Echo of the Wilds

About

Echo of the Wilds is a single player action game. It was developed by caiys and was released on June 10, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Echo of the Wilds" is a top-down, open-world survival adventure game. Explore a mystical forest, gather resources, and craft tools to survive while uncovering the secrets of the land. Fight or avoid dangerous creatures, adapt to changing seasons, and make decisions that impact the world around you.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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76%

Audience ScoreBased on 165 reviews

story31 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Echo of the Wilds offers a unique blend of survival, crafting, and puzzle-solving mechanics that create an engaging and immersive experience.
The game's art style and atmospheric sound design contribute to a captivating and surreal environment that enhances the overall gameplay.
Players appreciate the challenge and depth of the game, as it rewards exploration and intuition, making each discovery feel meaningful.

The game suffers from frustrating mechanics, such as limited inventory space and unskippable cutscenes, which can hinder the overall experience.
Many players find the controls clunky and unintuitive, leading to confusion and difficulty in managing resources effectively.
The pacing can be slow, with short in-game days that make it challenging to accomplish tasks, often resulting in repeated deaths and a sense of tedium.

story
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
52%
4%
The game's story is described as intriguing and thought-provoking, with a mix of surreal elements and a mysterious backstory that captivates players. However, many reviewers note that the narrative can feel vague and is often overshadowed by the survival mechanics, making it challenging to fully engage with the plot. While some appreciate the unique storytelling and atmospheric graphics, others find the pacing slow and the gameplay mechanics detracting from the overall experience.
- “The story is compelling and strange, the music is mysterious and quite fitting, and the graphics are beautifully done.”
- “The story is very nice, and anyone who enjoys introspection and philosophical thinking should be satisfied with the game's message - I personally felt that the game was in no way pretentious or overly aggressive in portraying said message(s).”
- “Beautiful graphics and music, and a very interesting story.”
- “The story didn't even have a premise.”
- “There was nothing in the story or gameplay to make it worth the effort.”
- “It has been substantially improved, however, the pacing is still incredibly slow with little to no plot to catch my interest.”
gameplay
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
70%
5%
The gameplay is a blend of survival-crafting mechanics and exploration, often described as challenging and requiring players to adapt to its intuitive yet sometimes confusing systems. While some players appreciate the nostalgic point-and-click elements and the depth of the survival experience, others find the mechanics frustrating and lacking in clarity, particularly regarding crafting and resource management. Overall, the game offers a unique experience that rewards exploration and learning, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its steep learning curve and occasional punishing gameplay.
- “Wonderful little game that gives the nostalgic feeling of 90s point-and-clicks combined with gradual progression through modern survival mechanics.”
- “The gameplay involves juggling straightforward survival-craft mechanics with exploration, with season progression creating a bit of a time-crunch.”
- “It's imperfect, it's hard, it's confusing, and sometimes even downright unforgiving in its survival mechanics, the advancing of seasons, and the limits to how much you can do in a given day, but I straight up love this game.”
- “The language is absolutely obnoxious, the puzzles are boring, and the survival mechanics are the bare minimum required to keep the game from being a total slog.”
- “It's placid to the point of being unaffecting, and the mechanics are obtuse.”
- “I didn't enjoy my playtime; you often die and the saving mechanic is awful.”
graphics
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
36%
10%
The game's graphics are a mix of beautiful pixel art and a unique aesthetic that many players find charming, with excellent attention to detail and a captivating atmosphere. However, opinions are divided; while some appreciate the retro style and artistic elements, others criticize the pixelation and simplicity, deeming them outdated or unappealing. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's immersive experience, though they may not resonate with everyone.
- “The game offers some nice graphics and a beautiful aesthetic which is pleasant all the same and has some amazing attention to detail even though it is a little rough around the edges.”
- “Beautiful artwork and palette.”
- “The art style and music combined with the very surreal and bizarre world make for a very unique and compelling experience.”
- “The graphics are too pixilated.”
- “Really bad, lazy 2D retro pixel graphics (the 3D gaming era started decades ago... what's with these throwbacks? Can't afford a graphics card?).”
- “I wouldn't recommend this game unless you're British and you like crude, smeary graphics and hard to read fonts.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
