izigame.me

Somber echoes was a lot better than i expected in many ways but especially visually and narratively. The game's cover art didn't really appeal to me, which made me think it would be a very generic game. Now said art is actually a nice painting but it doesn't translate well as a banner image imo. However somber echoes was far from a generic game with its unique blend of greek mythology and sci-fi futurism, which led to a world that was very engaging to explore. This is due to a multitude of reasons but mostly because the level design is just really good. Exploring every nook and cranny of the atromitos was a real joy thanks to a great mapping system that mostly allows you to easily go for 100%, which is always fun. Unfortunately this will require you to use the fast travel a lot which is for a lack of better words, obnoxious as hell.
To go from biome A to B you'll have to go to a checkpoint in biome A, tp to biome A's circe chamber, then from that circe chamber go to the circe chamber of biome B and then possibly to another checkpoint in biome B. There's also biomes that don't have a circe chamber which requires you to use the train hub that also requires a few TP's to get to. Basically all of this to say that going anywhere takes a load of time but given that the map is of a respectable size you'll pretty much have to. I would really like to see this fixed, especially adding circe chambers to all biomes but idk if this would sequence break some things. Regardless this is the only real downside to exploraton because the rest is pretty great. Even the hidden secret rooms are well telegraphed thanks to the great usage of 2.5 graphics for the environments.
Speaking of environments somber echoes is a very good looking game. Sure some models are pretty ugly but the amount of detail in every environment is honestly mind boggling. There's so much going on in every screen of this game which is impressive given the aforementioned large map. There's so many unique vistas to see here as well thanks to the blend of ancient greek architecture and sci-fi tech. The great sound design also really helps you immerse yourself into the world, paired with some very good pieces of music as well to add some drama to this greek tragedy. Speaking of said tragedy somber echoes tells a suprisingly intricate story that boasts some excellent voice acting. Yes it's only one person who acts as a narrator but that works very well given the setting and it all leads to several satisfying conclusions!
What's less satisfying is the combat in this game, it's not atrocious by any means but it's also quite annoying at times. You can get brutally staggered, especially by the flying ranged enemies in this game which are just incredibly aggrevating. Regular fodder isn't much better and neither are the bosses which have very annoying movesets and no visible health bars. Not that they are particulary challenging because with the exception of the true ending boss none took me longer than 10 minutes. However there's none that i would say i found particularly enjoyable. Which is weird because on paper the combat system has it all, a fun melee, a parry that feels a bit irresponsive but especially a throwable spear that's very satisfying to use. However weird hit registration and a lack of a proper healing system makes combat a slog.
Luckily most regular enemies are pushovers that can be eliminated in one spear throw. There's a real shortage in enemy variety though with maybe a total of 20 types spread across the whole game. Some of these are biome exclusive but others are copy pasted pretty much all over. This makes killing them not as exciting but they do drop some currency which helps with upgrading. But you also need to find crafting materials for that, which makes combat a bit less rewarding but helps to make exploration more exciting. The character progression in somber echoes is mostly very basic with just a few damage numbers although there's some cool unique effects like extra iframes, lifesteal or a damage multiplier on enemies hit by your spear, something that adds strategy to bosses in particular.
Some of these bosses incorporate your movement skills to dodge their attacks which is another area where somber echoes is a mixed bag. On the one hand the 'lantern' system allows you to pause in midair and launch yourself in a chosen direction, similar to will of the wisps's launch ability which is incredibly fun and gives somber echoes something else that's enjoyable other than the unique setting. But this often has to be combined with the world's clunkiest hover/glide mechanic especially in the platforming gauntlets. If this glide would just be tied to another button than holding your jump and would be more responsive this wouldn't be a problem. But the fact that it isn't makes what would be the most exciting parts of this game into the most frustrating ones. Luckily there's no true precision platforming segments but some of the more complex rooms rely on it a lot.
You do have a very unique wall climb ability though which is also tons of fun and pairs well with the lantern to make some exhilirating sections as long as they don't rely on the hover. There's some puzzles with these too which is another area where somber echoes brings a lot of variety to the gameplay. All in all the excellent level design pairs well with mostly fun platforming mechanics but the sore spots such as fast travel and hovering weaken this a bit. It's a net positive overal though and as a whole the exploration is still very enjoyable especially thanks to unique visuals and an excellent mapping system. Combat is servicable and at times fun but on other occasions an exercise in frustration, although the overal difficulty is on the easier side which was appreciated.
Finally there's the technicalities such as performance and polish and while the game ran excellent the loading times were long. There were no major bugs or crashes though so the game works well enough. Most issues that could've existed have been patched by now so all in all it's a game worth picking up for the unique setting, narrative and exploration. I do find it a tad expensive at base price which is why i waited untill it was down to 20 bucks before picking it up. This is still relatively steep in the indie market but i think with how the industry is going currently and how expensive life is becoming that 20 is becoming the new 15 indie standard. And honestly if you look at it that way this game is worth it. The devs are kind and helpfull and they deserve some praise for this accomplishment.