ECHOPLEX

At first, I got the game, and was really interested by the whole concept and gameplay. I continued to enjoy it until the 10th level, where drones are introduced, and suddenly, the mechanics of the game change. With puzzle games, I should be able to use logic to complete tasks, but the drones practically rely on chance, and for me, they never do what they're meant to do. On top of that, one single hit from these drones forces a level restart, which is really infuriating when I'm inches away from completing the level and get shot in the back.

[h1]Introduction[/h1] ECHOPLEX is a 3D abstract platformer just to my liking. It spent nearly one year in Early Access, before being relaunched as a vastly improved project. If only more Steam titles would follow this example. The fact that it manages to remain original in spite of obvious inspiration from several video games, is truly commendable. As the Steam debut of Output Games, I really couldn’t ask much more from them. Sadly, most surreal games lack in what I would prefer as far as sheer narrative length is concerned. At least there’s an incentive for replaying and it still feels like running through a continuous loop. Just as it was envisioned by the developers all along. [h1]Story[/h1] There isn’t much to spoil and I’ll summarize it as a journey of self-discovery along a series of mandatory experiments which conclude quite suddenly. The “Chell” of our story is a male protagonist which only gets named during the credits roll. He’s simply refered to as “The Engineer” and if the aforementioned name rings any bells, than you’ll be pleased to know that there are several other connections to the Portal series. ECHOPLEX’s obligatory evil corporation is Clonochem and you might consider it a cross between Aperture Science and Abstrego Industries, since it deals not only in portals but also in temporal manipulation. A match made in heaven. Or hell, depeding on your own perception. Bending time to the point of creating aberrations in continuity itself. It’s no surprise that the masked subjects participating in Clonochem’s experiments, are administered a magenta substance named “ContinuumX1”. That color is prevalent across most levels in the game. It’s part of a drugged hallucination, I presume. Yet ECHOPLEX is less about illusions and more about fast-paced platform jumping. Or parkour, if you’re already familiar to the video game formula inaugurated by the Mirror’s Edge series. The first person perspective is still an excellent choice for the breakneck pace within this title. You don’t really have a choice but to run while keeping a close eye on your surroundings. Clones (referred to as “Echoes”) are literally following in your footsteps, while you’ll also be hunted by hovering drones in the late-game stages. The purposely cryptic story is being delivered in “short bursts” as flashbacks between ECHOPLEX’s levels. Naturally, the larger picture only becomes somewhat clear by its bitter end. It wasn’t as predictable as I expected, so that’s another point in favor to this project. [h1]Graphics[/h1] A classic case of a 3D Unity-powered title, ECHOPLEX represents nothing but “smooth sailing” across the board. Stable frame rate, perfect 4K scaling and no interruptions in sight. All glitches witnessed in-game, have been carefully planned. Getting too close to your Echoes or near the time limit that resets the level itself, the image will begin breaking through a pixelated filter. Are you the final glitch in the Matrix? Only one way to find out. The progression is straightforward and symbolism along with chromatic elements, all play their well-defined roles in ECHOPLEX. Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are predominant, along with the classic contrast between Black and White. You may recognize them as the “CMYK color model” which is second in popularity only to the RGB color set. Your printers will surely agree. This small detail further consolidates my theory about the experiments happening inside the subject’s head through a very convincing illusion. Or is it a simulation? [h1]Audio[/h1] The sounds are perhaps just as weird as the visuals and I’m perfectly fine with that. Since the cutscenes are FMV (full motion video), actors had to lend more than just their voices in ECHOPLEX. Overall, it’s an adequate performance in which gestures replace speech more often than not. So I can’t really judge the voice acting either way. The soundtrack never stood out either, but it certainly didn’t interfere with the gameplay and I could simply focus on figuring out the correct routes through those digital mazes. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Medically-induced hallucinations or computer-assisted simulations? Hard to tell and this ambiguity is part of the charm, I assure you. As I mentioned above the levels resemble mazes which are meant to test out both your patience and quick reflexes. Fortunately, you aren’t supposed to stumble upon the solutions, since by pressing “Tab” you can enter the Premonition mode which allows a thorough exploration of the stage layouts, while the action is paused. It will still require the good ol’ “trial & error” formula of reaching the exit in a timely manner and before the drones can terminate you in a single laser shot. Echoes are used in very creative ways and they shouldn’t be viewed as mere obstacles. From ECHOPLEX’s total of 27 levels, at least half of them involve planned routes which have to take into consideration, the paths taken by Echoes (up to three individual clones, on some stages). It won’t be a breeze to find those exits, because they must also be unlocked through “puzzle pieces” that shall fit into a hovering cube at the end of each level. Gathering all the keys requires exploration and passing though color coded gates (which in turn lock/unlock same colored doors). As complex a maze, as one can ever hope for. Echoes act as “keys” as well, since they can be programmed to wait within the parameters of a gate, sufficiently long enough until the protagonist can pass through the now unlocked door. I make it sound more complicated than it actually is. Once you get the hang of a stage’s layout, the entire maze can be completed in no more than a minute of perfectly-timed maneuvers. Mirror’s Edge was just as rewarding once you managed to perform those stunts flawlessly. ECHOPLEX applied remarkable gameplay mechanics unto an original story of its own along a minimalist style. The result fits the adage of “Less is more”. [h1]Verdict[/h1] My only gripe is that it ends far sooner than I hoped it would. Indeed, it still took me nearly four hours, but I’m certain that a perfect speedrun can be accomplished in half of that time frame. “Time Trial” is the final gameplay mode which gets unlocked after you’ve completed ECHOPLEX’s storyline. It can’t fill the void left by the expectation of newer mazes, but it further adds challenge without a doubt. A sequel is in order. Please make it happen, Output Games. [h1]Strong Points[/h1] + Abstract storyline. + Steam Achievements. + Pleasant visuals and sounds. + The right amount of challenge. [h1]Weak Points[/h1] - No Steam Trading Cards yet. - Abstract storyline. - Rather brief. [b]Rating 80/100 [/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews]Imperial Reviews[/url] and [url=https://www.ticgn.com]The Inner Circle Games Network[/url] through the generous contribution of the game’s developer and the Steam Curator Connect program.[/quote]

