This review is based on playing on the Steam deck.
Chained Echoes is a classic era-styled JRPG with a strong focus on story, character and world-building, and with its retro-style aesthetic and beautiful soundtrack, it promises to be an epic journey. But does it soar through the sky as free as a bird, or is trapped in a cage of its own devices?


The game opens with the hold of a fantastical flying vessel on its way to a battlefield in a distant land. Soldiers and crew wander its hallways, busy with preparations and contemplation for the coming battle that weighs heavily in the crowded halls. It's here, amongst the bustling busyness of the crew, that you meet the main protagonist, Glenn.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224820055

Glenn, accompanied by his close friend, Kylian, and the rest of the Iron Bull mercenary company, are on their way to a distant city to assist in freeing them from tyranny.

But as is always the case, fate has different plans for the heroes, as a grand explosion consumes the city that nobody could have prepared for.

Now, with the world feeling the weight of that fateful day, an uncertain peace has fallen across the lands that have faced war for the last several centuries. With the world in such a precarious position, new events begin to unfold that threaten the lives of everyone on Valandis.

Do you have what it takes to stand against the tides of chaos?

Chained Echoes blew me away with how well-written and paced it was. The story provides a substantial, emotionally fueled experience, filled to the brim with twists and moments of solemn contemplation for the events that transpire. The dialogue enormously assists in the grand scheme, providing much-needed bolstering to the already considerable plot and delivering a great deal of understanding of the main cast and their motivations.

This game isn't your standard, run-of-the-mill RPG. While it aesthetically matches most of the classic SNES era games of its type, it differs greatly in a mechanical sense.

Unlike almost every other RPG on the market, there isn't a standard levelling system in place in Chained Echoes. Instead of gaining experience points and using these to level your character progressively across the story, you are awarded skill points for overcoming significant obstacles in your journey, usually in the form of powerful enemies. These skill points can unlock skills in an extensive list of abilities within a tiered list that increase in power the higher the tier.

The second significant difference between this game and others is the overdrive system. Overdrive is a bar in the corner of your screen that increases with every skill you use and hit you take and decreases with inaction and defence. Keeping the overdrive in yellow ensures you receive standard damage with no penalty, green lowers your damage taken and increases damage done, and red at the far end of the spectrum increases damage taken and reduces damage done.

Weapons and armour in Chained Echoes take a different direction than the usual format. You don't always have to move up to the subsequent variant to see an improvement. You can always opt for upgrading the piece through materials found in the world and then enchanting it with crystals that greatly bolster your attributes. Finding good crystals can be a bit of a grind as you are bound to RNG at this point, and simply finding the crystal you're after might prove difficult until much later in the game.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224820467

But this isn't the only method for improvement, as, at a certain early point in the journey, you will unlock a hideout where you and your crew can begin to set up operations to take the battle to the enemy. By inviting random people you meet to help you, you will unlock passive bonuses that vastly help you in many different ways, such as increased crystal discoveries per node and random items at intervals of game time.

The rest of the game is relatively standard to the usual RPG foundations and will feel particularly nostalgic to the classic-era RPG fans.

As mentioned above, despite its retro aesthetic, I genuinely believe Chained Echoes is one of the most vibrantly beautiful experiences I've ever had the opportunity to play. The art and atmosphere are captivating aspects of the world and really deliver a true sense of immersion throughout the entire experience.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224820385

The audio is much the same as the soundtrack and general audio, is an impeccable feat of design, and provides a sensational sense of adaptation and vividness to an already remarkable journey.

During my rather lengthy experience, I didn't notice any drops in quality at all, and the game feels like it was made all along for the Steam Deck, which ran exceptionally well. A full charge would approximately provide 8-10 hours of gameplay demonstrating the title optimisation.

Review chart here.
As I sit here in quiet contemplation over the journey I have just undertaken, I feel resounding pride and sadness over the decisions that were made and the fact that it's almost over now. I wonder if the minor flaws the game holds are enough to lower the score in any dramatic sense, and in the very end I believe they don't do enough harm to warrant that course of action. This is a truly wondrous experience that deserves both distinction and praise for the high-quality content it has provided as well as the experience that continues to resonate with me even now. I would recommend this game without hesitation to anyone who is a true fan of storytelling, world and character design.

A journey taken is rarely without purpose, so head on over to Hell, Purgatory and Paradise to find your next epic tale.

A climb to the summit is a sign of strength, so head on over to Summit Reviews where every review is peak.

