This is a homosexual, furry game with psychological horror elements. None of this is targeted at me, and, on paper, I probably should not like this game. But It is really good, and I like it a lot. The writing of this game is tantalizing, eerie, gutwrenching, and breathtaking and holds the kind of symbolism you can get lost thinking about. However, nothing about the experience seemed above me in that way, in fact, it feels rather relatable at times despite the insanity of it all. These characters simultaneously represent the worst and best of humanity, and at some point or the other, I found all of them irredeemable while continuing to relate to their best and even their worst qualities. Chase’s character is a masterclass in this. I fucking hate Chase, and yet route after route, I also find myself loving Chase. He is incredibly dynamic for a character that is controlled by so many outside factors. That brings me to the town of Echo, a town that lives off of secrets in order to bring the worst out of whoever inhabits it. No one really knows how it got this bad, and no one really knows how to fix it. It’s a town of desperation, and mitigation is no longer an option. They can only really “accept, and move on.” A fitting line from Carl's route, the last one I played. Echo wears on you to the point that, like Chase, you start to feel powerless to stop it from ripping the lives of these characters apart.
Jenna’s Route
Jenna’s route was my first, and, in hindsight, probably the weakest. However, it really is hard to say because I felt the routes continued to get better as I went likely as a result of learning more about the world and characters. I decided to go with her because I felt she was the most reasonable and relatable for me. She by far has moved on the most since Sydney’s death. She goes to college, has friends outside the group, and has a clear plan for her future. She’s not perfect, but she probably thinks she is which is one of many factors that is preventing the echo reunion from being a fruitful one. Ironically, despite being in psychology, she has what feels like little to no empathy for anyone but TJ for most of the routes in this game. She is shrouded by her closeness to the events and fails to see things from a perspective outside of her own. Her route is kind of boring for the most part. You learn a lot more about the junkies of Echo and how the town has affected them. There is also a really nice scene about Jenna’s grandmother, and Jenna and Chase's banter is pretty fun. Outside of that though. It is sort of forgettable and I am not really a huge fan of the diverting endings of the route. Echo taking the forgiving god of the junkies was too far though these guys are LOST without my man.
Flynn’s Route
After playing Jenna’s route and having her talk and talk about how Flynn was the devil, I wanted a chance to see things from his perspective, and I am glad I did. In stark contrast to Jenna, he is hurting the most due to the loss of Sydney, and it is not in his nature to just let that be like it might be for Carl or TJ. He lost his best friend. He buried a man for Sydney. He wants the truth, but his friends repress it, and those that don’t know the truth support those that do. He is alone, and he has felt that way ever since he lost Sydney. This route explores that desperation and depravity with some of the most disturbing imagery Echo has to offer. This route also offers the most depressing ending of the game which has me feeling really bad for the lizard. I also like Daxton a lot in this route. Unapologetically and uncompromisingly a dweeb.
TJ’s Route
No route highlights the powerlessness of living in the Echo area code like TJ’s route. I hate everyone in this route. I hate Chase, I hate Janice, I kinda hate Julian but he really hasn’t done anything wrong, and I despise TJ. By the end of it, they are all consumed by the grief and guilt of Echo and its secrets, and to say you hate them is to basically say you hate what the town has brought out of them. With that being said though, I really did not like TJ beforehand, and being with him an entire route only made that more agonizing. I struggled alongside Chase as TJ refused to say no. He has a blatant disregard for his own well-being that is downright insane, and I am starting to understand why I decided to do Jenna as my first route. TJ is the opposite of Jenna despite their closeness. He literally agrees to dig a grave for an insane woman because he fears letting her down, and I have to just go along with that. And then he strings you along the most cursed scavenger hunt of all time only for Chase to pull the slimeball move of the century and gaslight the entire group into Flynn hate. Chase in this route is an absolute trainwreck that you have to watch unfold full well knowing this infatuation with TJ mixed with the underlying truth will not end well. It’s a really entertaining trainwreck though as the cycle of echo repeats.
