ECHOES

世界観・BGＭがとても良い 泣いた

ECHOES is a short little post apocalyptic adventure that surprised me with how much atmosphere it manages to create in such a small amount of time. I wake up in an abandoned ruin after a war between humans and machines and find a damaged android girl nearby. She can no longer properly understand human language, so a lot of the story is about me trying to communicate with her and slowly figuring out what happened. The whole game takes place over five days, which gives the story a very focused feeling instead of trying to stretch the idea into a huge adventure. The relationship between the two characters is easily my favourite part. There is something quite nice about the way the story slowly builds their communication through the girl's broken voice, the ruined surroundings and an old picture diary. I like that the game does not need a huge cast or constant action to keep me interested. Most of the appeal comes from watching these two characters slowly understand each other while I learn more about the world around them. It gives the game a quiet and slightly sad atmosphere that fits the setting really well. The puzzle element is simple but works nicely with the story. I am gradually trying to understand the girl's strange words, so the puzzles feel connected to what is actually happening rather than being completely separate challenges. I also like the fact that my actions can lead towards three different endings. That gives me a reason to think about what I am doing and potentially play through it again instead of treating the first ending as the absolute end of the experience. There are also eight Steam achievements, although the short length means I can get through the main game fairly quickly. The presentation is probably where ECHOES does most of its work. The game uses its own pixel artwork, music and story, and the abandoned ruins have a lonely atmosphere that suits the narrative. I like the hand drawn look because it makes the game feel personal rather than like a big commercial production. There is also no need for complicated combat or huge environments when the main focus is the relationship between the human and android. The soundtrack being part of the developer's own work also helps the whole thing feel like one consistent little project. The biggest weakness for me is definitely the length. The estimated playtime is only around half an hour to one hour, so I finish it very quickly. The three endings add some replay value, but the actual amount of content is still quite small. I think the short length works for the story it is telling, but I would have liked a little more time with the characters and world. There is clearly an interesting setting behind the story, especially with the history of the machine war, and I think the game could have done more with it. There is also an important limitation with the language support. The Steam version currently supports Japanese interface and subtitles but does not officially support English. That makes the game much harder for me to recommend to someone who cannot read Japanese, especially because understanding the dialogue is such an important part of the experience. I think that is worth mentioning because the story and communication puzzle are the main reasons I would want to play it in the first place. Overall, ECHOES is a small but genuinely atmospheric adventure that I think gets a lot right for its size. I like the post apocalyptic setting, the relationship between the two characters, the broken language puzzle and the three endings, and I think the handmade pixel art gives it a lot of personality. The very short length and lack of English support hold it back for me, but the fact that the game is completely free makes it much easier to appreciate what is here. I would have liked a longer story, but as a small focused experience, I think ECHOES leaves a stronger impression than its size suggests. Rating: 7/10