That’s exactly why I don’t casually recommend Echo to others, because some people really don’t get it, and think that FVN is just about pleasure or thrill-seeking.
I honestly suggest that before some people play it, they should at least Google what “psychological horror” actually means. No, its purpose is not to make you feel scared psychologically…
Spoiler warning:
Believe it or not, “the mystery isn’t everything.” You’ll have to, like Flynn, reflect on what the cost of obsession with the truth really is. How much more mental energy are you going to pour into something that will never lead anywhere, just like Leo? Honestly, even saying this kind of ruins the experience, you have to explore and discover what’s wrong by yourself, otherwise it’s meaningless.
Carl’s route is very formulaic, it’s the weakest and most off-theme route in the whole game. That’s a common consensus among fans, and I’m not here to argue with it.
What I can’t understand is why some people keep misunderstanding and thinking that those who appreciate Echo must like its characters. That’s exactly what I admire about Echo, even though it makes it nearly impossible to commercialize, and even though its subversive nature might offend some people, it doesn’t shy away from portraying the contradictions of human nature (including queers). You can hate them if you want. You don’t have to love a single one of them to finish the game. But can hatred really solve the mystery or the problem? You probably wouldn’t enjoy seeing them suffer, right? (If your answer is “yes,” then I can’t help you.)
Imagine you’re a psychologist, a person’s flaws, dreams, and supernatural experiences are all defense mechanisms shaped by their environment and past trauma. Chase’s amnesia and multiple personalities come from his escape from reality. Leo falls in love with someone who no longer exists, so he creates Embrace. Flynn’s pursuit of truth turns him into the cause itself (the socket man).
It’s also worth mentioning that the game contains meta elements. Flynn’s route and the formatting and structure of choices already hint this (or rather, explicitly show). The player’s involvement usually only makes Chase mess things up even more. If you save Jenna’s route for last (it’s more functional than impressive), you can interpret the entire journey as a process of reconciliation, between you and Chase. You’ve done everything you could, and couldn’t, and yet you still can’t fix everything. So please, forgive others, and forgive yourself. I don’t have the right or ability to demand that from anyone, but doing so might make your heart hurt a little less.
I find this kind of hilarious. Back then, you all kept going on about something like eternal love, saying you'd be willing to wait 8 years for that. And now? Not even a year into the game, and some of you have lost interest just because the sprites changed styles already?
And one thing, have you ever stopped to think about why Amicus et al. look different from Scipio’s perspective compared to the human’s? Whether the Parent affecting the human’s or Scipio’s cognition? Or both?
The tags include psychological horror there, so I’d say this extent of speculation is well reason.
You don’t have to become greater, and you don’t have to fear failure. The person who love you will still love you, no matter how you change or whether you succeed or fail.
Don't be self-limiting, maybe you will find your Cameron someday－who knows?
I think that is part of the playing experience, sometimes you find that "options" are more powerful than "choosing", and sometimes characters don't have to follow your "choosing".
What? You mean Sydney? 12 years old + lacking discernment, Chase will basically be acquitted.
The person most qualified to seek revenge is Flynn──the only person who cared about Sydney, but he chose not to do it, even though he had the ability to return to the scene of the crime.
Should Chase be punished? For what? Justice? This is somewhat morally ambiguous. If he were punished, who would be happy? Syd's family doesn't care at all—they didn’t even bother with a simple judicial autopsy, if it really was murder.
Well, I get that no one can stand the heretic's unreasonable comments, but surely people can accept Marco and Amicus’s own perspectives on their own ending, right?
Sorry I just... this is my last post here, I promise.
One of the standards I suppose for a good ending is that the right people are doing the right things. I think Amity and Hunter have achieved this—they’ve each become a better person through these events.
But the question is, has Marco done the same? What specific benefits has this journey brought him? I don’t think the answer is simply that he gained the courage to be himself, nor that he improved his arrogant attitude, because neither of these were really issues, and I don’t see how they would impact his life on Earth.
Believe me, I think I also get "post-Adastra depression" in different way. And I really really don’t mean to dampen everyone’s mood.
It’s not that I dislike romance dramas, but… from the start of the game, Parents have been interfering—there’s no denying it. To them, romance is nothing more than a biochemical reaction. They have a reason to do this to achieve their goals. They might even mislead you into thinking they aren’t omnipotent—unless Parents truly have suffer a defeat once...
Honestly, for a guy who's annoyed by Adastra, it's nice so far. It even convinced me that Adastra is a satire. Finally, a protagonist who values free will.
Fun fact:
The amount of sand on Earth is estimated to be roughly around 10 ^23 grains, similar to the number of stars in the universe. However, considering that Khemia is a desert planet, the amount of sand on that planet could far exceed the number of stars in the universe.
Dude, you don't owe Amicus anything, just let yourself go please. Your acquaintance with Amicus was also nothing but a split second, but the death is infinity.
You don’t like it when your real-life parents decide who you can or cannot love, but you're okay with your cosmic Parents forcefully arranging a wolf bara for you?
It's not only through love that you can understand each other. As long as you open your heart, both Cassius and Neferu will understand you.
You are neither the chosen one nor a space prince, so don’t expect someone out there to arrange everything for you. Happiness is something you must achieve on your own. If you want others to understand you, start by understanding the people around you.
Those crazy fans would probably say he did it all to protect Marco, but that’s nonsense. Forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean trust, and trust definitely doesn’t always mean love, and love doesn’t necessarily mean marriage.
Personally, I don’t consider Arches to be a romantic story, and I hope others don’t either. It feels more like an autobiography of Cameron, with Devon being more of a “witness” to a legend.
To the READERS who keep trying to force a romance between Amicus and Marco: how are you any different from PARENTS? Does Marco need romance, or do you just want romance?
