Echo of the Wilds

very surreal game, fells like an acid trip thats always juuuuust on the verge of going bad.

very random but very addicting

1/10

(Spoiler warning) Does an absence-of-plot spoiler still merit a spoiler warning? Well, anyhow: By the same developer of Voids Vigil and Boneraiser Minions, this game came earlier but aimed much higher artistically. I respect that ambition. However, the puzzles were obtuse, the difficulty unbalanced (with normal difficulty being annoying and tedious, and easy difficulty trivializing the game's few mechanical challenges), and the ending extremely unsatisfying with no real denouement or payoff for your efforts. And because you have to suffer through hunger cycles, harsh winters, and trial-and-error puzzle logic (including mazes, which as a rule suck in adventure games), the lack of closure stings more than it would in a casual game. So much of the game involved hints and coyness about the mystery of what is really going on, and the ending just ignores that and gives you some weak scene about finally cleaning your apartment and obtaining enlightenment as a result. No, I am not joking. I uninstalled the game and promptly started cleaning my room, in a quest for ultimate enlightenment.

This grueling. The dialogue after every action slows down game play. And the dialogue? Like a child wrote it. The story didn't even have a premise. I can't see myself finishing this.

Only played 41 minutes and I love it already its a great relaxing game and has really great art quality. Trippy sequences, a little bit of creepy forshadowing and crafting. There looks to be a lot of content as well cause I got a huge inventory full of crafting gear like dozens. So I expect this must be a pretty long game. So it has content and quality. You might want to get one of his more actiony games tho if you are into combat, as this is a survival sim you don't fight monsters there's no combat. You fight your gauges, hunger, thirst, sleep and time. Walk, collect, craft, and scour the land. Its very relaxing.

Neat atmospheric game that I forgot about in 2014, and picked up again because of the dev inexplicably supporting it so many years later and even remaking it in a new engine with some community requests implemented. The gameplay involves juggling straightforward survival-craft mechanics with exploration, with season progression creating a bit of a time-crunch. My first run hit a few walls so I went into winter unprepared and died, at which point a lore-friendly reset put me back at the beginning to zoom through most of the progression. The survival aspect can be easily trivialized with game knowledge, so once that happens it's a game of budgeting time to explore efficiently while occasionally sparing some inventory space for firewood. The atmosphere, visuals, and music are all excellent. The story is very vague and didn't seem to build up to anything, but maybe I'll feel differently after digesting it. Either way, an interesting experience and good to see it's been supported for so long.

really cool art style and game play. very enjoyable. would recommend to anyone who enjoys light-hearted brutalist survival games

I absolutely love Echo of the Wilds and what it has become. It has evolved into a wonderful game combining adventure, survival, puzzles, and beautiful pixel art. There is a major spiritual narrative that plays over the adventure/survival gameplay that left me in a state of despair, hope, and mystery. It challenged me during the winter to come up with quite creative means of staying alive that added a wonderful layer of value. I would recommend NOT using any outside sources of help and being open to fail a few times, then giving the game a full play through from the start. The game is somewhat linear so there's not too much replayability, but it's worth it for the survival, mental, and spiritual adventure. :) Much thanks to Caiys for all the work.

A fun, relatively lighthearted survival game where all of the text is flowery and sensory. It's a solid game with great visuals, beautiful and varied environments, and a nice ending. The survival elements in the game are fairly light past the early game, but the exploration in the mid to late game is excellent.