Leo’s Route
This one is the best and I don’t think it's particularly close. The Leo and Chase relationship is the most fleshed out in the game and there is so much baggage with it that unpacking it would take me way too long. The line between a healthy productive relationship and an abusive harmful couple has been blurred and blotched. One thing is for sure though, Leo feels like he needs Chase and there is no way around that for him. When he lost him with the opposite of closure, he had to spawn an echo body double to cope with it that ends up terrorizing the entire town into thinking that Chase caused the mass hysteria which has huge repercussions on almost all the routes(and they’d be right) (but not because of the body double) (I find this funny but also sick). Suffice to say Leo is not over it, but Chase mostly is, but Chase also doesn’t know when to stop leading everyone in his life on which results in the worst possible thing for Leo: more of Chase. However, I can kind of understand it. These two really do love each other and their moments of connection were probably the happiest to watch early in the route. It feels so genuine and there's a lot to like about the couple despite how unhealthy it is for the two of them. The real hero of this route is Kudzu. This raccoon is an absolute chad and helps pull Chase away from Leo in a way slow, accepting, and unassuming way that allows both parties to move on in a healthy fashion. He also is a goddamn hero who doesn’t know how to use a gun which is a huge plus in the town of Echo. This route also has the best divergent endings of the game offering two endings that left me floored and on the verge of tears.
Carl’s Route
James versus John was pretty hype and watching Carl’s character develop was pretty rewarding. This route was really good in a way that diverges from the main problems of the other routes. Instead of focusing on the group’s trauma about the loss of Sydney, it focuses on Carl’s problems and the truth about what happened to John Begay. It works, and Carl letting go of James’ influences parallels his need to free himself of his reliance on others. The good ending was a nice and happy exclamation point to the Echo experience for me after all the shit that happens in these routes.
For fun, I'm going to rank the routes from worst to best here: Jenna, Carl, Flynn, TJ, Leo. Although Tj, Carl, and Flynn are really close so I don’t even know if I stand by this to be honest.
This is not a perfect game and there are a few flaws. It is not the most polished game ever, but that is to be sort of expected for an Itch.io download. I counted 4 or 5 typos and grammatical errors within the game. The artwork is great but used very sparingly which left me wanting a lot more. Also Raven was a large miss. He is pretty boring and kinda stupid. He serves a purpose but he is just kinda a buzzkill. I also am not a huge fan of all the psychological thriller/sleep paralysis elements. They can be hit or miss at times, but the fact that I like a lot of them is saying quite a bit for me.
Jenna’s Route
Jenna’s route was my first, and, in hindsight, probably the weakest. However, it really is hard to say because I felt the routes continued to get better as I went likely as a result of learning more about the world and characters. I decided to go with her because I felt she was the most reasonable and relatable for me. She by far has moved on the most since Sydney’s death. She goes to college, has friends outside the group, and has a clear plan for her future. She’s not perfect, but she probably thinks she is which is one of many factors that is preventing the echo reunion from being a fruitful one. Ironically, despite being in psychology, she has what feels like little to no empathy for anyone but TJ for most of the routes in this game. She is shrouded by her closeness to the events and fails to see things from a perspective outside of her own. Her route is kind of boring for the most part. You learn a lot more about the junkies of Echo and how the town has affected them. There is also a really nice scene about Jenna’s grandmother, and Jenna and Chase's banter is pretty fun. Outside of that though. It is sort of forgettable and I am not really a huge fan of the diverting endings of the route. Echo taking the forgiving god of the junkies was too far though these guys are LOST without my man.
Flynn’s Route
After playing Jenna’s route and having her talk and talk about how Flynn was the devil, I wanted a chance to see things from his perspective, and I am glad I did. In stark contrast to Jenna, he is hurting the most due to the loss of Sydney, and it is not in his nature to just let that be like it might be for Carl or TJ. He lost his best friend. He buried a man for Sydney. He wants the truth, but his friends repress it, and those that don’t know the truth support those that do. He is alone, and he has felt that way ever since he lost Sydney. This route explores that desperation and depravity with some of the most disturbing imagery Echo has to offer. This route also offers the most depressing ending of the game which has me feeling really bad for the lizard. I also like Daxton a lot in this route. Unapologetically and uncompromisingly a dweeb.
