Echo of the Wilds

About

"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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 163 reviews

story31 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features beautiful pixel art and a captivating atmosphere that draws players in.
It offers a unique blend of survival, crafting, and puzzle-solving mechanics that encourage exploration and creativity.
The developer is highly responsive to community feedback, frequently updating the game and addressing issues promptly.

The gameplay can be frustrating due to vague mechanics, limited inventory space, and unskippable cutscenes that disrupt the flow.
The survival elements can feel punishing, with short in-game days and a steep learning curve that may deter some players.
The writing style and dialogue can be overly convoluted and off-putting, making it difficult for players to engage with the story.

story
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
51%
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 or underdeveloped, often overshadowed by the survival mechanics and resource management, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the storytelling is appreciated for its unique style and depth, making it a compelling aspect for those who enjoy introspective and philosophical themes.
- “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 yet rewarding, particularly when played on survival mode. While some players appreciate the nostalgic point-and-click elements and the depth of the crafting system, others find the mechanics counterintuitive and lacking in guidance, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers a unique experience that encourages players to learn through exploration and experimentation, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its steep learning curve and occasional gameplay annoyances.
- “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%
37%
10%
The game's graphics are a mix of beautiful pixel art and a unique aesthetic that many players find appealing, contributing to a captivating atmosphere. While some appreciate the attention to detail and the charming visuals, others criticize the pixelation and retro style as outdated or lacking depth. Overall, the graphics evoke strong opinions, with a significant portion of players enjoying the artistic direction despite some reservations about clarity and modernity.
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and music are all excellent.”
- “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 and immersive qualities, enhancing the overall experience with relaxing and mysterious soundscapes that complement the visuals. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to evoke emotions and create a unique ambiance, making it a significant aspect of the game's appeal. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics and fitting music contributes to a compelling and engaging gameplay experience.
- “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 puzzle-solving elements further enriches the atmospheric storytelling.
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and music are all excellent.”
- “Mixes crafting, survival, puzzle solving, and great atmosphere and storytelling.”
- “This game has stunning art design (a bit odd, but really beautiful), atmospheric music, and an interesting concept.”
- “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 it forced and annoying, particularly criticizing the use of childish language in character monologues. Overall, the humor appeals to those who enjoy quirky storytelling and obscure puzzles, but may not resonate with everyone.
- “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.”
- “I found the humor to be cringeworthy and not at all entertaining.”
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, especially after dying. While some suggest that there may be more efficient strategies to gather resources, the overall sentiment leans towards the grinding feeling more like a chore than an engaging challenge.
- “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
33%
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 or exploring optional puzzles may find additional value in replaying the game.
- “High replay value if you are the type of person who likes to beat your own score.”
- “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 get the mechanics of the game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The optimization of controls has been criticized for its lack of flexibility, as users can only edit keybindings for the keyboard and not for the controller, leading to a subpar experience for those using different input methods.
- “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.”
- “Even on high-end hardware, the game frequently drops frames and stutters, indicating that the optimization is far from adequate.”