As soon as I saw the trailer for Echoes of the End, I was intrigued. It screamed a mid-quality title that was either going to be a janky slog or half-decent. Well, I was not prepared for what the debut title from the Icelandic developer Myrkur Games was going to offer. And for a nice change, not being prepared is for the better.
Echoes of the End is a 3rd-person action game in a mysterious fantasy world. Here the world has been ravaged by wars, but one nation has hidden away in the mountains behind a ward. The ward is a giant crystal thing; the game kicks off with a magical lady doing magical things that destroy it. Tense!
You then take control of Ryn, who is also a magical lady, aka a vestige, who is checking on some crystals when she discovers that her mountain region is being invaded by the armies. She ventures with her brother, chatting away, including about their interesting relationship with their father, when her brother manages to get captured after a vestige vs. vestige battle. Ryn quickly finds a strange old man who seemed to know her father, and their journey continues.
I don’t want to spoil any more of the story, because it’s actually properly enjoyable. Ryn initially comes off as the generic grumpy protagonist, but she becomes way more interesting as the story goes on. The world that has been built, the societies, and the characters all get more interesting as everything progresses. The story itself reminded me a lot of God of War Ragnarok, with two characters venturing through a Norse-inspired fantasy world. The difference is God of War is explicitly Norse, whereas Echoes of the End is a unique world inspired by those cultures. Not overly surprising given the studio is Icelandic.
When it comes to gameplay, the game is more problem-solving than combat-focused. It has plenty of combat, and it’s fun enough to do. Using Ryn’s powers, you can throw objects at enemies or throw them off edges, which is satisfying as hell to do. Worst case, you can hack and slash your way through them, but her vestige powers are more fun to play with. But the real meat of the game is exploring the world and solving all the puzzles to get through the ancient ruins of this civilisation.
The only real problem the game has is it’s missing that last bit of polish. I fell through the floor a few times; sometimes she wouldn’t quite jump the way I was expecting, I would slip off edges that seemed a touch unfair, and invisible walls got annoying at times, when it looked like I should be able to run around an area. Combat also isn’t perfectly predictable at times with attack windows being unpredictable. On the plus side sometimes it works in your favour, as the cool and detailed kill animations can stop an enemy from hitting you with an attack that would have been your end.
Echoes of the End has its minor flaws, but I was genuinely shocked at how much I enjoyed the game. The story, world, and puzzles all make for a cracking experience; be ready for the minor annoyances, and you will be in for a fantastic adventure.
A surprisingly great game. Some flaws don't detract much from a great experience.
