Echo Generation 2

Throughout the years, there have been numerous games that we remember perhaps primarily for their distinctive design. Whether it's garish colours, beautiful cel-shading, or retro-style pixels, these stand in stark contrast to all those titles that go to great lengths to showcase more technically impressive and realistic environments. It's precisely this distinctive style of design that springs to mind when I think of the 2021 adventure known as Echo Generation, even if it was also a charming role-playing game that offered far more than just visual appeal.

The Spielberg-esque coming-of-age story, drawing inspiration from everything from The Goonies, E.T., and Stranger Things, gave us an exciting adventure, all accompanied by the wonderful blocky voxel design that served as its aesthetic. It had a retro feel, yet was also technically enriched by all the advances in graphics and that combination is often hard to resist.

I won't go on too long here, but I remember Echo Generation fondly, so I was very happy when a sequel finally arrived. But just an hour in, I realised this is a very different game from the one it follows. I don't really know why the developers did this to be honest, but I'll do my best to separate my disappointment regarding the drastic change of genre and judge it for what it actually is. Even though the sequel certainly has a lot in common with its predecessor, it is, at its core, something else.

But let's leave that for now and focus on a direct similarity between the two. If you look at the images, it becomes quite obvious what I'm referring to; it's the visuals that have carried over from the predecessor to this sequel like a common thread. The graphics are stunning, the pixels are beautiful wherever you are, and give the game a very special style. Everything is a feast for the eyes in its purest form, and the only thing I really would have liked is slightly more grandiose environments.

For Echo Generation 2, a lot of the environments consist of the sort that I, actually, don't find all that interesting. There are a lot of laboratories and dark indoor environments, and it's on those rare occasions when you are outdoors, and when you are treated to beautiful panoramic views, that I am truly captivated. It's a shame that it feels a bit confined and limited, both in terms of the variety of environments and the point we're about to move on to.

First and foremost, I want to make it clear that I had expectations of a completely different kind of adventure back then, but as I said, it would be unfair to judge Echo Generation 2 for what it isn't and for what I myself had hoped it would be. When I started looking forward to this, I was looking forward to a sequel, a natural follow-up, something similar but more developed. As a games writer, it's obviously part of the job to have a pretty good grasp of what's coming, but I had, quite honestly, missed the fact that the sequel wasn't a retro-style adventure game in the same spirit as the first instalment. What they've done instead is develop this into a deck-builder and stripped away much of what made the first game so special.

There are a few things worth discussing here because you still explore a number of different environments and there is definitely an overarching narrative. It revolves around the fates of four different characters that intertwine against a cosmic threat and the game's first four chapters can also be played in any order, and you can even jump in and out between them if you wish.

Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of context. It's difficult to get a grip on or care about the characters at all and this is despite some introductory text and explanation about who they are. We have a man on a camping trip with his family, a girl breaking out of a laboratory in what is perhaps the game's strongest Stranger Things vibe, a bounty hunter and her dog-like companion on a spaceship, and then a zombie searching for her child in a very hostile landscape.

At the same time, it's exciting that the game is as mysterious as it is and that it's so strange to such a large extent. Given that there's an attempt at four distinct stories, I would still have liked a bit more than what I got, especially once their introductory chapters are dealt with. But, plot aside, the main thing this game is about is still the combat. These follow one another at a furious pace and they involve playing cards, starting with just a few, where you collect more as the adventure progresses. The characters also level up, which means you can unlock skills such as being able to play more cards each turn, and it's all turn-based, with you and the enemy taking turns every other round. It's worth noting that the enemies don't play any cards; they simply launch attacks from which you can take slightly less damage by pressing a button at the right time and then when it's your turn, you play your cards to deal damage and defeat the game's various monsters.

It's not a particularly deep system we're being offered. Of course, there's the option to tailor your deck for maximum effect, to try to ensure you maximise damage with various types of effects like burn, poison, and all the classics, as well as including a few cards that grant you health or protect you from monster attacks. Overall, however, I'd say what's on offer is a sort of simplified version of a deck-builder, and that doesn't make it boring, because combined with the fantastic visual design, it's still these battles that are the best part of the game. If you enjoy turn-based battles with card-playing, it's still fundamentally fun.

There are, however, a few issues. Apart from the fact that the whole thing is a bit too sparse when it comes to different types of cards and their effects, there are a few occasions where, above all, your level stands in the way of defeating an enemy that simply can take a lot of damage. Sometimes it can be as simple as reviewing your strategy and making it significantly more effective, but sometimes you simply need to level up by one or two levels to stand a chance of winning. This often involves running a long way back to an area where enemies are present so you can gain a few more experience points. In one of the game's larger areas, there was also only a single spot where you could do this and the backtracking that sometimes needs to be done also occurs when, for example, you realise you want to explore an area a bit more closely. These aren't massive environments, far from it, but it still becomes a bit of a slog having to run back and forth across loads of screens, and a map for travelling around would simply have made the whole thing smoother.

Echo Generation 2 was, as you've hopefully realised, ultimately not at all what I expected. But as the credits rolled, I tried to focus mainly on what the game gave me as the kind of experience it is. My disappointment at not getting a proper sequel offering an even more epic adventure than its predecessor is one thing, but that's just the way it is, and the developers have chosen a different path. It is, however, very difficult to shake off that feeling. But if this had been a truly phenomenal deck-builder, it wouldn't have mattered quite so much that it turned out to be something different, as it would still have been a very good game. Unfortunately, however, this feels rather half-hearted for the most part. The battles quickly become repetitive and lack depth, the whole narrative arc feels rather muddled and, above all, not particularly interesting. So, even though I fully accept the nature of this type of game, it simply lacks enough finesse and depth to reach any greater heights. The fact that it's also extremely easy is a drawback because as soon as you've optimised your cards or reached the required level, you can defeat the enemies with the greatest of ease. It simply doesn't have the strengths this type of game needs in terms of challenge or complexity.

There are a few bright spots without question, and the visuals are clearly one of them. I also fundamentally love the type of combat the game features, as I simply find it fun to fight using cards. But even though these two factors shine, Echo Generation 2 will unfortunately go down as one of the bigger disappointments of the year for me.