Pale Echoes

I was really on the fence about recommending this game or not, as it is very unique and does some cool things. I'm going to have to fall on the side of not recommending it, but if you are bored and have a spare 2-4 hours it's not a bad experience by any means. Pale Echos is one of those cases where even though the game may quack like a duck, waddle like a duck, and look like a duck - it's not really a duck. Yes it's an rpg maker game, and yes it is a blend of a story, a combat system, and a progression system of sorts, but it I wouldn't want to compare it to other rpgs. The game is divided into locations, and you will visit each location in turn until you reach the final location and end the game. Other than choosing whether or not to visit an optional location every now and then, you do not really get a choice of where to go next. You choose the next location on the menu, and away you go. At a location, you will explore two worlds - the world that is, and the world of memories of what was. Everything is contained in a single section that is roughly the size of a typical jrpg town. You build a "party" out of the memories you find in these two worlds, but sometimes are asked to lose a memory to proceed. Upon talking to some of the memories, instead of joining you they will fight. There are also secrets to find on the map, so check every nook and cranny. Combat is not what you will expect. On each turn, you summon memories out of your party to fight, but they will fight on that turn only. If you run out of memories to fight, the combat is over. You have health but memories don't. Each memory has a different set of skills that work best in a given situation. So the most important aspect of doing well in a fight is summoning your memories in the right order. Since you will be losing memories on the location map in order to progress, they are also the main resource of the game. You don't want to leave yourself without a particular skill. The story is where the game really falls down for me. The premise is a kind of healing of the land after ait has been completely obliterated, while also trying to learn why the world ended. I like games about restoring a world, but the story structure here is lacking something. I never felt empathy for the world that was lost or the main characters of the game. Certain aspects were interesting, but not enough of it was truly engaging. I found myself playing until the end because the aspect of making sure you find all of the codex entries and collect all ofthe memories was addicting enough. The combat also is not quite as good as I think it could have been. Although you collect many memories (your party goes up to about 20 large) none of them feel distinctive. The abilities they have are all very similar, to the point that as long as I could get away with it, I summoned them at random just to get through combat quickly. You restore all of your health afterwards, so there is little incentive to do well at combat, besides making it through. While the puzzle aspect of combat was very cool, about halfway through the game it became gimmicky and stopped interesting me. But overall it's a pretty fun romp with some pleasingly fresh twists that make it stand out, despite not being as good as it could have been. + zero randomness in combat - solve the puzzle + collect and lose party members - decide who to say goodbye to + collecting things keeps you going + several new game plus modes (I didn't quite like the game enough to go for them) - repetative combat and areas - story about big topics fails to sell it - very linear It was OK for a 3 hour game. I'd love to see the developer make another game!

