There Came an Echo

[h1]Overall = 2 / 10[/h1] Flawed in every way and a real chore to play, but at least it tries to do something different with the isometric RPG shooter. Unfortunately, the voice command system just didn’t work for me and as the combat moves so quickly that by the time you’ve issued a command and the game has (or hasn’t) recognised it, you’ve lost loads of health. Using the mouse controls is slightly better, but is still too slow, really clunky to do even the most basic of things, and just highlights how basic the game actually is. There’s actually very little for you to do on a mission with your 4 party members between the story scenes. The levels have unclear sight lines, the enemies are generic and boring and the overly dated mechanics such as instant fail stealth / escape sequences are tiresome to repeat. Difficulty is unbalanced, checkpoints are inconsistent and the limited zoom function makes navigating between parties difficult. Tying weapon energy to your shields and having limited movement points are just some of the poor design decisions. The characters are ok, the voice acting and music is good and the story didn’t play out as I expected, but it was hardly worth playing through. Apart from in the opening sequence, the graphics are poor with relatively basic 3D models, dull looking enemy soldiers, still picture portraits and drab, flat looking levels.

One more cinematic lemon pretending to be a game. Opening credits are a good clue that the thing tries to be a movie, albeit with rudimentary animation and a flow constantly broken by loading screens. Furthermore, unlike an actual movie but very much like failed software, none of the cinematic garbage can be skipped. I couldn't take more than 30 minutes of it. Of which 5 minutes at best were spent playing. If you can call play a challenge that is entirely due to over-complicated controls, to impractical input. Gamepad is supposed to replace audio input when your voice is out of the recognition module's league, yet no gamepad button acts when a response is urgent. In such moments, the mouse does react to the radial menu clicks, yet easily sends the wrong on-screen command. By the way, a support character tells you what to tell the main character, instead of her telling him directly. That's for the quality of the writing.

Real-time tactics game where you command units with your voice. Very interesting, quite fun to play, but your mileage may vary depending on your pronunciation of different words. As a non-English speaker, I struggled here and there, though when the system works, it's super satisfying. Mark!

I really want to like the game, but the voice control is absolutely god awful. I've used various different microphones and it misinterprets my commands often, even somehow reading "pause" in dead air. Whatever voice processing this game uses, it's very old, I've not had this sort of trouble with anything voice controlled since the 2000's. There is an alternatively command interface but it's finicky too, I can't use "on my mark" on some waypoints like I can with voice. Plus, I will have one individual selected and it will still sometimes give commands to the group. I got frustrated enough just trying to fight the voice and interface system to stop playing. Twice. The first time 10 years ago, the second attempt, now.

Iridium Studios' previous game, [i]Sequence[/i] (now renamed [i]Before the Echo[/i]), is the only game I have ever purchased twice from different suppliers because I had such a blast playing it. So it's fair to say that I didn't go into [i]There Came an Echo[/i] with zero expectations: I was hoping for another game from the same indie developers that would hit me in a similar way. Something fresh and innovative, an engaging background narrative with a bit of zaniness, casual gameplay but a bit challenging, colourful and cool aesthetics. All the stuff that appealed to me so much with [i]Sequence[/i]. And to that end this is my first review on Steam. [h3]The Positives[/h3] [i]There Came an Echo[/i] is definitely fresh and innovative (especially at time of release). The opening few scenarios hooked me in, and I loved using the voice commands to direct the action. The narrative is interesting, and definitely veers into zaniness :-) The gameplay starts casual before requiring some strategy in the later levels, but fortunately the game quick-loads you back into fray from the latest checkpoint if you totally mess up. The voice acting is great: Wil Wheaton does a fantastic job. [h3]The Not-So-Positives[/h3] The aesthetics were not as appealing as [i]Before the Echo[/i]. I feel this was a missed opportunity: in a world with cyberpunk-style weapons and future tech, the environments could equally have been more interesting and visually distinct from the humdrum of warehouses and corridors. As cool as it is to use your voice to issue commands and direct your team, it is a bit limited and limiting. Other than moving, changing weapons, and directing weapons fire, you don't have much control. Again, I feel this is a missed opportunity: I think the gameplay could have benefited from some extra field commands, and extra weapons, to improve the tactical options. The game is also quite short: I was surprised to complete it in only two plays. [h3]Overall[/h3] [i]There Came an Echo[/i] didn't grab me in the same way as [i]Before the Echo[/i], but its novelty will stay with me. The two game genres are very different, sure, but while [i]Before the Echo[/i] breathes life into the rhythm format from start to finish, [i]There Came an Echo[/i] seems to run out of breath just as it gets going. I enjoyed my playthrough, but in terms of aesthetics and gameplay I was left a bit wanting. Overall, however, the game still made an impression on me enough to chat about it with friends.

Freehago klown

Voice interaction was kind of cool, worked about 85% of the time with my gaming headset. Ultimately the checkpoint system was not working well and insta-failure stealth sections with only 85% input detection is a no-go. Wish I would've played it right after I bought it to be able to refund...

"Corrin, move to the northeast stairs" "They're not conscious Sam" Cool. Second instruction of the game doesn't work

Every so often you come across a rough indie gem. it's not a fine polish, but you can still see your reflection in it when you look. This game does have some flaws. When the voice recognition doesn't work, it's hard to ignore. The story is very fast paced, noticeably so. It's a pretty short game depending on how good you are. But also. When the voice recognition is working properly, you sometimes forget you're playing a game for a few seconds. The story, pacing aside, at least tries to punch above its weight class instead of settling for mediocrity. And even though it's short, it is way more engaging than AAA slop double its price. And the credits? Exactly what every indie team should do. These devs haven't released a game in years. And that's a shame. Instead of millions being funneled into creatively bankrupt games, they should give a fraction of that money to developers like this. This is the perfect encapsulation of what makes indie gaming great. If this game is on sale, buy it. You won't regret it.

There Came an Echo is an XCOM styled visual novel operated through voice commands. Having units not listening to your commands is exactly as aggravating as expected. 10/10, would get chastised for shouting again.