[h1]Intriguing First Person Puzzle Game [/h1] https://youtu.be/QjTRVdOHcBg + Very interesting concept. To put things simply, after a few seconds a clone of you will spawn "Echo", and will follow your exact footsteps that you take through the level. Knowing this, you must predict when and where your clone will be at all times so that it can help you solve the puzzle. For example: There's a door at the end of the hallway, it only opens if someone is standing on a switch in the middle of the hallway. Therefor, you must stop at the switch for a few seconds, so that your "echo" will stop at the same point allowing you to pass through the door. + Very short FMV cutscenes that were surprisingly interesting. They reveal memory fragments from your character which slowly reveal the story. It reminded me a lot of the Deus Ex Mankind Divided Live-Action trailer + A bit of a creepy horror vibe as your past self is always chasing after you and if he reaches you you have to repeat the mission. [b]This game is in Early Access so these are subject to change[/b] - I felt like there needed to be more of a tutorial at the beginning explaining what was going on. I was very confused at first at how to complete many of the puzzles as it wasn't entirely clear what was opening the doors. - There's a ~10second timer on every level and if it goes down you have to restart. This made me feel rushed and was a bit annoying.

[h1]Like Portal without portals[/h1] [b]Gameplay[/b] This is one of those games with a hide meaning that unlocks itself at the end of the gameplay so at the start you are given a short cinematic that sets the universe and part of what is happening and why, but after finishing one level you will be given another flashback identified by the game as a piece of a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1496140285]cube[/url] that will be filled with each found piece at the end of every level but this pieces can be also identified as memories that pulled together makes a longer and stable one, waiting you to reveal all the secrets from the main character past. The game is completely singleplayer so there is no interaction with other players at all, just with you and most of the time with a delayed version of yourself that repeats every single action that you do to reach your destination. Instead of portals we have some transparent doors that after going through they activate the next door that they are connected to so as you are imaging already, the game basically ask you to manage to reach one level after another being challenged by a few doors but this gets more complicated when you meet advanced drones that will pursuit you and your echoes if they see any of those. A very nice fact of the gameplay (that I appreciate) is that before entering the main part of the levels we are given the design of the current one and basic instructions of how to go throught it, I got stuck on level 9 (very early to be honest) and I didn't know what to do so after reading this "intentional" hints I managed to go through the level without any problem so use this on your own risk [b]Premonition[/b] The game includes a mode where we can use a perk called Premotion to get out of our actual corpse and explore the environment to prevent or discover new areas so this helpful action will save us a lot of time and a lot of deaths allowing us to explore the environment with almost no limits. One of the few limits that we will encounter in our adventure will be basically the timing, in most levels we will be given a certain amount of time to get through the exit, if we don't make it on time level will reset and we will have to go from the start. [h1]Pros:[/h1] •If you like puzzle games this is a perfect match for your steam library since the difficulty of the gameplay escalate with every level, making the game more challenging the more you play. [h1]Cons:[/h1] •This game is completely single player and I believe players would enjoy more a co op version of this game instead fighting with copies of themselves. •Failing and having to restart any level over and over is very common in this game since you will work with hard logic and complex combinations, all of this along the first con, can make the player eventually rage quit. [h1]Final thoughts[/h1] I like the idea of this game but honestly I would love a co-op option to play the game with friends (even more than 2 in the same lobby) plus a workshop option where we can show our editing skills and create or own levels to challenge the users. Anyway I know all of this sounds easy and I know it's very complicated to create so can't blame anyone. At this very moment the options are limited to certain levels that can be done again and again with different combinations but no different perspectives.