19%
14%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience with relaxing and mysterious soundscapes that complement the visuals. Reviewers highlight the seamless integration of ambient sounds and music, creating a unique and compelling atmosphere that draws players into the surreal world. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant strength, contributing to the game's depth and emotional impact.
- “Nice, relaxing music throughout, harrowing when it should be, and the environmental sounds tickle your ears.”
- “The art style and music combined with the very surreal and bizarre world make for a very unique and compelling experience.”
- “The story is compelling and strange, the music is mysterious and quite fitting, and the graphics are beautifully done.”
- “Any game without music is really bland and gets boring quickly; this game's music is mysterious.”
- “It's a really atmospheric game; the music, ambient sounds, and visual style all work together to make you feel a warm sun bright on your skin or the coolness of the pond nearby.”
- “Relaxing music, too.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its excellent visuals, music, and sound effects, which collectively create an immersive experience. Players appreciate the unique art design and the way the abstract graphics enhance the overall ambiance, evoking feelings of warmth and tranquility. The combination of crafting, survival, and storytelling further enriches the atmospheric quality, making it a memorable experience.
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and music are all excellent.”
- “Mixes crafting, survival, puzzle solving, and great atmosphere and storytelling.”
- “The sound effects are just perfect and really bring a lot to the atmosphere.”
- “The abstract graphics somehow add to, rather than take from, the overall trippy atmosphere of the game/experience.”
- “Has a really immersive atmosphere to the game.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
50%
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some players appreciate its unique and oddball style, finding it genuinely funny and enjoyable, others find certain elements—like the characters' childish inner monologues—forced and annoying. Overall, the game offers a mix of obscure humor and quirky storytelling that resonates well with fans of unconventional narratives.
- “Also, the writing is unique and funny to read.”
- “This game is fantastic if you like obscure puzzles, a certain type of oddball humor, and exploration.”
- “An enjoyable premise and quite pretty with some surprisingly funny moments.”
- “It felt forced and unfunny.”
- “The jokes fell flat and lacked originality.”
- “The humor was cringeworthy and didn't land at all.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and punishing, often leading to frustration due to repetitive tasks and inventory management challenges. While some suggest that there may be more efficient strategies to gather resources, the overall sentiment leans towards the experience being bogged down by unfun repetition rather than engaging survival mechanics.
- “There was a pleasant, fun, short game in here somewhere, that got buried in totally tedious, punishing, and un-fun repetition.”
- “Survival is a misnomer in this game - the game isn't about survival, it's about engaging with repetitive, tedious systems.”
- “I wish the inventory was a little bit more forgiving, especially once you die and have to repeat the same steps again as it gets a bit tedious.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game offers limited replayability due to its linear structure, with most players likely satisfied after a single playthrough, especially since achievements can be completed in one run. However, those who enjoy improving their scores may find high replay value, while others might appreciate the journey for its survival and adventure elements.
- “High replay value if you are the type of person who likes to beat your own score.”
- “I would say that there isn't much replayability after getting all of the achievements, and most people would be satisfied with just beating the game once. You could get all achievements in one playthrough, but it took me multiple playthroughs to figure out optional puzzles and to really get the mechanics of the game.”
- “The game is somewhat linear, so there's not too much replayability, but it's worth it for the survival, mental, and spiritual adventure.”
- “I would say that there isn't much replayability after getting all of the achievements, and most people would be satisfied with just beating the game once. You could get all achievements in one playthrough, but it took me multiple playthroughs to figure out optional puzzles and to really understand the mechanics of the game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's optimization has been criticized for its inadequate support for controller and keyboard controls, as users report difficulties in customizing keybindings, which are limited to keyboard settings only.
- “I have a problem with the controls, and I think the main culprit is the poor optimization between the controller and keyboard. When you edit the keybindings, it only allows you to do this for the keyboard.”
- “The game suffers from severe performance issues, making it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems due to lack of proper optimization.”
- “Despite the interesting gameplay, the optimization is lacking, resulting in frequent frame drops and stuttering during critical moments.”