Echo (2017 video game)
| ECHO | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Ultra Ultra |
| Publisher(s) | Ultra Ultra |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4[1] |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 4, Windows |
| Release | Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Action, stealth |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Echo is a stealth video game released on 19 September 2017, developed and published by Danish indie studio Ultra Ultra.
After a century in stasis, En arrives at her destination: a palace out of legend. Out here, using forgotten technologies, she hopes to bring back a life that should not have been lost. But nothing could prepare her for what she will face in the ancient halls below.
The game was not a financial success, and was the only game released by Ultra Ultra before it shut down.
Gameplay
[edit]The Echo experience sees the player traversing endless corridors and chambers, mostly traveling further down into an endless superstructure. The early game allows the player ample time to learn each of the tools as they become available, as well as solving puzzles, but before long enemies start presenting themselves.
The game's most key facet is consequences for one's actions: whenever a blackout occurs, anything En does during the previous lights-on period will become available to the Echoes prowling the Palace. For example, if sprinting while the lights are on, after the system reboots the enemies will become able to sprint. The same is true for opening doors, crossing water, vaulting, and using weapons or stealth. Conversely, they will not be able to use any unused actions during the previous lights-on period, and will thus unlearn previously learned abilities. Lethal options only give a temporary reprieve: enemies are revived by blackouts. As such, direct combat should be considered a last resort, instead making varied use of tools, stealth, and manipulation. Preceding each "reboot" is a brief lights-out period where the Palace does not register actions.
For most of the game, En wears a suit with a power cell system: shooting, taking a long fall, prolonged sprinting, and some other actions will consume one unit of power: the suit will automatically recharge its last unit only, but it can hold multiple charges that can be acquired from energy stands. Cell capacity can also be upgraded.
The suit has several tools that En can use to her advantage. The Sphere-HUD can detect nearby lifeforms, indicate their alertness, and can scan through walls. There is also a two-mode pistol: lethal instantly kills any targets in a straight line, whether hitting their head or grazing their hand, while riot-mode knocks all nearby enemies down. However, the gun is loud and slow to fire without power. En can also shove an enemy or initiate a lethal and quiet (but not silent) takedown if she can sneak up from behind.
Setting
[edit]Echo takes place in a far-distant future; during the Push Era, technology quickly advanced, allowing humanity to colonize distant systems and planets in a period known as the Requisition Rush. Vast artificial intelligences and genetic enhancement are among the many sciences that approach magical levels of capability in this time.
En is a young woman from the "Resourcefuls Program": genetically-modified humans created by her mystical grandfather "Gramps" to be capable of always succeeding, no matter the challenge. She travels with a bitter and pessimistic AI named London, who had previously partnered with a man named Foster; London initially despises En for her involvement with Foster's death, but comes to respect and even care for her.
Plot
[edit]En wakes from one hundred years in cryogenic stasis, alone aboard a spaceship piloted by London. Before the journey, En had run away from Gramps, who hired Foster and London to recapture her. The incident left Foster dead; before he died, En acquired stellar coordinates given to him by Gramps, as well as a red cubic device which she believes can be used to revive Foster. London goes along with the venture solely out of respect for his old partner.
Having arrived at the coordinates, they find a mysterious planet of repetitive, cubic structures extending from the core; En dons Foster's suit and descends to the surface, taking the red cube with her, while London supports her via radio. Entering, she finds herself in the Palace: an endless and exquisite structure untouched by humans, becoming more extravagant and grand the deeper one goes. Interfacing with the cube powers up the structure, but it malfunctions; every so often, its systems reboot, causing a blackout. Soon after, the Palace instantly recomposes its atmosphere to be breathable, supporting plant life, and begins spawning black organic masses. After each blackout, these masses begin evolving into hostile clones of En that grow in ability. She realizes the Palace is watching her; whenever she performs an action, the clones are able to use it against her: Echoes. Each reboot updates them, learning her used actions and unlearning unused actions, as well as resurrecting killed copies.
En proceeds through multiple structures via airlocks, descending hundreds of kilometers; En suspects the Palace was created as a retirement haven for the ultra-wealthy where they could consider themselves gods with the Echoes for entertainment. When En becomes separated from the cube, she discovers the Echoes have been attacking her (and each other) to take it, echoing her goal. She later reveals to London that Gramps knew of the Palace and desired its secrets, creating the Resourcefuls to one day enter it. He would then "translate" successful Resourcefuls into a CaYa super symmetrical manifold, manifesting as a cube. However, she rebelled: when Gramps tried to translate En by force, Foster, manipulated by En, broke the contract to save her; En was able to kill Gramps and be freed. She then translated the dying Foster to save his life; regretting her choice to use him to her own ends, she wishes to atone by bringing Foster back.
En makes her way to the innermost area of the Palace near the core, encountering larger and enhanced constructs that attack the Echoes and whose capabilities are not limited by the reboot. Entering a sphere at the heart of the planet, she loses contact with London and finds herself in an environment made to recreate her memories back aboard the ship. Finding a translated and unresponsive Foster, En discovers that the only way to bring him back is to sacrifice her own flesh. Accepting this, En tells him to take care of himself and of London before translating him back.
Sometime later, a now-reconstituted Foster awakens near the entrance of the once-again-dormant Palace where the cube first interfaced, hearing the sounds of birds singing.
Reception
[edit]| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 71/100[2][3] |
Echo received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[2][3]
Echo won four major awards at "Spilprisen 2018", the Danish Game Awards - Best Visual Design, Best Sound, Best Technical achievement, and Game of the Year [4]
The game was nominated for "Best Art Direction (Games)" at the 2018 Webby Awards, and the Excellence in Visual Art award at the 2018 Independent Games Festival.[5][6]
Film adaptation
[edit]In May 2019, a film adaptation was reported to be in development.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Rowe, Brian. "Become Your Own Worst Enemy in ECHO". unrealengine.com.
- ^ a b "ECHO Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ a b "ECHO Critic Reviews for Playstation 4". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ "ECHO wins GOTY at the Danish Game Awards 2018!". Steam. Ultra Ultra (24 April 2018). 24 April 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ Durkan, Deirdre (3 April 2018). "Webby Awards: Oprah Winfrey, Shonda Rhimes Among Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ Joel Couture (2 March 2018). "Road to the IGF: ULTRA ULTRA's Echo". Gamasutra. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ Vikki Blake (9 May 2019). "Echo developer Ultra Ultra shuts down". MCV. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
