Echo Weaver PC review - It was with you all along

I love the concept of Outer Wilds, I just never vibed with the execution. Echo Weaver does a lot of the same things; it has you attempt to solve a mystery on a time loop in order to figure out how to stop something bad from destroying the world, all while having you use your knowledge to learn more and more. However, this one really made good on its promise in a big way.

Echo Weaver is billed as a Metroidvania, and, well, it pretty much is. You do go in and learn new abilities that let you reach new areas, but the player is the one who learns the abilities. The player character has everything they need to beat the game as soon as you find the glaive by exploring. Some players will be able to deduce these on their own and potentially skip entire sections of the game if they wish.

Unlike Outer Wilds, though, this game has a more focused plotline that has far fewer brain teasers. The game design is clear enough that it’s sort of tough to get stuck, although this did happen to me once due to the fact that the game did a poor job of teaching me that I could hold onto an item while teleporting. Other than that, I have a few issues with the progression here. It’s sharp, clear, and kept me engrossed.

By default, you have just a single minute before the loop ends each time you start up. You’ll find floating crystals that each give you an additional minute, up to about a dozen. You have health (and this is one of the few things you can actually upgrade by finding items in the world), and you can always sacrifice a minute of your loop to heal yourself. If you run out of health, you’re kicked back to the next loop, though.

It really is pretty amazing how the game reveals various aspects, such as highlighting shortcuts that were there the entire time or teaching you how to use your abilities that you really always had access to. The presentation is good, although it does look like it was made by a small team. The game is also somewhat glitchy, as I ran into a few issues on occasion (such as traversing the environment in an unintended way and having hazards not load until after I started standing on them, which got me stuck).

You can reset the loop at any time, so getting stuck happens intentionally on occasion. But your character has a decent amount of mobility. Echo Weaver has combat, but this isn’t an action game. You won’t be fighting all the time, the emphasis is more on exploration and platforming. I enjoyed the platforming and found it to be just the right amount of challenging.

It doesn’t take that long to beat Echo Weaver, as it’s about eight hours long if you just play it through. But there are characters you can only save by learning and accomplishing various things. Beating the game with them saved is a pretty major part of the challenge, which is great for anyone who wants more of a reason to explore even further. Plus, there are three types of items that you can find, including those that increase your health. One is even so uncommon that I never even found it.

Normally, I’d go into detail about your abilities, but simply mentioning what they are is a spoiler here, as part of the fun is not knowing any of what’s in store. The story here is fairly in-depth, and I rather enjoyed it, as it’s sharply written and has a few memorable characters and some solid dialogue. This really is a very impressive game, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find anything that scratches this Metroidbrainia itch in the same way.

Echo Weaver is well worth experiencing for anyone who enjoys Metroidvanias (or brainias), games like Outer Wilds, and thinking outside the box. It’s an intriguing, engaging experience from start to finish that offers a unique adventure that makes it hard not to do just one more loop. Plus, it’s made me realize that I really need to play more Metroidbrainias.