[b]Briefly: [i]Pale Echoes[/i] is a turn-based RPG with a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting and hosting an unorthodox combat system with almost deterministic puzzle-like battles.[/b] A cool thing about RPGMaker titles is that each of them presents their own quirks in the forms of combat (or sometimes the lack there-of) and particularly the story and setting. For [i]Pale Echoes[/i] it is actually the remnants of that setting: A huge catastrophe has destroyed the world. There are only two survivors: a magical pixie humanoid called Spinel and her guardian, a human named Schorl who becomes our protagonist. They take on the quest to cleanse and fix the devastated world. [h1]Memory is the treasure...[/h1] Not much is initially said about the strange pair of heroines. Instead, the introduction to the characters and the setting is organic: met characters (or their memories) and hidden lexicons all explain the setting bit by bit. Spinel the pixie also gives her own view of the situation from time to time. Spinel has the power to open windows into the world of memories. While the real world is a wasteland filled with vile Echoes of the memories of people long gone, the world of memories is a beautiful place with all sorts of people, all talking about the upcoming end of the world. Some of the people's memories are benevolent, and meeting them will add them to the party. Recruited memories are then used by Schorl (you) to fight the nasty Echoes. They will essentially form your party. However, Spinel sometimes needs memories to power the opening of windows, so you will inevitably lose a few when you infuse them for this ultimate sacrifice. Level design is great: the world of memories is filled with all sorts of activity and objects, like cute little houses, wells and trees, often in at least two levels rendering the terrain interesting. On the other hand, real world maps are desolate wastelands with huge holes and wreckage covering most of the area and the pretty grass replaced by dirty, dead ground. The contrast between the two worlds is extreme and powerful. That said, graphically the game isn't unique, supposedly (as noted by other reviewers) using lots of default assets. If you don't mind that too much, a good use has been made of those assets and I think the result looks excellent. [h1]...and guardian of all things[/h1] Other thing cool about RPGMaker titles is the diverse variety of combat systems. [i]Pale Echoes[/i] goes so far as to turn battles into puzzles. Each battle is predetermined (i.e. there are no random battles) and the battle follows strict rules. At first it is actually confusing since all the default actions have been replaced but you'll get the hang of it soon and there's a convenient in-game tutorial. Basically, you can summon three memories to fight for you each turn. Schorl can also attack herself. In the end of the turn the enemy echoes attack Schorl. Echoes disrupt Schorl's focus (i.e. health) and you'll lose the fight if it runs out. You will also lose if you run out of memories. However, losing only means that you have to fight again, and you never permanently lose memories by fighting. The memories and sometimes echoes (enemies) have [i]attack types[/i] called moods that work similarly to rock-paper-scissors: attacking with a superior type lets you inflict bonus damage and likewise inferior types inflict less damage . Attacks are also divided into fixed, group and multi attacks with fixed always doing 100 damage (unless being affected by a mood) to a single enemy, group attacks affecting every enemy with half damage and multi attacking 3 random enemies with half damage. Multi attack is the only random element of the game. Every memory also has a support ability like focus healing or attack buffing. As all attacks of the same type do same damage, the only difference between memories is the extend of their attack types and support abilities. "Better" memories have just more diverse moods or attack patterns. Hence puzzle-like battles. [h1]Almost flawless jewel[/h1] On the technical side, [i]Pale Echoes[/i] is one of the most polished RPGMaker titles I've ever played. For instance I encountered no bugs at all (and I tend to stumble upon them by accident), there's a built-in fullscreen option (rare in RPGMaker games) and as extensive options as possible for RPGMaker. The engine does pose a couple of technical issues: the lack of proper screenshotting in Steam requiring special procedures to take and upload them, and perhaps the controls if you are not happy with the default ones. However, the game does instruct how to change the latter. Myself, I used default controls and played with Xbox Controller without issues. [h1]After the end?[/h1] After beating the game it presents you with all manners of goodies to check, including the music box (to listen to all in-game music and also oldies), playing as different-looking characters or turning on the dev diary mode. Dev diaries brought light to some game design elements and I found them very interesting since I'm dabbling with RPGMaker myself. Dev diaries are scattered across the game, so to read them all you would need to do a replay. Fortunately there are two bonus modes for this: Plus and Perfection mode. Plus mode is the normal game but you retain everything from normal playthrough, and if you missed anything, there is a handy circle around it (convenient for completionists!). Perfection mode has more difficult battles and it's more like a regular game since you have to recollect all the memories. You also have to be really strategic with infusing memories so as to not lose an advantage that would become critical later on. While the late game in the mode was done great, the early part does suffer from a potential need to reload since the early battles require very specific memories to win them. All in all I enjoyed the mode nevertheless for the challenge it presented. In the Perfection mode one thing concerning combat became frustrating (as repetition often brings out that in games). Some group attacks or abilities would affect every enemy or character in turns, taking additional time even though the effect is exactly the same for each one. As the animation cannot be skipped it takes a relatively long time to wait it out. It would be better if the attack or buff would simply apply to everybody at the same time instead to save time. [h1]Last words[/h1] I think the game had only one true flaw: it was too short. Even if it was 4 hours long, which is actually quite alright for the price of 5 €. But just as I thought the game had truly captured my interest, the ending loomed into the view. That said, the replayability provided by finding all of the dev diaries, the Plus mode and the Perfection mode extended that to 11 hours for myself. All in all [i]Pale Echoes[/i] was a great RPG experience. For the first title of Wyrmling Productions, I salute: Nice entry to the scene!

