I just got done binging through the TJ and Flynn routes for hours on end and I must say that I am emotionally drained. Echo is without a doubt the most emotionally invested I’ve ever been into a single piece of media in my entire life. Sure I know that sounds pretty rich coming from a 19 year old.
I still gotta say that Echo does such a good job at sucking you into the world and it’s characters. Despite it being a rather average visual novel visually with some expressive still work and some CG work here and there, it is absolutely carried by the story and the framing of every scene. You can tell that who ever sequenced the music/sound and scenes paid a lot of attention to what type of emotions they were trying to get across to the reader.
I especially was impressed with how the game handled the horror elements. When I was searching for “gay furry visual novels” to play and saw Echo I really thought that the horror aspects would just take a back seat to a dating sim story. However, the opposite is true with the dating sim aspects coming on hard at first only for things to get progressively more miserable as the story carries on.
I love how scenes will change so dramatically without warning when going into a dream sequence or back into reality. I recall during the TJ route when Chase is playing never have I ever with TJ and Carl, out of nowhere being confronted with three choices to brutalize Sydney with that droning horror music seeping in while still having the regular cheerful music playing in the background. When you pick your poison the scene just reverts back to normal as if nothing had just happened. It made me question my sanity and also made me laugh by just how jarring it was.
There’s so many moments in this game that I just want to gush about how the implementation of horror and framing pair so well together to create a cacophony of psychological instability. It was entertaining through and through and I don’t regret spending hours partaking in the two stories. I plan to finish the rest, but the TJ and Flynn routes were the ones that called out to me the most.
If you haven’t played this game yet, definitely give it a download. I’ve played a few gay furry games such as Tennis Ace, Four Letter Word, Nekojishi, Blackgate, Amorous, Dawn Chorus, Far beyond the World, and Beyond the Harbor but I must say that this game takes the cake for me. I never thought I’d get so invested in a game and it’s characters from something on itchio, but damn look at me now typing a long winded “review” on my phone.
Sorry if my points aren’t too coherent I just got done playing and it’s 4 in the morning lol I just really felt the urge to give this game a bump and what better way to leave a review after a fresh play through. If you got to the end of the wall of text many blessings to you ;)