Echoes of the End

As I have mentioned in several reviews, European game development sometimes suffers from what is known as "Euro jank". If you are wondering "What is that?", you are not alone. Euro jank refers to games that are typically developed in Europe by smaller studios without huge budgets. These are games that aren't necessarily riddled with bugs, but where things still feel a bit stiff or not quite right. That doesn't mean the game is bad, but rather that it has a unique personality. It's the kind of game that can make you roll your eyes at a strange animation and then smile a little, because that's exactly what gives it its charm.

This time, I've got my hands on another example of the phenomenon. It's out today and it's called Echoes of the End. The game was developed by Myrkur Games from Iceland and is published by Deep Silver, who often has their hands in some of the best examples of Euro jank. That in itself is a bit exotic, because it's not every day we see a game from Iceland, unless we're talking about EVE Online.

Echoes of the End is yet another trip into a post-apocalyptic universe, which is gradually becoming a favourite playground for game developers. We find ourselves in a tribal society and play as Ryn. She is a magician, or rather, what the game calls a Vestige. Ryn has a magical arm that she doesn't quite trust because as a child, she accidentally scarred her brother when she tried to help him up with her powers, where the result was burn marks on his neck and face, which has made her very cautious about how she uses her abilities.

Ryn and her brother set out to save the world, as one does in such stories. They quickly encounter soldiers from a totalitarian regime that has taken over the land of Aema. The brother is kidnapped by these cheerful representatives of oppression, and now it is up to Ryn and her new partner Abram Finley to rescue him. And while they are at it, they might as well save the rest of the world.

The story is not new; in fact, it's so classic that you can almost guess the next plot point long before it happens. Still, there is a certain charm here. It helps that the voice acting is provided by Icelanders speaking English. It gives the dialogue a different tone, and you can hear that the developers have put their heart and soul into the story.

Echoes of the End is a third-person action-adventure game that is similar to series such as God of War and Hellblade. The game borrows a little from both and places the elements in a very linear world, which you move through by jumping on ledges, climbing clearly marked walls, and finding your way from area-to-area. It's pretty standard, but what makes it interesting is the way Ryn uses her abilities.

Among other things, she can repair collapsed buildings and bridges so that they stand as new. She manipulates time so that things can change from broken to whole and back again, almost like rewinding an old VHS tape. Her companion can put things in stasis, which allows them to maintain a structure in the state Ryn has created while she herself changes something else. It's a system that gives the levels a pretty good flow, because you constantly encounter new puzzles that require you to combine your abilities in different ways.

Later, the two gain even more powers. For example, Ryn can look back into the past to reveal traps or structures that are hidden in the present. This makes for some intense moments, especially when you discover that the safe path forward is actually certain death on the other way around.

The puzzles are generally not too difficult, but towards the end I encountered one that refused to be solved, even though I followed the game's own instructions to the letter. I don't know if it was a bug or just me, but the result was the same: the game stopped for me there. And that's actually a good introduction to the game's biggest problem, namely the number of bugs and strange design decisions.

There are many small things that break the immersion and one of the most annoying is invisible walls that prevent you from jumping over low obstacles. It looks ridiculous to stand in front of a 30-centimetre stone wall and not be able to get over it. That kind of thing destroys the feeling of freedom.

Another example is a sailing sequence that is very reminiscent of God of War. I thought I would sail close to a waterfall to see what would happen. Normally, you would fall off its edge, yet instead, the boat continued unperturbed over the precipice as if the water simply continued into the air. I sailed around in free flight before the boat landed back in the water. It's hard not to smile at such a big mistake, but it's also a clear reminder that the game needed more development time.

The graphics are beautiful, especially the surroundings, but there are problems. I experienced psychedelic reflections of textures that changed depending on the camera angle, and at one point, it was so bad that I got a headache. After spending an hour turning graphics settings on and off, I figured out that the HDR setting was the culprit. With HDR turned off, the problem disappeared, but it's thought-provoking that such an obvious bug slipped through.

To sum up, Echoes of the End is an ambitious game with some really good ideas and a beautiful presentation, but also with technical issues and design flaws that detract from the experience. I would actually recommend it, but only if you can wait for a few updates.