I am a tester for Pale Echoes and was provided a copy for testing purposes. Pale Echoes takes RPGs and gives it a little bit of twist. Combat is very paper / rock / scissor-ish as you have to find out what works best against certain enemies. You gain "memories" as you play which act as additional characters during combat. Each memory has separate abilities which provide ways to heal, buff, or damage in battle. Each memory can only be used once per battle and if you run of out memories then you have to restart the battle again. Combat takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it then it becomes second nature. Aside from combat what makes the game interesting is not just the story but the perspective of how the story is told. Your character is the last surviving human who is recruited to help restore the world to a better place before it's destruction. Overall the game isn't too difficult and the normal playthrough can take about 3 hours beginning to end. Additional options for playthrough are Dev commentary, Plus Mode (standard playthrough with all memories unlocked), and Perfectionist mode (which involves selecting the correct memories in an exact order to win). This is a game that shows despite using stock RPG Maker resources you can still have a great experience. If you are a fan of indie games this one is definitely worth looking into.

Here's a link to my review video: https://youtu.be/bXBkqJAh41c Hiya Everyone! FyreNyxie here and this is a review of Pale Echoes. This game had really unique battles and an interesting storyline that kept me wanting more the whole way through. You and your companion are the only survivors to the end of the world and you travel around putting dark echoes to rest and purifying the land. By traveling between the past and the present you collect memories that you can use to battle the echoes that remain. I give this one a 4/5 because the controls are really simple, traveling between the past and the present doesn't get tiring, and the battle are more like puzzles that aren't so impossibe that you get frustrated, quit, and never see the end of the story. The game is a bit short but everything mattered, the story flowed, and I believe the length ended up being just right. Have Fun Gamers!

Pale Echoes was a surprise hit for me. I went in skeptical and came back pleasantly surprised. The game is pretty short, but every bit of it seems purposeful. At no point did I feel like I was wasting my time. The combat is fun and fresh, with a learning curve that felt appropriate. I’d really recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and fresh RPG, with some fun world building, especially if they’re a completionist.

It was just yesterday that we covered our first game of another publisher of great RPGMaker games, Aldorlea Games, with their Beyond Reality. Today I am quite happy to cast the spotlight on Degica’s December, 2015 release of Pale Echoes developed by Wyrmling Productions. Like EternalShadow Studios yesterday Pale Echoes also happens to be Wyrmling Studios first game published onto Steam. The most important thing to note about Pale Echoes is that the combat system is unique. The combat system relies upon memories that are found in the physical world. Without these memories you cannot defeat Echoes. If you fail to defeat the Echoes combat comes to a close and you must attempt to defeat that particular Echo again. Thankfully if you do lose a round of combat and are forced into that second attempt you do not lose the memories that you spent in the round that you lost. This is definitely a big advantage that the game has going for it. During each round of combat the player can call upon three memories. Memories in the game play similarly to party members with each having their strengths, weaknesses and unique attack abilities. Each memory has a different color. Red is superior to Green, Green superior to Blue and Blue superior to Green. If the enemy is a particular color the game will advise you of this. Combat is exciting, challenging and thankfully a primary component of the game.As well as coming across echoes throughout the game players will also discover memories. I personally found that the most significant downfall is the game’s its short length. It’s definitely a title that could have done with more work because just as you feel like you’re getting into a groove you’ve suddenly beaten the game. The game could definitely be expanded to a greater length without sacrificing the quality in other areas or in the storyline either. Perhaps this is something that Wyrmling Productions could take note of and devise an extended version or add more content. This is a mighty fine game that is let down a little bit by its lack of content. The art standard of the work is typical RPGMaker and the sound is slightly better. In researching for the game I discovered that many people really appreciated the soundtrack to the game but my partner was annoyed by it and as such I turned it down. Pale Echoes is definitely a very good foray onto Steam by Wyrmling Productions. If there can be a content addition it would be even better but at $4.99 you’re going to get good value from it as it is. A definite and wholehearted recommendation. For more reviews similar to this one and our daily giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com/

