A time bounce has occurred…
Echochrome was a decent, but complex puzzle game. It was well received and paved the way for the sequel known as Echoshift. In it, the goal is to make it to the door at the end of each stage by hitting switches and reverting time so a copy of you will do it so you can proceed. It’s a clever concept, but is it enough?
If anyone has played Braid and knows how the time travel works in that, then Echoshift works similarly. One character cannot hit all the switches and make it to the door as some tend to get trapped and so they give up their lives so that the next character may proceed and undo them being trapped, it’s basic time-travel with a few paradoxes chucked in. The game looks familiar to Echochrome, but now has a touch of colour to brighten it up a bit, but still…the characters still look the same. I think the game would have more appeal if it looked more inviting and not so basic.
There are a ton of levels to play as well as variants for each one like finding a key to open the door before you can enter. You can also download levels from the Playstation Network which adds to the replay value and I hope that the team continue to make more DLC in the future. There are also more elements to the puzzles than simply pushing switches, sometimes you’ll need to get a number of characters together to push a boulder.
On top of that, each character only gets 60 seconds to perform their tasks. You are rated out of 3 stars based on how many characters you get through and you only have a certain number. So, the harder stages will make good use of them and make you plan which ones do what. It becomes an intriguing and puzzling game that will test you, but it is rewarding as a result.
The Verdict
Echoshift is a great budget game that will last you quite a while. It’s a great little puzzler and may drive you mad at times, but one thing is certain. You won’t stop playing it till you have conquered every level. Perhaps the next Echo-style game could do with a bit extra in the visual department, but otherwise…good fun.
