In a game, we are used to adapting to the difficulty of an AI that is not necessarily up to the task, or sometimes a little too violent for us. But what happens when the latter adapts to us, learns and ultimately becomes a reflection of ourselves?
Graphics & atmosphere
Here, we have the right to a game with a very special atmosphere. An infinite palace where you will lose your bearings, where you will have the impression of passing through the same corridors an incredible number of times. The whole thing, with particular care given to the effects of light and the textures which make things relatively well.
This game has nothing to envy to others as its atmosphere both refined in the design and yet so full of details makes you want to see more and more. Add to all this a masterful soundtrack and quality dubbing that will amaze the player.
Not bad as an altar ...
Before…
…and after
ECHO is more than visually pleasing and offers players something to indulge in. The only small downsides will remain the moments when I crossed the map ... which completely frustrated and broke me in my immersion, as well as the risk that the players find the backgrounds a little redundant as they do not really evolve. in style throughout the game.
gameplay
First of all, it is good to clarify that it is infiltration. All your actions will have special consequences ... but we'll get to that later. With a clean and ergonomic interface, you will quickly have things in hand. The actions and resources available to you will also be clearly displayed.
Echoes
However, you will be your biggest enemy ... because your enemies, as an echo of yourself, will evolve and learn all the things that you will have used in your cycle (a day and night cycle exists, but there is will come back later). Any action taken will have and will therefore be used against you during the next reboot of the En clones.
Cycles and skills
Each cycle is made up of a day part, and a black-out part. When the lights are on, the clones will have learned all the actions performed during your previous day phase and will not hesitate to use them ... to a certain limit. Some actions require some form of approach, the AI will have a hard time surprising you and will give you a good maneuvering step to escape, or get out of it without too much damage. However, skills such as shooting will be particularly effective ... as the number of your clones may weigh heavily in the balance when they fire at you.
I think it will therefore be wise to take advantage of the black-out phases to allow you actions whose consequences will be less significant.
Resources
You will have two types of resources: the energy stored in your suit, which will recharge slowly, but surely for the first cell, but the following ones will have to absorb the energy contained in gyroscopes scattered around and which will only recharge. 'at each start of the cycle. The second happens to be the stamina that will be depleted during your frantic races or when you push your clones.
History
The story puts you in command of En, an industrious (member of a religion) who searches for a mysterious mechanism in the infinite palace to bring Foster, one of your friends, back to life. You will be assisted by an AI, quite evolved and visibly endowed with consciousness and emotion, which bears the sweet name of London.
Only, since nothing goes as planned ... you will have to roam the palace against echoes of yourself which will be closer and closer to you in terms of form, appearance, skills and actions . Good luck...
Summary
To put it simply, you have in ECHO a game that offers you a colorful spectacle, with a difficulty which, if you play without taking advantage of the weaknesses of the game, will make more than one scream. All in a particularly successful atmosphere. I won't go so far as to say that this game revolutionizes its genre, but I would say that it should be part of any video library for fans of the genre, despite a long start.
Come on, since I'm a gamer, a little bonus image:
A map crossed ... a ...