This is a rather short game. It's less of an RPG than it is a rock-paper-scissors strategy/puzzle game that forces you to rely on guesswork, planning, and memory. Instead of random battles, you play against enemies with pre-set attacks. It's a novel and unconventional gameplay mechanic, but I don't know that it's necessarily an enjoyable one: there are times at which you will lose a battle because you're unprepared for how an enemy's attack pattern works, which can be rather frustrating. Despite being a fan of post-apocalyptic settings, I didn't find this one very memorable. However, there are some interesting game concepts. I liked the idea of building up a "deck" of characters, each with their own personalities, backstories, and attack patterns that you deploy during battles, and then choosing whether or not to sacrifice these decks. Unfortunately, there isn't much challenge in deciding which ones to sacrifice -- some are quite obviously better than others. There are some interesting moments of writing in the game, and though the characterization can feel a bit sparse at times, it's often just enough to be engaging and add a little variety to the game. I would say the developer is relatively good at dialogue (as far as RPG Maker games go) and might wish to focus on that in future endeavors. My favorite line is [spoiler]"I wish I were a tree"[/spoiler] -- it's a gut-punchingly poignant line in context. More of that, please. Overall, I can't say I recommend that anyone buy this game by itself, since the gameplay isn't that interesting and completing all of the achievements won't give you any sense of satisfaction -- you'll probably be saying to yourself, as I did, "I'm glad [i]that's[/i] over with, finally." I purchased this game as part of a Humble Bundle. It's worth trying out if someone offers you a copy or if you get it as part of a bundle, but I'd pass otherwise.

