Never before have I been so excited by a team and then so quickly devastated as they close their doors. Ultra Ultra came like thunder out of a clear sky and made one of the most fascinating games I have ever played and then promptly closed their doors. I'm not sure if it was due to sales, internal strife or something else, but regardless it is a major loss of an innovative team in anNever before have I been so excited by a team and then so quickly devastated as they close their doors. Ultra Ultra came like thunder out of a clear sky and made one of the most fascinating games I have ever played and then promptly closed their doors. I'm not sure if it was due to sales, internal strife or something else, but regardless it is a major loss of an innovative team in an industry that desperately needs it.
The main conceit you've probably heard about this game is the AI, which is truly fascinating. Surrounded by clones on a planet sized palace, the gameplay loop is 'Lights On, Lights Off'. When the lights are on they come at you as enemy npcs, all the while reading your movements and attack patterns, right down to eating grapes or playing a harp. Lights go off and it's a free for all. No longer can they read your movements, giving you a chance to use your best tactics. Why save your best moves for the dark? Because when the lights come back, everything you did during the previous 'Lights On' has been learned and adapted by the AI. If you snuck around a lot, you'll turn around to find 3 clones crouching right behind you. If you play it safe from afar, you'll find yourself getting sniped from across the level. It's not perfect, but it is brilliant, think-on-your-feet, fast and tactical combat.
But that's not why I love this game so much, or more accurately that's not the only reason I love Echo. If you're someone who adores narrative design, who pours over details, who drinks in atmosphere, this game will leave you breathless. For the action heavy there is a "skip to action" option, but the opening of this game blows me away every time I play it. It takes its time, lets you get to know the two protagonists, hints at things the player will never see. It both mesmerizes and builds suspense leading into the main core of the game.
While Echo manages to accomplish in drawing a lot of gameplay from a few basic ideas, it accomplishes even more with world-building. The opening of this game gives you little drops of information, names, keywords, "Foster" "Palace" "Resourcefuls" "Pre-Requisition Rush". They don't tell you very much, but they paint a broad universe that starts to fill in the more you think about it. Never before have I gleaned so much information from so little. The universe of Echo begs to be colored in, divined, painted by the player themselves. By the time the first bullet was fired I felt enveloped in the world of Echo, and wanted to fight for any angstrom of information I could find.
On top of all of that, the basic story, art direction, dialogue and voice acting (Rose Leslie and Nicholas Boulton deserve more praise and awards than they'll ever get, I'm sure) are firing on all cylinders. Little details again make a big impact, En's hair and teeth, the crack in her voice after waking from a long slumber, London's begrudged loyalty, a lighter, a red cube, all seemingly inocuous but all making a huge difference.
The only faults (and only reason I gave a 9 instead of a 10) is it can get a bit taxing toward the end (again, the story had me eager to continue at all costs) and sadly I have experienced a crash in one, and only one, spot towards the very beginning. Unfortunately it happened multiple times, which is a shame because, to reiterate, this game has one of my all time favorite openings.
I can see certain folks not getting into it, it takes patience, it gets a bit repetitive, there's lots of stealthing about but if this sounds intriguing, and/or you really look for strong narrative in your games, absolutely buy Echo right now, just go, do it, seriously, it's amazing....
Ultra Ultra is no more, which truly makes me incredibly sad. There are rumors about a possible movie, and honestly I would take anything that delves further into the universe of Echo. I only wish there were a physical copy to put proudly on my shelf. Sadly it is digital only, and remains one of the few games I will never uninstall. I honestly don't ever want to risk losing it. Echo is wondrous, give it a look.… Expand
ECHOYour Score0 out of 10User Score