TJ’s Route
No route highlights the powerlessness of living in the Echo area code like TJ’s route. I hate everyone in this route. I hate Chase, I hate Janice, I kinda hate Julian but he really hasn’t done anything wrong, and I despise TJ. By the end of it, they are all consumed by the grief and guilt of Echo and its secrets, and to say you hate them is to basically say you hate what the town has brought out of them. With that being said though, I really did not like TJ beforehand, and being with him an entire route only made that more agonizing. I struggled alongside Chase as TJ refused to say no. He has a blatant disregard for his own well-being that is downright insane, and I am starting to understand why I decided to do Jenna as my first route. TJ is the opposite of Jenna despite their closeness. He literally agrees to dig a grave for an insane woman because he fears letting her down, and I have to just go along with that. And then he strings you along the most cursed scavenger hunt of all time only for Chase to pull the slimeball move of the century and gaslight the entire group into Flynn hate. Chase in this route is an absolute trainwreck that you have to watch unfold full well knowing this infatuation with TJ mixed with the underlying truth will not end well. It’s a really entertaining trainwreck though as the cycle of echo repeats.
Leo’s Route
This one is the best and I don’t think it's particularly close. The Leo and Chase relationship is the most fleshed out in the game and there is so much baggage with it that unpacking it would take me way too long. The line between a healthy productive relationship and an abusive harmful couple has been blurred and blotched. One thing is for sure though, Leo feels like he needs Chase and there is no way around that for him. When he lost him with the opposite of closure, he had to spawn an echo body double to cope with it that ends up terrorizing the entire town into thinking that Chase caused the mass hysteria which has huge repercussions on almost all the routes(and they’d be right) (but not because of the body double) (I find this funny but also sick). Suffice to say Leo is not over it, but Chase mostly is, but Chase also doesn’t know when to stop leading everyone in his life on which results in the worst possible thing for Leo: more of Chase. However, I can kind of understand it. These two really do love each other and their moments of connection were probably the happiest to watch early in the route. It feels so genuine and there's a lot to like about the couple despite how unhealthy it is for the two of them. The real hero of this route is Kudzu. This raccoon is an absolute chad and helps pull Chase away from Leo in a way slow, accepting, and unassuming way that allows both parties to move on in a healthy fashion. He also is a goddamn hero who doesn’t know how to use a gun which is a huge plus in the town of Echo. This route also has the best divergent endings of the game offering two endings that left me floored and on the verge of tears.
Carl’s Route
James versus John was pretty hype and watching Carl’s character develop was pretty rewarding. This route was really good in a way that diverges from the main problems of the other routes. Instead of focusing on the group’s trauma about the loss of Sydney, it focuses on Carl’s problems and the truth about what happened to John Begay. It works, and Carl letting go of James’ influences parallels his need to free himself of his reliance on others. The good ending was a nice and happy exclamation point to the Echo experience for me after all the shit that happens in these routes.
For fun, I'm going to rank the routes from worst to best here: Jenna, Carl, Flynn, TJ, Leo. Although Tj, Carl, and Flynn are really close so I don’t even know if I stand by this to be honest.
This is not a perfect game and there are a few flaws. It is not the most polished game ever, but that is to be sort of expected for an Itch.io download. I counted 4 or 5 typos and grammatical errors within the game. The artwork is great but used very sparingly which left me wanting a lot more. Also Raven was a large miss. He is pretty boring and kinda stupid. He serves a purpose but he is just kinda a buzzkill. I also am not a huge fan of all the psychological thriller/sleep paralysis elements. They can be hit or miss at times, but the fact that I like a lot of them is saying quite a bit for me.