Echo Generation, the tried and true of an adventure between Earthbound and Stranger Things
Echo Generation
The recent demo of the Xbox Summer Game Fest has allowed us to try about 40 indie games in development and this has given us the opportunity to put together a trial of Echo Generation based on the build made available on this occasion. Although not much has been said about it, it is one of the most prominent games among the next releases of the ID @ Xbox program, which stands out not only for the particular graphic style adopted - to be honest no longer really original - but rather for the its atmospheres and the composition of elements that characterize it.This is because the Cococucumber game seems to leverage that nostalgic spirit halfway between the Amblin films of the 80s and the "Saturday morning cartoons", between incredible and epic adventures hidden in the seemingly quiet suburbe American and surreal madness staged with remarkable air and humor. Between one thing and another, we can safely say that we can't wait to try the full version, because in a few minutes we entered a really interesting world and also because the demo stopped right at the most beautiful.
RPG
Echo Generation has a particular pixelated graphic style but in 3D Echo Generation is to all intents and purposes an RPG based on the most classic rules of the genre in its turn-based declination, even if the its facetious aspect and its mechanics can easily be misleading in this respect. It's all rather simplified, but its structure is rigorous: it's about building a party of characters, making them evolve to become more powerful and embarking on an adventure with lots of turn-based combat, as in the traditional style.Except that everything is set in a rather different setting from those we are used to seeing associated with this type of game, able to evoke decidedly different atmospheres than usual: the first call that emerges with a certain clarity it is to Earthbound, to which this title refers quite clearly, both as a structure and as a general style, but it is not difficult to see quotes and details that clearly insert it in the vein of the re-enactment of the 80s and 90s, putting a bit in the wake of Stranger Things.
A very strange story
As often happens with great adventures, it all starts in the summer, to be precise in the summer of 1993. Dylan seems to be a normal kid immersed in what appears to be the quiet provincial existence in a small Canadian town, were it not for all the oddities that immediately start to crop up as soon as we step outside the front door. For example, we realize how garbage is practically controlled by a sort of racket of raccoons, which in addition talk and are also super combative, so much so that we are forced to form a first draft of a party to be able to face them, because otherwise it would be impossible to win the fight (and you need a good companion, not "a low-level NPC", as the raccoons themselves recommend).It is only the beginning of the mysteries, and not one of the strangest to be honest: the school principal lives behind our house, who besides being extremely irascible has a collection of disturbing dolls in the house and seems to hide some dark secret in the basement; another, much friendlier neighbor is trying to create an antimatter field in the garage, while in the neighboring neighborhood giant rats have taken over the streets and some kind of psychotic puppet is contemplating conquering the world with an army of his own kind. >
Echo Generation stages disturbing moments in the style of Stranger Things In a few minutes (the demo lasts about half an hour) we witness a crescendo of absurdities which, however, also manage to be intriguing, thanks to a fast pace and strange balance between insane humor and restlessness that reaches peaks of real horror. Meanwhile, Dylan also seems to carry on a normal existence, between the dreams of shooting the first science fiction film of his life, the trip to the city with the girl he has a weakness for and the need to look after his little sister (who in truth seems perfectly capable of looking after herself, as she demonstrates once she enters the party).
It is this playing a little with the clichés of nostalgia for the 80s-90s that gives a particular cut to the whole adventure, which however is also decidedly original given the follies of which it is composed : the demo portends a story about aliens and disturbing secrets hidden behind the quiet suburban houses, with the probable need to save the world from some terrible imminent threat, considering some of the clashes we are already dealing with in this first introduction.
Between Earthbound and Stranger Things
Echo Generation offers real RPG-style turn-based fights The gameplay is typical of turn-based RPGs: we are at explore various environments with direct control of the character, who can collect objects and interact with various elements of the scenario, as well as dialogue with the characters they meet. There are also some puzzles and riddles to solve, often linked to the discovery of clues hidden within the settings themselves, so you can also see real adventure elements within Echo Generation.The turn-based combat system closely resembles another Nintendo title, the Paper Mario series, with the possibility not only to select the action between attack, defense and use of special abilities and objects, but also to interact more directly on the progress of the clash by pressing keys with the right timing, in order to influence the power of the attack or the effectiveness of the defense.
Extremely simplifying is then the management of the characters, but this too follows the classic approach of the genre: as the level of experience increases, it is possible to increase one of the areas of progression to choose between health, dexterity, while the new special moves are won simply by collecting magazines and comics around the scenarios, so it is also important to observe them in search of precious collectibles.
Teen comedy moments alternate with others rather creepy in Echo Generation The idea of ordinary kids struggling with an epic confrontation of interplanetary reach clearly screams Earthbound from afar, a source of inspiration that certainly is not hidden by the developers of the Cococucumber team. However, it cannot be said that Echo Generation is not original, because in fact it treats such a topic with a somewhat different look from the Nintendo masterpiece, also taking advantage of the recent trend on 80s-90s nostalgia that has made the fortune of Stranger Things and similar productions.
That imaginary, also extended to games, films and TV series belonging to those magical decades, emerges from any moment of the game: we find conspiracies, mysterious neighbors, presences in wheat fields and even heinous murders without any rationale all in quick sequence. The tone is undoubtedly dark, but it is softened by the humor that is also somewhat black that characterizes dialogues and situations in general and is filtered through the particular graphic style in pseudo-voxel that aims to reproduce the graphics in pixels but in three-dimensional form, with an effect really enjoyable.
Echo Generation immediately appeared as one of the most interesting indies among the many that are expected in 2021 within the ID @ Xbox program. The demo confirmed this impression, demonstrating that behind the fascinating graphic style adopted and the spirit of the 80-90s "teen comedy thriller" there is also a game with a certain structure. The reference to Earthbound is obvious, but with such a model we can only be further intrigued by this particular game, which still seems a bit hard to find a convincing narrative (but we have only seen the beginning) but which holds up rather good even only on the atmospheres and on a turn-based combat system that is always valid. In short, the demo really intrigued us.
