I just finished this and I've never been so confused yet enthralled by a story since Echo. Spencer is a joy to follow and a giant mood with his internal dialogue. I loved every minute of it, though I hope a few things can be made clearer as it's quite a confusing read.
Technically there *are* NSFW sex scenes, but there's (almost) no CGs associated with them, so it's mostly just words that you can gloss through if you need.
Though tbh with all the gut punches this game will give you, NSFW is the least of your worries. Enjoy!
We haven't gotten a single choice thus far. Considering Build 7 is the penultimate build + the way it leaves off... I'm gonna make a guess here and say the only choice in the game will come at the end and will probably either be between saving themselves, or breaking the cycle. Choose one or the other...
I swear to god please Echo devs this is like Life is Strange all over again. Please don't make me choose😭
In my opinion, Carl's route is either a hit or miss. Without going into spoilers, it's drastically different from the other routes. So you're right, it doesn't make much difference in the story, and that can be good or bad depending on preferences and expectations. Personally, I enjoyed it initially (being the first route I played), but after replaying the entire game, it's not as good as I remember.
But don't let the opinion of this stranger deter you from enjoying more of Echo, it's ultimately up to you!
The developers recommend doing either TJ or Flynn's last in the recommended play order, but most fans usually leave Flynn for last due to how it was written as a "finale" route, so I'm interested to see how your experience might differ playing TJ's last!
I recommend saving Flynn's route for last. It is the wildest ride, and pays off the most if you've played all the other routes first <3 Since you finished Leo's, I recommend Jenna's since it closely relates to Leo's. This is all according to the recommended order by the developers btw.
That said, it's really up to you, but the dev's order gives the most cohesive story experience as a whole.
I've seen my fair share of "dark, heavy themes" but this game does not hold back the punches. Remember to take a break if it gets too much for you (Mild spoilers: Especially in TJ's/Flynn's route).
Flynn became a part of the monster because he wanted to see the "truth." By seeing the truth, he saw every killing/murder in Echo where the murderer got away, literally everything. Because of this, his "soul" is able to see all of the truth/every death in all possible timelines. The monster represents the "truth", and Flynn became a part of the monster, and he is stuck in a loop to see the truth repeat itself over and over. He is living all timelines all at once.
Well, potential spoilers, but Carl's route actually has nothing to do with the "main" storyline. It's mostly just an info dump on the past, what's already happened. That said, it's still a great route.
Also, the backstory of the "voice" is explained in Jenna's route, not Carl. I recommend doing Jenna's route last because her good/happy ending is the best note to end the game on, and wraps up Echo nicely.
TJ's route was the only route that completely shattered me the first time, though maybe it's because I have a thing for TJ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It might hit even harder if you've played Flynn's before, so you're in for a treat!
Fair warning, don't expect the game to get any better, I had to take a water break because the TJ's ending was getting too much for me. Also, you might come to hate a certain character afterwards...
Because the truth mustn't get out. Without spoiling other routes, I just finished Flynn's route as my last and I have my own theory as to why certain things happened, keeping things in the realms of solely this route. It definitely is the most confusing route without the proper prior knowledge (still is when you've played through everything lol), so I hope to be clear when I try for an explanation:
1. Why Chase condemned Flynn: You can see that there is this "voice" in Chase's head (by the different font), that feels like a completely different person. You will learn more about this the more you play. Keeping with the whole "the truth mustn't get out" theme, this voice/entity sees that TJ was about to tell the truth to everyone, hence, it takes over Chase and seizes an opportunity to distract everyone and shift their focus to Flynn as it condemns him. This is why Chase acted so out of character in that scene when he's been nothing but horny back to Flynn the past days, because it wasn't Chase.
2. Why Daxton & Carl were there: If you remember the detail there wasn't a gate around the real Smoke Room (which Flynn points out explicitly), This is him entering the mine, because the mine DID have a gate (more like rebar but whatever), and it was actually on fire even before the hysteria. Daxton and Carl follows Flynn into the mine to try to get him out, but simultaneously Flynn is having this creepy conversation with Sydney (again, getting really into it). Seeing the worsening condition of the heat inside, and then Flynn suddenly screaming at them both, they abandon him in fear of their own lives.
My ending explanation: Flynn wanted the truth, then the entity let him see the literal entire truth, every single killing/murder in Echo in brief flashes, from the fox hanging, to Brian's van, and finally Syd, and probably many more that they "all blur together". Yet, he doesn't even see who killed Sydney as his eyes pop. The truth mustn't get out, after all, as the entity toys with him and wins. In the final scene, in Jenna's closet, young Jenna asks if he is real. Flynn, having spent the entire route finding the truth and finally seeing it, denies both its existence, and even himself, as he had destroyed himself in his search for the truth, both physically and mentally, in pure disbelief and regret.
