Echoes Of The End PC Review
Summary: Attempt to rescue your brother and prevent a looming war... whilst fighting the game mechanics.
4.1
Potential Power
I’ve probably said words to this effect before, but I’m a very visually attentive person, so Echoes Of The End stood out from the start; it’s quite a good-looking game. But as with all things, good looks aren’t everything, and the key to longevity is a solid core. So does Echoes Of The End stand tall or does it slump with a lack of inner strength?
The basic story premise revolves around you trying to find and save your brother. You start the game working with him, but events soon see you separated in a very threatening manner. In your pursuit of your brother (and those who would use him for ill deeds), you will also attempt to stop a looming war, moving from lush landscapes with stunning vistas to foreboding lands, burning devastated villages, and beyond. Your time traveling these lands is rarely spent alone. First, you are with your brother, then after a brief time on your own you encounter someone with a connection to your father who will help you in your quest. You will then basically make your way through the world, fighting various enemies and solving puzzles involving manipulating your surroundings as you attempt to seek justice.
As I mentioned, the game is quite stunning, and you certainly get the sense of being in a large fantasy world. Magic abilities have a satisfying sense of awe about them. The lighting provides some quite moody scenes at times, and overall it is visually impressive. What can be a bit annoying is when the game wrenches control of the camera from you. For the most part, you can look around however you want, which is often necessary in order to get a feel for where an enemy is, or an element of the landscape that you need to use. But every now and then, the game will suddenly snap you out of control and force you to look a certain way (or simply prevent you from being able to shift the view). I understand this is sometimes used to enhance the storytelling, but in Echoes Of The End, it frequently has no bearing on the story at all. In fact, sometimes it’s not at all during a storytelling moment, but while you are trying to traverse awkward terrain.
Speaking of traversal and camera angles, there were more than a few times that I was traveling from one location to the next, running (because who wants to cover those great distances at a walking pace), and suddenly my view will have completely changed. It seemed to be at points where the game was auto-saving, but why that should mean my view suddenly had to change, I don’t know. It was both irritating and, in some cases, potentially deadly, as I could easily have ended up off a cliff on more than one occasion as a result of it. I also encountered a location in which you are required to climb along some netting. That’s all well and good, except there’s a curved surface to it, and at one point you seem to not be able to climb along it anymore. Taking a guess, I attempted jumping, and sure enough, I jumped to the continuation of the netting and was able to complete my journey. But there was no obvious reason why I needed to jump across rather than simply continuing my sideways climbing.
Final Thoughts:
Echoes Of The End does have a lot of good points. Visually it does not disappoint, the magic can be fun to wield, and the puzzles add a nice little change of pace. The combat is generally enjoyable enough, if a little awkward, especially targeting magic abilities with camera angles in the midst of battle. If you can put up with its little quirks and occasional glitches (I once seemed to manage to get myself stuck inside the landscape and was unable to move or even see the world properly), it does offer a nice little bit of fantasy storytelling and might be worth your while. If you are easily frustrated by games that sometimes seem to work against you, maybe give it a miss.
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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