Echo Generation is a turn-based adventure game from developer Cococucumber that has strong EarthBound vibes and Minecraft-inspired visuals. While the art style hints at a game made for kids, this is a thrilling and challenging experience for players of all ages.
For the most part, Echo Generation plays exactly as expected for a turn-based adventure game. Players are able to explore the world, interact with objects and other characters, and battle against a wide variety of enemies. There are also a series of quests to complete, which mainly involve delivering items or finding a requested object to advance the story. Echo Generation also has some light puzzle elements, with players having to work out clues to get to the solution.
The majority of the gameplay, though, is focused on combat. Like most other turn-based games, fighting takes place in a controlled manner, with each character in a battle getting to take their actions in a set order. What Echo Generation does differently, though, is provide a lot of different abilities for the player to choose from. Collecting hidden comics scattered throughout the world instantly teaches new attacks and skills, expanding the arsenal available to use when fighting enemies.
These abilities offer different damage values and also some status effects. Some are area-of-effect attacks, others will poison enemies, while a few will stun opponents and effectively force them to miss a turn. Each of these skills also uses a set number of Skill Points like in Final Fantasy games, forcing players to manage how and when to use them. With each character able to have nine abilities, and pets getting an additional three, this allows for a lot of variety in combat and lets players develop strategies that work for them.
One particularly enjoyable part of the combat is the fact that players don’t simply choose what ability to use, as each skill also has an interactive element. These vary but can include things like timing when two stars overlap to button mashing, while some even require a Dance Dance Revolution-like input. Correctly succeeding in the little mini-game will deal out full damage, while not performing them perfectly will reduce the attack's potency. The interactiveness is short-lived but just challenging enough to require full concentration. It’s a system that works well as it doesn’t become frustrating but does add an extra layer of excitement to battles.
Outside of combat, players will spend most of their time in Echo Generation trying to explore the world and open up new areas. The main character, who is fully customizable, has a little sister that can be added to the party and there are also five pets to find, each of which has a distinctive support role. For example, the cat has a healing ability while the little robot can shield the entire party from incoming damage. While only one of the pets can be added to the party, they can be switched instantly when not in battle.
There’s a good number of areas to discover and each of them is filled with secrets and new characters. A few of the locations can be a little too well-hidden and are easily missed, which can cause some frustration when it seems like making progress is impossible, making Echo Generation a game where players have to search every inch of the world. Fortunately, the story is equally charming and intriguing, while the wide array of NPCs each have their own quirks and personalities, so exploring the world doesn’t feel like a chore.
Although Echo Generation might seem unassuming at first, it is packed with depth and interesting ideas. The distinctive combat stops the action from getting stale, making it more involving and exciting than many other turn-based adventure games. The compelling story and host of charming characters help to push everything along, with a few twists and turns along the way. Anyone who is a fan of turn-based adventure games could do a lot worse than trying out Echo Generation.
Echo Generation is set to launch on October 21 for PC and Xbox. A digital code was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.