It’s always a great thing when a small developer, rather than producing loot-based mobile slop after loot-based mobile slop, delves into multiple genres and creates pieces of software that aren’t exactly flawless, but still feel like they were made with passion. Rock Pocket Games from Norway is such a team, and its latest creation is a pretty standard, but at the same time unique metroidvania that blends – post-apocalyptic? – sci-fi with Greco-Roman mythology and architecture, with some neat mechanics right next to what can usually be found in the genre. Somber Echoes is unfortunately visibly unpolished in some areas, very annoying in others, yet still a somewhat good recommendation, at least to those who are in love with this type of game and can stomach a couple of issues or more.
Okay, before the actual review, a small comment that will probably be needless for most readers: there are many Greek names and terms in here, like Atromitos, Adrestia, Harmonia, Ares, Artemis, Hephaestus, and so on and so forth. The whole thing is narrated by a woman who, according to some reviewers, has an “exaggerated Greek accent.” Well, Melina Spetsieri doesn’t have an exaggerated Greek accent but a Greek accent, full stop. After the gazillion fake-sounding Greek in video games and movies, it was an immense pleasure for this Greek critic to hear the smooth, unique sounds of the language. Kudos to the developer for that little thing. Unfortunately, great as the narrator is, the storytelling aspect of Somber Echoes leaves a lot to be desired.
This takes place aboard the space station Atromitos, where a catastrophic event heavily damaged this microcosm and filled it with evil things. The intro sees the warrior Adrestia dying but soon resurrected by a mysterious force and tasks her with bringing down the villainous Harmonia. Apart from a few notes that can be found around the place, the journey is filled to the brim with mini cut-scenes; small bits of narration that have a beautiful, poetic prose, but sort of fail to be engaging. Apart from them occurring way, way too often, the writing is vague in a way that makes it hard to follow what these moments try to convey – and this comes from someone who likes puzzling plotlines that require connecting the pieces on your own.
The story is intriguing despite its flaws, and the atmosphere – a neat mix of dread and melancholy – is pretty good, too. This is a dangerous place, but it was also Adrestia’s home, and you’ll feel how she feels by seeing it in such a state. Nonetheless, this isn’t about the story on offer, but about exploring a vast, interconnected maze, uncovering secrets, and gaining upgrades that will help in going even deeper. It’s a fairly standard use of the genre’s formula, yet it includes some cool mechanics of its own, with the first and most important one being the ability to become a ball of energy mid-air before choosing the direction Adrestia will continue moving towards. It’s essentially a double-jump, just one that can be used in more ways than one, and as the adventure goes on this will receive a couple of upgrades, letting one do triple-jumps and more.
Somber Echoes is a platform-heavy metroidvania. Rather than challenging the player with enemy encounters, intricate, labyrinthine level design and key hunts, it’s mostly about making that darn jump. It starts relatively fine in that regard, but very frequently enters frustration avenue by being too strict with what it wants from the player, or by making it extra hard to understand whether it is you who can’t reach that spot over there, or because an ability must be found first. Generally, moving from A to B is hindered by many obstacles that border on annoying rather than simply difficult. There’s a certain skill that Adrestia unlocks somewhat close to the finale, and it will be needed way too often in platforming segments that can be too strict and complex. The result is that, quite often, rather than getting excited by being offered a challenge, a feeling of “not this thing again!” will be the dominant one.
Despite the flaws mentioned so far, exploration is still fun, and it feels good to be able to complete a particularly hard part by using the heroine’s unique “acrobatics.” The level design is such, though, that while the world on offer is generally one that expects thorough exploration, many times, and after a lot of jumping around, avoiding hazards and finally reaching the end of that darn corridor, the gold at the end of the rainbow is extremely unrewarding compared to the trouble you got yourself into for finding it. Imagine something like a 10-minute struggle to discover 1/4 of a crystal that raises the health meter by one point, or 1/12 of a collectible item. Gee… Thanks.
Somber Echoes requires revisiting areas to open new paths using Adrestia’s upgraded moves, and of course to try and find where to go next. This part has some flaws as well, sadly. Some are minor, like how this is beautiful, but at the same time detailed to a fault, making it somewhat easy to go past an interactive object or not notice a destroyable surface (thankfully the map is ultra-helpful with that). Some flaws are a bit harder to accept, with fast travel chief among them, as instead of simply being able to go from station to station, you need to use a special kind of transportation that carries you between districts, where you can now travel locally on said district. Needlessly complex.
The final ingredient of the Somber Echoes recipe is combat, and once again this is a mix of good and bad elements thrown into the same bowl. Apart from swinging her trusty gladius, Adrestia will acquire additional tools, like a spear that she can throw and even call back, an armour-shattering axe, a powerful bow that uses health as energy, and finally a shield that can keep her safe and even return projectiles. Combine all this with those abilities that let Adrestia hover in the air or “teleport” away from damage, and the battlefield becomes quite the exciting place, right? Well, in practice there’s a level of clunkiness that mars the experience, which is twice as disappointing because there are moments where things work as intended and it is awesome.
Boss battles are where all the flaws become apparent. The spear is too hard to aim due to its tiny hitbox and takes way too long to call back; knockback is extremely severe and needlessly punishing; a shield may or may not work. When you are in the heat of the battle and you lose half of your health because the controls are unpolished, it doesn’t make you feel challenged but irritated. Having said all that negative stuff, there’s lots of fun to be had here – it’s just a shame that there are so many cracks in the surface of what is otherwise a gem crafted by a passionate indie team. It’s impossible to hate it, but so easy to be disappointed by it not being what it could be with a little more effort.
