phases are recorded and used by enemies in subsequent dark phases. Blackouts reset the cycle but retain learned behaviors.

Frequent crashes reported: Many users report the game crashing repeatedly, often within minutes of launch or during loading screens. This appears to be a widespread issue affecting various hardware configurations.

Poor optimization prevalent: Several users describe the game as poorly optimized, with high resource usage and frame rate drops even on capable systems. This is a common complaint impacting overall experience.

Specific technical glitches: Users encounter various bugs including sound issues, misplaced assets, and cutscenes not working. These glitches disrupt gameplay and immersion.

Good performance on low-end hardware: A few users report the game runs well on older or lower-end GPUs like GTX 750Ti, with high FPS and no slowdowns. This suggests performance may be hardware-dependent.

Loading and initialization problems: Some users report loading hangs, crashes during loading, and initialization failures on new hardware. A workaround involving launch options is sometimes needed.

Recommended for stealth fans: The majority of recommendations highlight that the game is ideal for fans of stealth and puzzle mechanics, with praise for its unique challenges and atmosphere. Several clusters emphasize that patient players who enjoy stealth-action puzzle games will find it highly rewarding.

Recommended for sci-fi enthusiasts: The game is repeatedly recommended to fans of science fiction, especially those who appreciate story-driven narratives and atmospheric settings. Its sci-fi elements and unique world are highlighted as major draws.

Recommended for patient players: Patience is a common theme in recommendations, with several clusters specifically targeting gamers who are willing to invest time in mastering the mechanics. This is essential as the game's slow start and steep learning curve are noted.

Strong recommendation overall: A number of clusters convey an unqualified, strong endorsement, with phrases like 'wholeheartedly recommend' and 'must play'. This suggests that for the right audience, the game is a standout experience.

Not for everyone: Many reviewers caution that the game is not universally appealing, with several recommending it only for patient players or those who enjoy stealth and puzzles. Some specifically advise against purchasing for those seeking fast-paced action or fair difficulty.

Community fair range: $9.99 - $14.99.

Game completion: 11.5h.

Story completion: 8.0h.

Session length: 2.5h.

The game has a slow, walking-simulator-like first hour, but once the core stealth mechanics and story progression begin after the introductory chapters, the gameplay becomes engaging. Later repetition and frustration cause enjoyment to wane for many players.

Friction: slow start with walking simulator pacing; boring first hour lacking gameplay; tedious dialogue and lack of player agency; no map and limited save points; repetitive early environments; lack of variety in early actions.

Unlock drivers: introduction of core stealth mechanics; beginning of main gameplay loop after first two chapters; increased complexity and echo interactions; story progression picks up; player agency in teaching echoes.

Stealth Strategist: Methodical and strategic; uses environmental tricks and limited resources; adapts to enemy learning. Motivation: Master the adaptive enemy AI and experience a unique, challenging stealth system. Stance: sale.

Frustrated Quitter: Attempted careful planning but found gameplay clunky, frustrating, and tedious; eventually gave up. Motivation: Initially intrigued by the concept but overwhelmed by clunky controls, arbitrary puzzles, and slow pacing. Stance: no buy.

Atmospheric Lore Seeker: Patient and exploratory; focuses on environmental storytelling, lore, and atmosphere over combat efficiency. Motivation: Uncover the rich narrative and world-building hidden within the game’s setting and dialogue. Stance: sale.

Studio closed after release: The developer ULTRA ULTRA disbanded following the game's release, which is frequently mentioned across several clusters. This is noted as the studio's first and only game, and many reviewers express regret that no sequel is possible.

Game length varies: Playtime estimates range from about 5 to 12 hours, depending on difficulty and completion style. The average seems to be around 8-10 hours on normal difficulty, while some finish in 5-6 hours on hard or when focusing on story.

Unique visual and atmospheric style: The game's aesthetic is praised for its innovative blend of French Rococo, art-deco, gothic, and H.R. Giger elements, evoking comparisons to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the manga BLAME!. The setting is described as sterile, claustrophobic, and ominous, contributing to a strong sense of atmosphere.

Comparisons to Alien Isolation and stealth games: Many reviewers draw parallels to Alien: Isolation for its tense atmosphere and advanced AI, as well as to stealth-focused titles like Dishonored, Metal Gear Solid, and Styx. The game's sneaking mechanics and claustrophobic environments are repeatedly highlighted.

Story involves En and AI London: The narrative centers on genetically engineered protagonist En and her AI companion London, as they explore a mysterious palace. The story is told almost entirely through dialogue between the two characters, and is compared to works like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris.