What happened to Cameron's buldge?! Now I'm bummed out... :( It may have been distracting but it sure was a pleasant one! XD Anyways, I love the update so much it just got me hype for Echo again in years! Good job! :D
:/ I can't play the newest version of Arches everytime I start the story/side story it keeps closing out the game? Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it?
So I played the 6th build of Arches on the 14th and I have a major problem with the way the story going.
It was amazing for the majority of the build until Cameron was canonically confirmed as a psychic. Basically, the last 10 minutes or so were dogshit cuz of this reveal. Ah yes, let's have the ex-drug addict realize he is a psychic and that taking hallucinogens and other drugs is a way to increase his powers......excuse me, what the actual fuck?
Aside from the obviously fucked-up message, the problem with this reveal is that is can lead to terrible writing very fuckin' quickly. Cameron's in a bind and needs to get out? Just use his Deus ex Machina psychic powers to escape!
I trust Howly as a writer and he's given me some of the most impactful moments in fiction I've ever experienced, but I'm not about to sit back and ignore his decrease in writing quality like a sheep chewing cud laced with poison. I really hope he manages to find a way to fix this aspect of the story before it destroys any good will I have for this game entirely.
[P.S. I know for a fact the Echo Project simps will attack me for this comment saying bullshit mantras like:
"Stop being so negative!"
and
"It's a free visual novel made by a small team!".
So to address those sniveling simps, I'm being critical because I fuckin' love The Echo Project and don't want to see it go downhill and become bad. I've been reading their VNs since before Adastra was even a thing, and I have immense passion for some of their games. I'm so fucking sick of people thinking being critical of something you love is inherently a bad thing. It's not and if you think it is, you have the mental maturity of an 8th grader snorting glue. Sorry, not sorry.]
Yes, I am aware that Echo as a town is a paranormal hotspot, but it still doesn't excuse poor writing which, as I said in my comment, this update is not poorly written. In fact, I enjoyed the majority of it. My problem is that I can foresee a potential fatal flaw in the writing. Psychic powers are notorious for being used in a Deus ex Machina type way. I trust Howly and hope he doesn't fuck it up big time, but I'm not a blind Consoomer who gobbles up whatever cud is given to me for supper.
As for the second part of your comment, I genuinely chuckled when you mentioned my reviews. Yes, I called Virginia what I did cuz it's true. She's an entitled spoiled bitch who complains about being born into a rich and powerful family despite a large portion of Adastra being in major poverty. She's a feminazi at worse, and a Karen at best. As for the "sLuR" part, grow the fuck up. It's the Internet and you will see this shit all the damn time.
This doesn't excuse bad writing, and I'm beginning to think quite a few Echo Project fans are illiterate. That's the only way I can think of that explains this lack of critical thinking skills when it comes to writing quality. Yes, the world these games are set in is full of paranormal events, but that doesn't mean you forget to write a coherent and logical story in said world. Flynn's route is my favorite in the original game not only because I love Flynn, but also because the writing quality skyrocketed during it. McSkinny, who wrote Flynn's route, is an amazing writer, sometimes better than Howly.
In conclusion, a story having unrealistic elements doesn't excuse it from having bad writing. I will still point it out and hope the creator listens to my advice. That's the entire point of critique: to improve an artist's work.
That has t be the dumbest shit I have ever heard. Your criticism is neither constructive, nor is it necessary. Let them write the stories the way they want to. This isn't the way to go about "critiquing an artist's work."
While I agree with Cameron obtaining psychic powers from drugs is incoherent and illogical to the rest of the echo series, I don't agree with how this compromises Howly's writing in the future.
Of course, I get this is all up for speculation and we'll only be able to fully criticize this further once the plot continues on.
I love the story and I think it's better than the smoke room. It's no better than the original Echo, and probably nothing will be better than the first game. But I'm still very excited about the sequel in the form of Arches. The game very well shows the relationship of two people, where one struggles with a serious mental problem that affects both of them. Where both people genuinely love and care for each other. The game also has something of philosophy. It's not a philosophy I particularly support, but it's just shown in a good way. I can really feel the relationship between the main characters. They are just credible to me. The game can also scare me, not only with monsters, but also with good tension. But back to what you're talking about.
The psychic powers theme itself is acceptable in the story based on the events of the echo. In the first game, it was normal for a character to see things they shouldn't. Chase sees a ghost fox hanging himself. All over the Carl route, everyone sees ghost stuff they shouldn't. They literally talk to spirits in this part of the game. Every now and then something paranormal happens.
However, you're kind of right about taking drugs to see ghosts. Characters in the previous game didn't have to do this to interact with spirits. So something has been added. Something new in the game.
We can discuss whether that's a good thing. I think the final punch line of the story is important. We can't evaluate it now.
In Echo, drugs were shown rather as something negative. Theoretically, in Arches, it is mentioned that the main character has a problem with the drugs he was given to fight his mental illness. There is a moment of criticism of this, as the main character talks about unpleasant experiences in the past related to drugs. He also says that the treatment of mental illness should not consist of stuffing patients with powerful mental drugs.
However, there is also the thread you are talking about. That is, taking drugs to communicate and perhaps get out of a bad situation in which the characters are. This may suggest that the game says: "drugs are good because they help you escape from a bad situation where the lives of the characters are really in danger." Cameron, however, does not want to take drugs. They are given to him by Brian. He is aware that drugs are hurting him.
Much depends on how the thread will be continued. If the game shows that in the end, taking drugs is not the solution to the problem of two main characters, everything is fine. However, if it helps to get them out of bad situation, we have a problem here. A very bad message in my opinion.
Ultimately, we don't know the ending of the story and a lot of the story is probably ahead of us, so I don't think we can judge anything at this point.
Cameron's bulge nerf was unwarranted. This is unplayable now.
Edit: Judging from the downvotes, I think some people think I was being serious. This update is great and Cam's underwear being different changes nothing.
Arches-0.5-linux.tar.bz2 crashes on launch on Steam Deck with
I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.
Before loading the script.
UnicodeEncodeError: 'ascii' codec can't encode character u'\udcf6' in position 65: ordinal not in range(128)
when started through Steam (via Arches.sh) because Steam sets LC_ALL=C.
If you modify Arches.sh to say
#!/bin/sh
LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
at the start, then the game will launch correctly in Gaming Mode.
I am convinced that when The Echo Project writes these Echo VNs, they summon a demon to help write them because they are so nightmare inducing (In a questionably good way)
World's best boys. My nerves are on fire since finishing what's out. Same quality and god tier level writing I've come to expect from this team. Can't(but always will) wait for more. I hope they come out of this ok. You guys have such a way with picking apart complex relationships from the inside it's unreal.
Arches really shows the weakest part of Echos team, that being the constant filler and reusing the same dialogue over and over. Arches is to me the weakest entry in Echos list of VNs even with the strong start the story had.
I'm sure they will knock it out, maybe just in a slow part of the story. I just hate the dialogue, love the characters for the most part. They seem better flushed out emotionally.
it's been a year since I first played the first demo and played the latest update and I AM blown away with this VN! While (linear so far) there isn't any choice decisions so far, or maybe assuming you all will save it for last or halfway in the story in later updates. But it's still a good story to read. Keep up the good work. 😀
could cameron have more anguished poses? it feels as if the holding his jaw is overused and loses its effect somewhat. this story is certainly more horror intensive than earlier echo stories, and thats fine.
I really liked arches a lot and a story that caught my attention, I finished it a little while ago but I wanted to know the chronological order of the story so that I understand better, echo and arches are connected stories if it is I will see echo now, could you answer mine doubt ?
I wanted to know the beginning of everything the beginning of the whole story, the correct order for me to see the stories if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me the chronology of the stories the beginning of everything?
I would say smoke room is probably the very first one, then route 65, echo, and lastly Arches... Dont quote me on this, I have no idea if all the histories would match up and whatnot becuase I haven't played ones yet.
However if you are looking for an order to read the story in I recommend starting with Echo and slipping Route 65 in the middle of your echo playthrough. After you are done with Echo you should be good to go with Arches or the Smoke Room as both of these are still in development, while Echo and Route 65 are completed. I highly recommend following the release order, but following Chronology can also be a good way to go if you are alright with The Smoke Room not being finished yet. Read however feels right to you!
Still can't download load this on my android some reason, the smoke room , the orginal eco I can download and it opens but archive I can download but can't open
The answer is probably 'none', but I have to say it's definitely not Leo or Jenna for spoiler reasons I won't go into, but if you've played Echo you know.
replaying this VN made me realize one small issue in the story, and is about how badly characterized Arty is
he is the deffenition of a clueless idiot ho doesn't know how to read the room, and does make it ruin certain parts of the story i feel would have worked well if Arty was better characterized or missing all together
i understand wanting to have a light hearted character to balance the mood, but it would have worked better if Arty was more of a useful third party that helped balance the relation ship between Cameron and Devon
Example: Giving how controlling Devon is, Arty could be that friend for Cameron ho allows the coyote to be more care free while also letting Arty have some opinion on their relation ships that could either serve to connect or distance the couple, it would have also serve better if it was Arty ho helped Cameron on certain scenes to give the idea that he is not just their for the ride. (like the part where Cameron nearly dies, Devon may have lost it and it is Arty ho helps by calming Devon and actually knowing about CPR or something like that)
To be honest, I think being a clueless idiot actually makes him a better fit here since a main story point is nobody took this seriously enough, he shows up to collect the other characters after a crash, not give them couples therapy after an actual haunting.
I mean dude this game is pretty dark. I think Arty is comic relief/character revealer for Devon. He know a lot about Devon that Devon would never reveal by himself. We get to hear about past Devon before a relationship stabilized him.
Arches has had four updates released for it and I think I can properly enumerate on my thoughts regarding this VN. To begin with, while this VN is a sequel to Echo, the developers have made it clear that this is a separate story from the aforementioned VN, so don't expect to see Chase or any of the other main 5 from Echo in this one.
Arches as a standalone story is fucking incredible. Howly and McSkinny have really come a long fuckin' way in terms of programming and all that technical jazz that wasn't so good in their first VN. As for the writing itself, it's amazing. If I had to describe it, I'd say its told from a 3rd person omniscient narrator that switches back and forth between Cameron and Devon over the course of the VN (Think Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse). This is quite an interesting choice considering Echo was entirely 1st person present tense for the majority of the experience.
The effect this has on the narrative is amazing. We get to see both Cam and Dev's mindsets and thoughts as they experience all Echo has for them, both great and terrible. I particularly enjoy seeing from Cam's eyes. Just seeing from the POV of a person who has severe trauma as he experiences Echo's horrors is amazing. It's almost as if we are seeing through TJ's eyes, which was something I very much wanted to do in Echo.
Just imagine it: We jump from Chase's mind to TJ's as Chase heads to Lake Emma to confront Flynn. Can you imagine the utter horror of seeing your friends fight over something that you know the answer to and then seeing one of your friends kill the other one. TJ's psyche is something I strongly wish we got to experience, even if just for a brief moment.
Arches has a completely different art style compared to Echo. Personally it has never bothered me in the slightest. In fact, I actually love the art style in this VN. If anything, the somewhat cartoonish art will only make the horror that much more potent. Sure, I love the janky ass art style of Echo, but it was very inconsistent and that was a negative for me. The art in this VN doesn't have that issue. And I fuckin' LOVE it.
Overall, Arches only proves to me that Howly and McSkinny both still have it. I'll give this VN 5/5 stars.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I think this one will really go places!
On another note, I don't believe McSkinny is involved with this project. Howly is the only writer for this one, but you can still tell he's grown as a writer since the early days of Echo for sure.
This make me feel real fear! I mean men its cool and have this situations you get a screamer but there is still somethings are missing, if this takes 5 years afte echo events then what was the real end in echo? I mean at least can touch a little bit about what happen 5 years ago, like idk maybe some easter eggs about parade about chase and his friends
Okay Im in a bit of a pickle I havent played this since the first build and currently playing on my kindle however I cant install the update so I deleted it now i cant even install the full thing space isnt an issue i have like 5 gigs left can someone perhaps assist me?
to start, I'm loving this so far it still has that same great writing from Echo
however, the change of style and perspective was kind of a shock, while I like the cartoonish and light-hearted style, Echo's more rough and messy imagery made it fit with its horror atmosphere and the change from human-like to animalistic also change my perspective of how I see this visual novel, this is not a jab to the artist he is amazing, as for the perspective going from Chase first-person point of view to Cameron and Devon third person outside perspective did mess with my immersion as I feel more outside of the conflict compare to feeling like being in the paws of Chase or Samuel.
again don't take this as if I hate it cause I don't it's still amazing and the writing still has that Echo blunt realism that I love, just a few criticisms that i caught on
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What happened to Cameron's buldge?! Now I'm bummed out... :( It may have been distracting but it sure was a pleasant one! XD Anyways, I love the update so much it just got me hype for Echo again in years! Good job! :D
I'm on an Android, and I don't know if the it runs on an old software, or if my phone is just bad
:/ I can't play the newest version of Arches everytime I start the story/side story it keeps closing out the game? Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it?
spoilers
Splendid update. Absolutely loved how Cameron tied in with the entities of Echo. Hope to see more coming from Howly and Arches characters.
Why is Cam's bulge nerfed...? I don't understand, why....
The devs thought it was distracting.
But it was a pleasant distraction to say the least
Of course, personally I was quite disappointed when they changed it out. It's not like it looks bad though, it looks fine.
I thought I was just going crazy... Thank god I wasn't.
So I played the 6th build of Arches on the 14th and I have a major problem with the way the story going.
It was amazing for the majority of the build until Cameron was canonically confirmed as a psychic. Basically, the last 10 minutes or so were dogshit cuz of this reveal. Ah yes, let's have the ex-drug addict realize he is a psychic and that taking hallucinogens and other drugs is a way to increase his powers......excuse me, what the actual fuck?
Aside from the obviously fucked-up message, the problem with this reveal is that is can lead to terrible writing very fuckin' quickly. Cameron's in a bind and needs to get out? Just use his Deus ex Machina psychic powers to escape!
I trust Howly as a writer and he's given me some of the most impactful moments in fiction I've ever experienced, but I'm not about to sit back and ignore his decrease in writing quality like a sheep chewing cud laced with poison. I really hope he manages to find a way to fix this aspect of the story before it destroys any good will I have for this game entirely.
[P.S. I know for a fact the Echo Project simps will attack me for this comment saying bullshit mantras like:
"Stop being so negative!"
and
"It's a free visual novel made by a small team!".
So to address those sniveling simps, I'm being critical because I fuckin' love The Echo Project and don't want to see it go downhill and become bad. I've been reading their VNs since before Adastra was even a thing, and I have immense passion for some of their games. I'm so fucking sick of people thinking being critical of something you love is inherently a bad thing. It's not and if you think it is, you have the mental maturity of an 8th grader snorting glue. Sorry, not sorry.]
-Kallier
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs_BZI-CHxZyPjon4I6N2m_oGb79fHqTY
I totally agree with this. Also, the whole "Woww, I'm communicating to you through my psychic powers." Just... Doesn't fit Echo.
And, the worst of all. Cameron's bulge got nerfed. :(
I may perish./s
I....I cannot fathom this mindset.
Yes, I am aware that Echo as a town is a paranormal hotspot, but it still doesn't excuse poor writing which, as I said in my comment, this update is not poorly written. In fact, I enjoyed the majority of it. My problem is that I can foresee a potential fatal flaw in the writing. Psychic powers are notorious for being used in a Deus ex Machina type way. I trust Howly and hope he doesn't fuck it up big time, but I'm not a blind Consoomer who gobbles up whatever cud is given to me for supper.
As for the second part of your comment, I genuinely chuckled when you mentioned my reviews. Yes, I called Virginia what I did cuz it's true. She's an entitled spoiled bitch who complains about being born into a rich and powerful family despite a large portion of Adastra being in major poverty. She's a feminazi at worse, and a Karen at best. As for the "sLuR" part, grow the fuck up. It's the Internet and you will see this shit all the damn time.
This doesn't excuse bad writing, and I'm beginning to think quite a few Echo Project fans are illiterate. That's the only way I can think of that explains this lack of critical thinking skills when it comes to writing quality. Yes, the world these games are set in is full of paranormal events, but that doesn't mean you forget to write a coherent and logical story in said world. Flynn's route is my favorite in the original game not only because I love Flynn, but also because the writing quality skyrocketed during it. McSkinny, who wrote Flynn's route, is an amazing writer, sometimes better than Howly.
In conclusion, a story having unrealistic elements doesn't excuse it from having bad writing. I will still point it out and hope the creator listens to my advice. That's the entire point of critique: to improve an artist's work.
That has t be the dumbest shit I have ever heard. Your criticism is neither constructive, nor is it necessary. Let them write the stories the way they want to. This isn't the way to go about "critiquing an artist's work."
While I agree with Cameron obtaining psychic powers from drugs is incoherent and illogical to the rest of the echo series, I don't agree with how this compromises Howly's writing in the future.
Of course, I get this is all up for speculation and we'll only be able to fully criticize this further once the plot continues on.
Honestly, I never thought about it this way
I love the story and I think it's better than the smoke room. It's no better than the original Echo, and probably nothing will be better than the first game. But I'm still very excited about the sequel in the form of Arches. The game very well shows the relationship of two people, where one struggles with a serious mental problem that affects both of them. Where both people genuinely love and care for each other. The game also has something of philosophy. It's not a philosophy I particularly support, but it's just shown in a good way. I can really feel the relationship between the main characters. They are just credible to me. The game can also scare me, not only with monsters, but also with good tension. But back to what you're talking about.
The psychic powers theme itself is acceptable in the story based on the events of the echo. In the first game, it was normal for a character to see things they shouldn't. Chase sees a ghost fox hanging himself. All over the Carl route, everyone sees ghost stuff they shouldn't. They literally talk to spirits in this part of the game. Every now and then something paranormal happens.
However, you're kind of right about taking drugs to see ghosts. Characters in the previous game didn't have to do this to interact with spirits. So something has been added. Something new in the game.
We can discuss whether that's a good thing. I think the final punch line of the story is important. We can't evaluate it now.
In Echo, drugs were shown rather as something negative. Theoretically, in Arches, it is mentioned that the main character has a problem with the drugs he was given to fight his mental illness. There is a moment of criticism of this, as the main character talks about unpleasant experiences in the past related to drugs. He also says that the treatment of mental illness should not consist of stuffing patients with powerful mental drugs.
However, there is also the thread you are talking about. That is, taking drugs to communicate and perhaps get out of a bad situation in which the characters are. This may suggest that the game says: "drugs are good because they help you escape from a bad situation where the lives of the characters are really in danger." Cameron, however, does not want to take drugs. They are given to him by Brian. He is aware that drugs are hurting him.
Much depends on how the thread will be continued. If the game shows that in the end, taking drugs is not the solution to the problem of two main characters, everything is fine. However, if it helps to get them out of bad situation, we have a problem here. A very bad message in my opinion.
Ultimately, we don't know the ending of the story and a lot of the story is probably ahead of us, so I don't think we can judge anything at this point.
A nova versão do jogo já está disponível no patreon build 7
Cameron's bulge nerf was unwarranted. This is unplayable now.
Edit: Judging from the downvotes, I think some people think I was being serious. This update is great and Cam's underwear being different changes nothing.
Upboated for speaking the truth to power.
I really hope Brian gets what he deserves and then some
Arches-0.5-linux.tar.bz2 crashes on launch on Steam Deck with
when started through Steam (via Arches.sh) because Steam sets LC_ALL=C.
If you modify Arches.sh to say
at the start, then the game will launch correctly in Gaming Mode.
Same goes for Arches-0.6-linux.tar.bz2. (Great update!)
I am convinced that when The Echo Project writes these Echo VNs, they summon a demon to help write them because they are so nightmare inducing (In a questionably good way)
World's best boys. My nerves are on fire since finishing what's out. Same quality and god tier level writing I've come to expect from this team. Can't(but always will) wait for more. I hope they come out of this ok. You guys have such a way with picking apart complex relationships from the inside it's unreal.
What happened to the Patreon build 7?
Hi echoproject, the game keep kicking me out, so I hope u can fix it. Tq
does anyone know when this vn will update
On dc there was posted info that the update (for patreon) will be within this week ^^
However for public it should be in month
Still not out yet. Getting kind of frustrating.
Oh, I am.
I like the bear guy
I like the lion guy
Arches really shows the weakest part of Echos team, that being the constant filler and reusing the same dialogue over and over. Arches is to me the weakest entry in Echos list of VNs even with the strong start the story had.
i agree to a extent, i always felt they didn’t give arches enough attention and thought of it as a back thought
I'm sure they will knock it out, maybe just in a slow part of the story. I just hate the dialogue, love the characters for the most part. They seem better flushed out emotionally.
New update when?
it's been a year since I first played the first demo and played the latest update and I AM blown away with this VN! While (linear so far) there isn't any choice decisions so far, or maybe assuming you all will save it for last or halfway in the story in later updates. But it's still a good story to read. Keep up the good work. 😀
could cameron have more anguished poses? it feels as if the holding his jaw is overused and loses its effect somewhat. this story is certainly more horror intensive than earlier echo stories, and thats fine.
when does the next update come out frrr
They are sort of connected.
Arches takes place after Echo, but the events of Echo happened different in the "history" of Arches.
It's complicated, there is a multiverse timeline thing going on.
I would say smoke room is probably the very first one, then route 65, echo, and lastly Arches... Dont quote me on this, I have no idea if all the histories would match up and whatnot becuase I haven't played ones yet.
No problem!:D
The smoke room is first, then route 65, then benefits, then Echo and last Arches.
The endings do not actually lead into the next one however, because of the weird multiverse thing.
Oh that's funky... Man, I really wish their was a cannon ending for them all.. And I just want to know what happens after TJs path.
Its a multiverse, so all possible outcomes are cannon!
There is a ton of fanfictions about Echo.
Chronologically it is the following:
The Smoke Room-1915
Route 65-2008
Echo-2015
Arches-2020
However if you are looking for an order to read the story in I recommend starting with Echo and slipping Route 65 in the middle of your echo playthrough. After you are done with Echo you should be good to go with Arches or the Smoke Room as both of these are still in development, while Echo and Route 65 are completed. I highly recommend following the release order, but following Chronology can also be a good way to go if you are alright with The Smoke Room not being finished yet. Read however feels right to you!
I really like the first CG when devon wraps an arm around cam,I think they belong to each other,and I wish they can reach the end together
Is the 0.4.5 0 bytes android update a mistake
If an Android user gets theirs working pls lmk how ರ_ರ
Still can't download load this on my android some reason, the smoke room , the orginal eco I can download and it opens but archive I can download but can't open
I had to uninstall my previous version and then install the new one to fix that for me
The newest uploads have been so good, my bussy literally got scared from my own reflection on the screen.
i wonder which route did they choose to be the cannon one for arches
The answer is probably 'none', but I have to say it's definitely not Leo or Jenna for spoiler reasons I won't go into, but if you've played Echo you know.
It like every routes combine together lol
The way... that old man was talking (like no one investigated 5 years ago) I'm tempted to agree on that "none". But then what was the crew doing?
Sooo... the dungeon crew are alive? No names please for spoiler avoiders sake.
Oh. And no title cards? For chapters or days I mean.
Arches does not follow any specific route from Echo, if that's what you're trying to reference
I was under the impression about half of them died in each route and yet here they are.
I tried downloading the android version it won't let me open this one but eco and the smoke room it will
Is part 5 coming out soon? I'm eager to see the next part
Arches Build 5 is available since today on patreon, it will be probably in public in 30 days or less (minimum 14 days)
Thanks it sucks to wait but at least I know its coming
but there is one issue, you can see full download link to build 5 on patreon
replaying this VN made me realize one small issue in the story, and is about how badly characterized Arty is
he is the deffenition of a clueless idiot ho doesn't know how to read the room, and does make it ruin certain parts of the story i feel would have worked well if Arty was better characterized or missing all together
i understand wanting to have a light hearted character to balance the mood, but it would have worked better if Arty was more of a useful third party that helped balance the relation ship between Cameron and Devon
Example: Giving how controlling Devon is, Arty could be that friend for Cameron ho allows the coyote to be more care free while also letting Arty have some opinion on their relation ships that could either serve to connect or distance the couple, it would have also serve better if it was Arty ho helped Cameron on certain scenes to give the idea that he is not just their for the ride. (like the part where Cameron nearly dies, Devon may have lost it and it is Arty ho helps by calming Devon and actually knowing about CPR or something like that)
To be honest, I think being a clueless idiot actually makes him a better fit here since a main story point is nobody took this seriously enough, he shows up to collect the other characters after a crash, not give them couples therapy after an actual haunting.
I mean dude this game is pretty dark. I think Arty is comic relief/character revealer for Devon. He know a lot about Devon that Devon would never reveal by himself. We get to hear about past Devon before a relationship stabilized him.
Plus I find his character amusing
Uh...ive been having issues installing this can anyone help? Space isn't an issue and I'm using a kindle
Arches has had four updates released for it and I think I can properly enumerate on my thoughts regarding this VN. To begin with, while this VN is a sequel to Echo, the developers have made it clear that this is a separate story from the aforementioned VN, so don't expect to see Chase or any of the other main 5 from Echo in this one.
Arches as a standalone story is fucking incredible. Howly and McSkinny have really come a long fuckin' way in terms of programming and all that technical jazz that wasn't so good in their first VN. As for the writing itself, it's amazing. If I had to describe it, I'd say its told from a 3rd person omniscient narrator that switches back and forth between Cameron and Devon over the course of the VN (Think Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse). This is quite an interesting choice considering Echo was entirely 1st person present tense for the majority of the experience.
The effect this has on the narrative is amazing. We get to see both Cam and Dev's mindsets and thoughts as they experience all Echo has for them, both great and terrible. I particularly enjoy seeing from Cam's eyes. Just seeing from the POV of a person who has severe trauma as he experiences Echo's horrors is amazing. It's almost as if we are seeing through TJ's eyes, which was something I very much wanted to do in Echo.
Just imagine it: We jump from Chase's mind to TJ's as Chase heads to Lake Emma to confront Flynn. Can you imagine the utter horror of seeing your friends fight over something that you know the answer to and then seeing one of your friends kill the other one. TJ's psyche is something I strongly wish we got to experience, even if just for a brief moment.
Arches has a completely different art style compared to Echo. Personally it has never bothered me in the slightest. In fact, I actually love the art style in this VN. If anything, the somewhat cartoonish art will only make the horror that much more potent. Sure, I love the janky ass art style of Echo, but it was very inconsistent and that was a negative for me. The art in this VN doesn't have that issue. And I fuckin' LOVE it.
Overall, Arches only proves to me that Howly and McSkinny both still have it. I'll give this VN 5/5 stars.
-Kallierhttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs_BZI-CHxZyPjon4I6N2m_oGb79fHqTY
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I think this one will really go places!
On another note, I don't believe McSkinny is involved with this project. Howly is the only writer for this one, but you can still tell he's grown as a writer since the early days of Echo for sure.
This make me feel real fear! I mean men its cool and have this situations you get a screamer but there is still somethings are missing, if this takes 5 years afte echo events then what was the real end in echo? I mean at least can touch a little bit about what happen 5 years ago, like idk maybe some easter eggs about parade about chase and his friends
Okay Im in a bit of a pickle I havent played this since the first build and currently playing on my kindle however I cant install the update so I deleted it now i cant even install the full thing space isnt an issue i have like 5 gigs left can someone perhaps assist me?
to start, I'm loving this so far it still has that same great writing from Echo
however, the change of style and perspective was kind of a shock, while I like the cartoonish and light-hearted style, Echo's more rough and messy imagery made it fit with its horror atmosphere and the change from human-like to animalistic also change my perspective of how I see this visual novel, this is not a jab to the artist he is amazing, as for the perspective going from Chase first-person point of view to Cameron and Devon third person outside perspective did mess with my immersion as I feel more outside of the conflict compare to feeling like being in the paws of Chase or Samuel.
again don't take this as if I hate it cause I don't it's still amazing and the writing still has that Echo blunt realism that I love, just a few criticisms that i caught on