[h1]"Do you believe this? We're on a suicide mission, and he's taking a nap!"[/h1] [h1]Introduction[/h1] [b]This review is based on playing on the Steam deck.[/b] Chained Echoes is a classic era-styled JRPG with a strong focus on story, character and world-building, and with its retro-style aesthetic and beautiful soundtrack, it promises to be an epic journey. But does it soar through the sky as free as a bird, or is trapped in a cage of its own devices? [table] [tr] [th][b]🟩 Positives[/b][/th] [th][b]🟥 Negatives[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]🟩 A well-thought, written and devised storyline that promises to keep you on the edge of your seat with its many plot twists and ability to invest you in the cast exceptionally quickly. 🟩 Unique gameplay elements that set it aside from the rest in terms of how it mechanically plays and reinterprets the levelling system in more than one way. 🟩 A beautiful retro-styled aesthetic that continued to surprise me the entire way through that was perfectly complimented by a stunning soundtrack. 🟩 Engaging in unique enemy and boss encounters will continuously push you to the limit, pushing you to adapt to each situation as they arise.[/td] [td]🟥 RNG seems to play a pretty considerable role in the outcome of some combat scenarios. Skill takes precedence, followed by preparedness, but RNG follows closely and can significantly impact your success.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [h1]Story[/h1] The game opens with the hold of a fantastical flying vessel on its way to a battlefield in a distant land. Soldiers and crew wander its hallways, busy with preparations and contemplation for the coming battle that weighs heavily in the crowded halls. It's here, amongst the bustling busyness of the crew, that you meet the main protagonist, Glenn. https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224820055 Glenn, accompanied by his close friend, Kylian, and the rest of the Iron Bull mercenary company, are on their way to a distant city to assist in freeing them from tyranny. But as is always the case, fate has different plans for the heroes, as a grand explosion consumes the city that nobody could have prepared for. Now, with the world feeling the weight of that fateful day, an uncertain peace has fallen across the lands that have faced war for the last several centuries. With the world in such a precarious position, new events begin to unfold that threaten the lives of everyone on Valandis. Do you have what it takes to stand against the tides of chaos? Chained Echoes blew me away with how well-written and paced it was. The story provides a substantial, emotionally fueled experience, filled to the brim with twists and moments of solemn contemplation for the events that transpire. The dialogue enormously assists in the grand scheme, providing much-needed bolstering to the already considerable plot and delivering a great deal of understanding of the main cast and their motivations. [h1]Gameplay Analysis[/h1] [h3]Old school, but mechanically rejuvenated.[/h3] This game isn't your standard, run-of-the-mill RPG. While it aesthetically matches most of the classic SNES era games of its type, it differs greatly in a mechanical sense. Unlike almost every other RPG on the market, there isn't a standard levelling system in place in Chained Echoes. Instead of gaining experience points and using these to level your character progressively across the story, you are awarded skill points for overcoming significant obstacles in your journey, usually in the form of powerful enemies. These skill points can unlock skills in an extensive list of abilities within a tiered list that increase in power the higher the tier. The second significant difference between this game and others is the overdrive system. Overdrive is a bar in the corner of your screen that increases with every skill you use and hit you take and decreases with inaction and defence. Keeping the overdrive in yellow ensures you receive standard damage with no penalty, green lowers your damage taken and increases damage done, and red at the far end of the spectrum increases damage taken and reduces damage done. [h3]Improving your prowess through exploration.[/h3] Weapons and armour in Chained Echoes take a different direction than the usual format. You don't always have to move up to the subsequent variant to see an improvement. You can always opt for upgrading the piece through materials found in the world and then enchanting it with crystals that greatly bolster your attributes. Finding good crystals can be a bit of a grind as you are bound to RNG at this point, and simply finding the crystal you're after might prove difficult until much later in the game. https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224820467 But this isn't the only method for improvement, as, at a certain early point in the journey, you will unlock a hideout where you and your crew can begin to set up operations to take the battle to the enemy. By inviting random people you meet to help you, you will unlock passive bonuses that vastly help you in many different ways, such as increased crystal discoveries per node and random items at intervals of game time. [h3]And the rest you already know.[/h3] The rest of the game is relatively standard to the usual RPG foundations and will feel particularly nostalgic to the classic-era RPG fans. [h1]Audio and Visual[/h1] As mentioned above, despite its retro aesthetic, I genuinely believe Chained Echoes is one of the most vibrantly beautiful experiences I've ever had the opportunity to play. The art and atmosphere are captivating aspects of the world and really deliver a true sense of immersion throughout the entire experience. https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3224820385 The audio is much the same as the soundtrack and general audio, is an impeccable feat of design, and provides a sensational sense of adaptation and vividness to an already remarkable journey. [h1]Deck Performance and Specifications[/h1] During my rather lengthy experience, I didn't notice any drops in quality at all, and the game feels like it was made all along for the Steam Deck, which ran exceptionally well. A full charge would approximately provide 8-10 hours of gameplay demonstrating the title optimisation. [h1]Final Thoughts - Excellent[/h1] [url=https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2529084785]Review chart here.[/url] As I sit here in quiet contemplation over the journey I have just undertaken, I feel resounding pride and sadness over the decisions that were made and the fact that it's almost over now. I wonder if the minor flaws the game holds are enough to lower the score in any dramatic sense, and in the very end I believe they don't do enough harm to warrant that course of action. This is a truly wondrous experience that deserves both distinction and praise for the high-quality content it has provided as well as the experience that continues to resonate with me even now. I would recommend this game without hesitation to anyone who is a true fan of storytelling, world and character design. [quote]A journey taken is rarely without purpose, so head on over to [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43064204/] Hell, Purgatory and Paradise[/url] to find your next epic tale.[/quote] [quote] A climb to the summit is a sign of strength, so head on over to [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41449676/] Summit Reviews [/url] where every review is peak.[/quote]