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A large part of my interest in [i] Pale Echoes [/i] came from playing a very similar game on the Nintendo Wii back in 2009: [i] Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon [/i]. The game focused on exploring a lonely, memory-filled world following a planet-wide disaster that leaves the main character (Seto) completely alone, save for his companion. It remains one of my favorite titles on the system, and I was excited to see the formula tried again via the ever-common RPG Maker system. So, how does it hold out? [h1] Plot and Setting [/h1] By far, I would say the reason to play [i] Pale Echoes [/i] is the ambient environment and story. Granted, the game is very short--I finished the game with all Lexicon entries and memories in less than four hours. But for those who like lore-driven games and this particular style of post-apocalypse storytelling, it's a pleasant little item. You play as Schorl, the last human alive after the apocalypse, as she and her magical companion Spinel approach the end of their purification of the world. In order to restore destroyed portions of the map, you must defeat a Dark Echo and give respite to the haunted memories of the dead there. [h1] Gameplay [/h1] The actual areas you explore are somewhat small. Most are about the size of your typical 2D RPG villages. However, they are doubled in size and content due to the fact that you travel between the real world and the memory of the past world via Spinel's portals. You essentially look for two things: Memories (or Pale Echoes)--which are recruitable units you use in combat or sacrifice to open some of Spinel's Windows (portals)--and Lexicon entries, which provide lore information about the world and unlock various post-game bonuses. Both are strongly recommended for enjoying [i] Pale Echoes [/i] to the fullest. As far as combat goes, I would describe the game less as an "RPG" and more as a "light-RPG/puzzle" hybrid. All encounters are fixed and predetermined; specific Echoes are always encountered at specific locations. Fighting revolves around a simplified combat triangle (think [i] Fire Emblem's [/i] sword -> axe -> spear -> ) of mental states: Composed, Provoked, and Erratic. Fighting is more about tactfully deciding each turn of Memories to maintain Schorl's Focus (aka HP), as all attack types deliver a determined amount of damage throughout the game; as an example, a Fixed attack without a mental state or buff will always deal 100 points of damage. Later Memories are more "powerful" through a greater variety of attack types and buffs. Losing a battle does NOT result in death, as the enemies are merely memories you are confronted with. The system is simple, but it works. It's an interesting twist on the RPG Maker system, and it fits the more casual, visual- and aural-based gameplay. For those really looking for a challenge with the system, there is an alternate style called "Perfection Mode" which demands very specific actions and Memories in order to subdue the various Echo encounters. [h1] Visuals [/h1] Let's get this over with-- [i] Pale Echoes [/i] clearly uses RPG Maker components, and for many people this is a huge turnoff. To be fair, I myself am starting to witness recurring sprites and tilesets (I just played [i] Moonchild [/i] a few weeks earlier). While my opinion may change on it in the future, I wasn't too bothered by this fact here. I thought the characters pictures and sprites fit the Memories well, and the game includes a wide diversity of them to find. One thing that particularly bothered me was the fact that the Real World seemed far too empty after viewing the Memory World. The Developer Commentary even points out that they opted for giant, gaping holes where houses and structures existed to avoid needing destroyed sprites. This...is not a good thing to admit. I'm aware that custom sprites and tiles require time to make, but as I've seen numerous people point out in other titles, this is what separates good RPG Maker games from the poor ones. The rest of the gameworld felt more detailed--I enjoyed jumping between the Windows to see exactly how the two worlds differ from each other. Numerous items and objects can also be observed in the world, which is great for this type of game. Exploration and world depth is key! [h1] Audio [/h1] I personally love post-apocalyptic games that emphasize silence (again, coming from [i] Fragile Dreams [/i]). The Real World is mostly quiet, save for ambient sounds. However, the rest of the game uses various sets of music, so you might recognize a few of them (the alternate set of music that can be unlocked was nice, but I remembered several from [i] Moonchild's [/i] soundtrack). I prefer the first set of tracks employed in the game, particularly the battle theme with the Echoes which gives a sort of nobility to the ruined world and significance to the memories of the dead. [h1] Replayability [/h1] I wouldn't mind playing [i] Pale Echoes [/i] again. However, much of the game can be achieved in one playthrough. There are several modes and features available after your first completion of the game, which flesh it out more (I applaud the developers for including them! I've gone through a few already). Honestly, it depends on your own personality. I tend to treat games more as books, and I'm fine with rereading a good story--if this isn't the same for you, it might be harder to justify going back to it. [h1] Final Say [/h1] Ultimately, I liked [i] Pale Echoes [/i]. It certainly has some flaws that prevent me from outright recommending it to anyone who likes RPGs or puzzle games, but I wouldn't condemn the game for it. Again, I stress that the game shouldn't be considered as an RPG first; much of the enjoyment I got came from the world, lore, and Memories. If you happen to find the game on discount and are remotely interested in this type of game or setting, I'd suggest taking a look at it.

I don't even know how to put how awesome this game is into words. I absolutely love it and I guarantee you will too! Pale Echoes is a 5-6 hour long rpg that is about purifying the world after it has come to it's end. The story is nothing too complicated in a good way. It is easy to understand and the twist it delivers later on did really surprise me(I can't guarantee that every one will like the twist, I just personally wasn't expecting it at all so it was effective on me). The graphics are the default rpg maker graphics(a.k.a RTP)however they are put into very good use which brings me to my next point. The mapping in the game is great with a lot of detailing. However, the point Pale Echoes really shines is it's battle system. The battle system isn't your typical rpg ''mash attack'' kind of system. Neither does it actually feel like a battle system! The battles in Pale Echoes are really a lot like puzzles of their own. In the game you can collect echoes from the area, who are party members who will help you in battle. However, they can all only hit once before fading away each battle. You cannot win the battle if you run out of echoes, which means your moves are limited. For example, if you have 5 echoes you have to win the battle in 5 moves. There are three attack elements which are strong against one another. Differently from many other rpgs, losing in Pale Echoes will not give you game overs. You can repeat the battles if you lose which was really nice because you mostly have to lose at least once in the battles to form a strategy. I really don't have much to say about Pale Echoes. You should just buy it, like NOW. It's price is near perfect and it has a great length so that it doesn't start to get boring or repetitive. Personally, I had so much fun playing Pale Echoes and I recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of rpgs or just indie games in general.