Not every game needs to be a 70-hour open-world RPG. And as someone who just finished a 70-hour open-world RPG, thank god for that. As fun as it is to get lost in post-apocalyptic New England, it’s nice to dip into a shorter game that isn’t daunting to approach, and Echo Isle from solo-developer Josh Koenig was exactly that experience.
Echo Isle starts with Aster, an Astral Knight, landing on the titular island. The lighthouse that protects Echo Isle has lost its light, causing monsters to appear. You are then given a simple task: explore the small map and solve puzzles to collect four Echo Stones needed to restore light to the lighthouse. It’s a simple story without much narrative meat on the bones, but that’s by design. Echo Isle was made to be finished in one sitting, and even if you aim to see everything in the game (as I did), it’ll still only take about 2 hours in total.
The engaging part of Echo Isle is the exploration and boss fights. Despite the puzzle-based design of the game, there’s nothing in Echo Isle that is truly confusing. Worst-case scenario, you’ll wander around a little, but there are not many points of interest around the map, and one of them is a person who points you in the right direction if you’re unsure of where to go next. Plus, the addition of hidden star fragments to find means you likely will still get something out of wandering.
Solving each of the game’s mini-dungeons will open the way for a boss fight and a corresponding Echo Stone. Except for the last boss, none of the fights are too difficult, and while enemies in the overworld can gang up on you, there are plenty of bushes and pots holding hearts to heal you. To make things even easier, there is also a person on the island who gives you a juice that lets you respawn immediately once you lose all your hearts. It’s handy when exploring but also means you can defeat most of the bosses without restarting.
Along with your trusty sword, there are also special items you can pick up on your adventure. While the Swim Scarf primarily helps you reach new, previously restricted parts of the map, other items like the bombs and Ranger’s Bow are effective in combat as well. Overall, the game is responsive, and Aster moves smoothly as you fight through the generic enemy types found around the island.
The only real frustration I had with the game has to do with exploration. Echo Isle‘s map is one open area cut up into twenty-five chunks. You simply walk over the edge of one, and the game loads you into the adjacent chunk. Sometimes when you’re trying to avoid a group of enemies or an explosion, you can accidentally get too close to the edge of the screen, and you automatically shift to another chunk of the map. Going back respawns enemies, closes any paths you opened up, and slows down the otherwise smooth pace of the game.
From the vibrant visuals to the snappy gameplay, it’s evident that Echo Isle was designed to be a love letter to the 90s handheld adventure games. It doesn’t evoke the same sense of wonder as its inspirations, but it’s a bite-sized package that left me feeling satisfied in the end. To further enhance the experience, I played the game in short bursts on the Steam Deck, and it ran perfectly on base hardware. Echo Isle is available now on PC via Steam, and it’s Steam Deck verified. A code was provided for review.
