Echoes of the End Reviews

This game is not perfect, but it is really good. The developers have really put some very interesting mechanics into this game, and the story is enjoyable. The way the game builds on itself mechanically makes it far more interesting.

Very impressive game from a small, new dev team. Sort of a lighter God of War with more puzzles.

Had a fun time with the game. Not too diffcult, straight forward adventure. Desperately needs a FoV slider.

A surprisingly delightful game. I remember seeing trailers and was a tad interested but when it launched it flew under the radar for me. To any dev to see this review, thank the Luke Stephens and his video talking to I think the director about the game and its improvements. That lead me to purchasing the game. I don't want my review to be too long winded, but safe to say it's not a secret that it was inspired by the recent god of war games. If you played those you can have an idea of what to expect, but certainly not with the same budget. With that said, the combat while good can be clunky. Not sure how bad it was at launch but right now it's solid. My biggest gripe with it really aside from the slow pacing for it is that I really like when games make the dodge completely cancel any attack. This game does not allow that. Too often I get caught in a charge attack at the end of a combo to get blasted. Can be frustrating. Platforming is fine, can also be clunky at times. Especially when you get to the point with the ironsand. Some placements don't let you jump directly upwards so you kinda have to cheese the jump. Puzzles to me are too frequent and can be very unclear at times, with hints not being helpful enough. For some players that may be good, as it does provide more "challenge". I can be very dumb with some puzzles in games so I'll take some blame for that; but when some puzzles are soo easy I don't think twice to some just being absurd, it's frustrating. I personally think there are too many and some should be replaced with more combat arenas. Visually this game is wonderful, and it runs perfectly. There may be some traversal stutters but they were very uncommon. When done right, like here, UE5 truly provides an easy path to new development teams to make a new game and get solid footing in the industry. If a sequel gets greenlit, I expect the devs will cook. The lore and world building is very good, very in-depth with so much to learn and get immersed with. Overall especially right now on sale for $15 until July 9th, this is a great purchase and I very much urge many to try it.

Good game, feels similar to God of War 2018 but it's unique in it's own way (does not feel like a copy of GoW). Unfortunately I didn't really vibe/connect with this game for some reason otherwise the game would have been great. No major complaints, didn't find any bugs or experience any frame drops or crashes. It's a 6/10 game for me but if I was able to connect with the story/world/characters then it would've been an easy 8/10.

The first half of this game is basically a puzzle game where you traverse areas using your growing repertoire of mechanics from double jump and dash towards grappling towards highlighted points and various in world mechanics you manipulate via levers or telekinetically applied objects. Think god of war with a lot more jumping and a few more puzzle elements. There are chests hidden across the map as optional upgrades/exploration. The second half of this game consists of fairly solid combat with the regular dodge, parry and your various sword swings and increasingly powerful magical abilities. There is solid enemy variety, various enemy soldiers with different subtypes and various monstrous beasts to spice up combat now and then. You have a companion who provides you with a few additional combat options or justifications for puzzle mechanics. Your characters banter throughout the adventure to keep things interesting and to provide exposition. The story isn't revolutionary, but interesting enough to motivate you to continue. Personally, I found that there were a few too many puzzle areas between each location you're traveling to, and while well designed, I've had to deal with a few frustrations where I didn't quite jump far enough or your character didn't grab the net as you'd expect. You'll also deal with a few invisible walls where you expect to just jump over things and instead you get to solve the puzzle as intended. There is a lot of variety between areas and the game looks gorgeous. It does suffer from the classic "how can people live here, there's bottomless pits everywhere" to justify traveling by hopping and jumping everywhere. A solid 7 or 8 out of ten for an AA game and worth the price tag, especially if you can manage to pick it up in a sale.

Regardless of settings, the game suffers from significant stuttering. Unplayable un-optimized mess. Nvidia 4070s.

The Good: A Gorgeous World and Deep Lore ​Visuals & Atmosphere: Powered by Unreal Engine 5, the game looks stunning. The environments, from decaying ruins to eerie caverns, are highly atmospheric. The lighting and facial animations during cinematic cutscenes are top-notch. ​Story & Characters: This is the game's strongest suit. The relationship between the protagonist, Ryn, and her companions is beautifully written. If you love story-driven, linear fantasy games with rich lore, you will easily get sucked into this world. ​Environmental Puzzles: Ryn’s ability to manipulate and analyze matter makes for some very clever, engaging puzzles that break up the pacing perfectly. ​⚠️ The Flawed: Combat Nuances ​Clunky Combat: While the mix of melee and magic is conceptually great, the execution can feel a bit stiff. The animations lack that crisp "weight" found in massive budget titles, and the lock-on camera can occasionally get frantic in tight spaces. ​Minor Technical Jank: You might encounter occasional frame drops or minor physics bugs, but nothing game-breaking. ​📌 Conclusion ​If you go into The Echoes of the End expecting a flawless $100 million AAA experience, you might focus too much on its rough edges. But if you judge it as a highly ambitious "AA" indie game that prioritizes rich storytelling, atmospheric world-building, and smart puzzles, it’s an incredibly rewarding journey. ​My Rating: 7.5 / 10 (Thoroughly enjoyed my time with it!)

I don't know what some of the reviewers were on about regarding this game's writing. This game is definitely not God of War Ragnarok, but are you really expecting the first game of a new studio to match a game known for having one the best scripts in the entire industry? For what it is, this game is excellent. Fun gameplay, not as slow and grindy as in Ragnarok. The protagonist may not exactly have depth or be particularly likeable, but she is not an outright ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ like Aloy in Horizon 2 and serves her purpose well enough. Gameplay-wise it's a fun linear adventure game somewhere between Uncharted and God of War: Ragnarok, mostly borrowing from the latter. The combat has a kinetic element to it, which is nice, though it's not really physics-based. Enemies have a decent variety, as do the puzzles. The pacing is excellent, no section feels too rushed or dragged out. The combat is easy, but that gives you freedom to experiment with different approaches and ability combos. Visuals are amazing, this studio really made good use of the engine (and I mean - art style and environment design, not gRapHiCs hurr hurr). Separate commendation for the game's lore - it's a lot more interesting than the actual dialogues and characters. I found myself hunting for chests just to read all the collectible lore pieces. The world has cool history to it and is quite unique in a way. I can see there being a lot of potential in it, given bigger scope. Honestly I have found very little to complain about. If [i]this[/i] is what these guys debut with, can you imagine what they can do with a bigger budget? Give it a try, it's absolutely worth it.

Things I like: . Worldbuilding . Beautiful visuals . Immersive soundtrack . Interesting and versatile combat . Platforming . Level design . No open world . No soulslike . Story (straightforward but good) . Characters and dialogue (story) . Super ultrawide support Things I do not like: . Characters and dialogue (banter and small talk) . Not enough enemy types . Movement and jumping is clunky sometimes . Loot is underwhelming