Echo Isle

Echo Isle is a fun little homage to classic Zelda games. 4 short dungeons that gradually ramp up in complexity without ever being too hard. The overworld map is small and well-designed with a few secrets sprinkled throughout. Short and sweet.

[b][ ] Too small[/b] [b][ ] Needs more fluff[/b] [b][X] PERFECT COFFEE-BREAK ZELDA. IGNORE THE NOISE.[/b] Look, we ain’t here to pick on our other reviewers—some people made a few fair points about the game being hyper-truncated or hitting a wall at the end. But we gotta stand up for this thing because what some people call "drawbacks," we call features. Let's break down why this micro-Zelda actually rips: [b]"The map is too small, let me inside the houses!"[/b] Look, we get wanting to nosy around the village. But why? So we can fish for compliments and talk to an NPC who tells us "Welcome to Echo Isle"? no thank you! A 5x5 map means zero wasted space. Every single screen has a purpose. We don't need a massive tutorial cave either—give us the sword, give us two screens to learn to swing it, and let us loose! [b]"The dungeons end right as they gain momentum!"[/b] That is literally the definition of a coffee-break game. It's a bite-sized afternoon snack. It gives you the dungeon, gives you the puzzle, and gets you to the boss before it overstays its welcome. It respects your time! [b]"The bosses don't force you to use the dungeon items!"[/b] Again, not every boss needs to be a predictable, paint-by-numbers Nintendo gimmick where you have to wait for it to open its eye, hit it with a bomb, and then slash it three times. Having the freedom to just use standard, snappy sword combat to brute-force your way through? That’s freedom, baby. [b]"Where are the secret bombable walls?!"[/b] Good. We are sick of face-planting into every single wall tile in a video game wasting twenty bombs just to find a hidden chest with 5 rupees. [b]"The final boss is a bullet sponge with bad controls!"[/b] We saw a reviewer rage-quit right at the end over this. Look, the knockback and the lack of a health bar are tough, sure, but that’s just classic 90s handheld design. It’s a pure skill check and a pattern fight! You don't need a health bar to tell you how you're doing; you just need to stay cool, learn the spacing, and find the rhythm. That frustration is just the classic 8-bit thrill of finally overcoming a boss that actually tries to kill you. Git gud! Even the critics admit the pixel art is gorgeous, the music is a total bop, and the gameplay is snappy for 99% of the run. [b]The Verdict[/b] Stop comparing a five-dollar solo-dev passion project to giant, bloated clones or massive epics. If you want a 40-hour exhausting grind, go play something else. But if you want a punchy, beautiful, hyper-focused love letter to Link's Awakening that you can actually finish in one sitting without it feeling like a second job, this is an absolute gem. It’s an easy 9.5/10 for what it is trying to accomplish. We're slapping this with [b]JUICIFER'S FLAME SEAL OF APPROVAL.[/b] Go buy it, support a solo dev, and get ready for a fun afternoon. (And yeah, we are absolutely checking out their other game Super Ember Kaboom, for our new five-dollar finds series!) [b]Watch us take on the entire game (and beat that final boss) here:[/b] https://youtu.be/frdldMBW64A

It is important for games to feel good. Other "retro inspired" games tend to lack the good feeling of playing those old games. This does not. I finished it in under an hour, and you know what? I'll do it again! Play the demo. If you like that, the rest of the game just takes that and builds on it. No notes. I could give some, but the game is pretty great as is.

3/4: A compact, classic-Zelda inspired adventure game. I like that it followed the classic formula well: 4 little dungeons, each with an upgrade and a boss. True to its word, there's no fluff. A single collectable, a linear series of areas, and few NPCs to talk with. I appreciate when games make a point to streamline their gameplay in useful ways. Much like Shapez distilled Factorio, removing elements helps what remains shine. The graphics and sound effects represent their inspiration well and going on a little adventure with power ups along the way was pleasant. I liked that I could hold everything in my head at once (like all of the places I couldn't reach yet) because the map is small and easy to reason about. Breezing through the whole thing in a sitting was relaxing and satisfying. But, take simplification too far and the results can feel a little thin. To its credit, I prefer smaller games to those with near-infinite content. But at some point fluff provides opportunities to engage with the game's world and acquired abilities. Echo Isle was so streamlined, it feels like it will lack staying power. It was fun while it lasted, but it felt more like a snack than a meal. And the combat, while simple, was frustrating at times. The sword swinging animation was interestingly imprecise. More than a few times, I'd be rotated slightly the wrong way or positioned just above an enemy and miss entirely. Accurate to early games, but has really been improved upon since then. In the end, I enjoyed my brief time with Echo Isles and I think it's a great palette cleanser between other games. It may not stick with you, but you'll enjoy it while you're in there. [quote]For more reviews, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45203122/]my Steam curator[/url] or peruse my dedicated review site: https://david.reviews/games/[/quote]

Eu AMEDOREI o jogo, sério. A arte é extremamente simples, porém, muito bem feitas. É quase um sucessor espiritual de The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons; o jogo é bem amigável no quesito de te dar corações de vida, o que, pra mim, pode ser um ponto meio negativo, pois eu queria algo um pouco mais desafiador. Entretanto, o jogo é curtíssimo, tu zera "numa sentada" Eu realmente gostei do jogo e pretendo rejogá-lo num futuro. Só é uma pena ser tão curtinho, poderia ter sido mais longo, posto conteúdo extra, algo do tipo. Outra coisa que adorei bastante também é a Soundtrack; casa bem com jogo pois são chiptunes, e como músico, foi o que mais prestei atenção durante a jogatina, muito boa. Minhas únicas críticas são essas: É bem curtinho e a vida te dá aos montes, se fosse um pouco menos como em Binding of Isaac, seria perfeito. Recomendadíssimo se tu curte tanto Zelda de Gameboy como jogos nessa pegada 8 Bit.

Would love to see a full game of this, with more difficult dungeons and fleshed out story. A bit pricey for what you get at 5 bucks...

Finished the game in about an hour. Fantastic little game, very reminiscent of Link's Awakening. I really appreciate that it distills the feeling of the older Zelda games into something bite sized. Nice music, nice visuals, fun little game. Can't go wrong for $5 or less on a sale.

Erinnert stark an Link´s awakening oder die Oracle Games .... aaaber: -Ich hatte das Spiel in 50Min zu 100% durch. -Selbst die Gameboy-Titel steuern sich besser. -Keine kreativen Inhalte. Ich hätte mir coole kreative Items, Bosse oder Rätsel gewünscht. Man bekommt aber wirklich nur die Basics (ohne viel zu spoilern.) Die Items sind nicht wirklich gut versteckt und dem Spiel fehlt es einfach an Tiefe.

simple, plesent, short, (took me 80 min), nothign ground braking but ok for what it is

The description is very apt, game is short and very reminiscent of Link's Awakening. I wish the dungeons had more complexity but a neat quick little game and possibly a good modern intro for someone trying to figure out if they would want to try 2D Zelda games