After early access Echoplex is a better game. The puzzles are more refined and a lot of fun to play. They're the correct difficulty and make you think about all your moves since you'll be followed by echos. You can't run into them or have them run into each other. This means walking through the puzzle a certain way and thinking ahead. Echoplex gives the player so much information it's great and helps you solve the puzzle instead of guessing through it. The story is really interesting too and the choice of shooting it like a film is interesting! For full review check: https://youtu.be/oz3a1ngWkWk

Fun and mindbreaking the system will create clones of yourself you cannot hit them or you have to retry the level in the same time you have to figure out how to find your way further https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIIJGvfaDL0

我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话 我的倒影会在一段之后重复我所说的话

优点 *优秀的游戏环境塑造，尤其是音效 *尽管双角色或是延时操作的机制未必非常新颖但是catched by oneself的设计还是营造了一种别样的刺激感 *真人cg是一次国产独立游戏的大胆尝试，我认为其结合剧情是一个不错的设计 ———————————————————————————————————————————————— 我充分理解对这样一款游戏进行整体优化的艰巨性 在此基础上我希望开发团队能够针对以下问题做一些改进： *调整更平滑的难度曲线 *更加直观和详细的游戏引导和教学（比如屏幕两侧的进度条，以及提示机关触发的蓝色标志可以更加直观地介绍给玩家） *我并不认为自己对3D游戏眩晕，但是游戏的色彩和关卡中在需要快速移动下来回绕圈的部分确实让我有一些不适感 ，在镜头灵敏度方面可能还需要调整。在这一方面，我认为可以借鉴《super hot 》这款作品。 *关卡设计上，我认为可以更加的clear一点，让玩家对于目标有着更加清晰的感知和行为方向，毕竟游戏的解迷部分还是以门-倒映-机关的机制为主，而不是走迷宫。 *或许可以在不超出极简风格的基础上添加一些更具有syber terrorism的艺术元素 —————————————————————————————————————————————— 期待看到这款作品变得更好~

———————————————————————————————————————— 感谢蒸汽帮赠送的的key ———————————————————————————————————————— 这款国产独立游戏的背景故事是一位丢失记忆的人参与到了一项记忆回收的计划之中。 他所有的记忆被分为了好几个区块来一次次的寻找，也就是一个个的关卡，不断提升着总体的难度。 前几关中每一关都能够带来一个新的内容，比如在第二关中引入本游戏的核心要素:倒影，会重复着你的动作，一旦它距离你过近，就会从头开始（回到那个小小的病房中）。 你与倒影之间但也并不是水火不相容的地步，你需要躲避它但也需要利用它，比如适当的在某个地方稍作停留（仅仅只是适当罢了，因为你的时间有限），来为你的记忆回收工作提供便利。 游戏场景十分简单，并没有十分精致的图形，但全动态视频以及其中的科技元素还是十分吸引人的，对于并不喜欢平面游戏的人来说，配置也不会阻碍你去游玩这款游戏。 bgm对于氛围的渲染很到位，简中的字幕以及配音诚意满满。 尽管有时候会被墙面亮瞎眼，不过你没有时间去埋怨它，你想通关的话还需要精心规划每一步。 +新奇的游戏创意与艺术风格 +完整的简中体验 +到位的氛围渲染 +出色的全动态视频 -难度成倍增加 -动作僵硬 -没有单个关卡的记录点 总的来说，这个游戏作为一个独立游戏，尽管创意新奇，却仍旧很稚嫩，具体就体现在关卡的难度以及色彩的设定的上。 在国内目前独立游戏中，仍旧是不可多得的创新之作。

I feel the comparison to Portal is inaccurate--this game is much faster paced. You often need to reach point B while your echo is still at point A, and the timings can be very tight. Even after discovering the solution, I would often have to try several times to execute it correctly. And that's fine, it means that you have to understand what you're doing to solve the puzzle, at least for the later levels. Downside is that sometimes it's a bit frustrating. The atmosphere is very cohesive. There's a constant sense of anxiety as you are on a timer, and your echo is going to catch up with you. The video clips enhance the atmosphere although I'm not sure what exactly happened. I finished in 4 hours, FWIW. It explores the puzzle mechanics only as much as it needs to, and doesn't try to keep you forever.