or maybe it's: trauma doesn't wrap itself up neatly in a bow, and you can't pretend that it does. No matter how much you think something is behind you, no matter how much you're certain that it was just a childhood phase and you're alright now, it always floods back suddenly and it feels like you're drowning and you can't come up for air and you can never escape. It feels like you're always going in circles... but with help, you can keep living and keep moving forward.
Me too! I also finished on Tj route last on Saturday. I was left over with feeling of sadness and loneliness. To be honest I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster. And I also nearly cried too, it's just so wholesome.. At least I know im not being only one who's gotten on their knees emotionally by it... (┬┬﹏┬┬)
That ending left me shocked and sad for hours, since it's the first route I did. I just wish there could be some kind of normal, non-fucked up version of this game so you can actually date them (I only care for TJ) instead of being all crazy and all but I guess not. Great game, I should've probably just listened to the "warning " on the page because it left me devastated.
Okay, I did Leo's route first and wow. I was not ready for my heart to implode. Such a bitter sweet experience. I originally chose to work things out with Leo when the train arrived and damn that sucked for Chase. But then I redid it and got the better ending. You outdid yourself with the heartstring tugs on this one.
Finally finished playing this game today and there's an update?! Definitely gonna have to check out all of the new art now. <3 I followed the suggestion of another comment here for what order to do the routes in, and I mostly agree, with one tiny swap. If you are new to this game, the order I recommend you play is:
Carl
Leo
Jenna
TJ
Flynn
This order IMO creates the most cohesive story experience. I guess if you really want to, you can switch the order of the first three around, but I am adamant on playing TJ penultimately and Flynn last. TBH I am of the opinion that Flynn's route should only be unlocked after playing all of the other ones but ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
Overall, a really incredible experience and I'm in awe that it's completely free. Much love to everyone who poured their heart & soul into this project, it was a great way to spend the past few weeks. :) never thought I'd have such strong emotions towards a guy whose name is Carl
Flynn being the last totally makes sense. I usually like to give another way to play (you do you, ofc x3): 1. TJ as it introduces the group, its traumas, and the tensions inside of it. It's also imo a good choice for the 1st route because it's not that creepy, there is no surreal. 2. Carl. Now that the group is introduced, I think it's time to play the route that has literally no connections to the other routes xD. His route focuses on him and his ancestor while being totally separated from the main storyline. Carl's route is creepy, a little sad, but especially "WTFFFFF". 3. Leo. Leo's route is something different. It introduces new elements to the story (the Hysteria, the Hum, etc...) but they're not explained and therefore you're left to ponder things. Besides, Leo's route is also scary as shit. 4. Jenna. Now Jenna's route is not THAT scary (except for the dam scene that I LOVED). Jenna's route tells you a little bit more about the "elements" introduced in Leo's route (The Hysteria, the Hum, and... the Socketman ;P), allowing you to draw conclusions, but you're not quite sure. 5. Flynn. I think Flynn's route's motto could be "Mixing everything". Because it does. It mixes the group tension AND the terrifying elements, but most importantly, it reveals everything to you. It all comes to you in one, last, showing scene, in which you're left to cry, unable to do anything. Flynn's route combines extreme sadness, fright, and wtf-ness. I don't know if I make much sense in this message tbh, explaining all this makes my English go crazy xD
Your English is great! Much more impressive than monolingual ol' me.
tbh TJ's route was actually the one that creeped me out the most. To me, less paranormal doesn't equal less scary. Carl's route creeped me out the least, although one ending is definitely more creepy than the other lol.
Thanks! Means a lot :D (My Frenchy ass is satisfied lmao) Well, TJ's route indeed remains a little scary, and you're right, less paranormal doesn't equal less scary (in fact, in most cases it means SCARY AS SHIT XD). But I guess I was so hyped and terrified before playing Echo, and I was expecting mind-blowing shit, and it's not what TJ's route gave me. If I hadn't played this route first, maybe it would have creeped me out more ahah
There is a bug in the windows version: the fast forward and the skip are swapped, and when i click the fast forward option (which is skip) it blocks sometimes and i need to click it again to continue the fast forwarding. Also the skip option doesn't skip to the next choose and it jumps only some sentences
He had in mind that it would be hard to accidentally show Leo as bad husbando material, but not only show him as bad one, also explain why, because this is the most important.
This way EchoProject made character that can't be seen as a villain and instead is seen as a person with flaws like we all are
Everyone in this VN are shown this way, everyone has two sides: the good one and the bad one (yes TJ, you too)
I asked just to see if something changed ever since I played his route a year ago, GOD if his route wasn't traumatizing, tho i always kind of get why people would be so in love with this guy, he's basically the embodiment of a nostalgia for your first love and all the "what would have happeneds" that surrounds him, like you know you have to move on, but they'll always have a place in your heart for all they meant, even if you were incredibly toxic for each other, but in the end you need to let go...
That and he is hot XD, chingas a tu madre cada vez que respires pinche perro todo toxico y culero, (for everyone that doesn't speak spanish "lysm <3 latino solidarity")
Also, P.D. while I didn’t particularly like TJ´s route I’ve always loved how they perfectly portray how toxic his desire for vengeance is but how afraid he is to act upon it himself, having to rely on others to fight for him, even manifesting to an extent as a sort of twisted wish fulfillment love sick chase that acts as his abuser and Knight in shining armor doing everything TJ ever wanted to be done.
I just completed the game for the first time, in the sense that I completed one route. The visuals are beautiful. The Art is good. The story is great. The Music is good. The sfx are amazing. 10/10, would recommend to everyone. QUIT READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. I got stuck in one decision in particular. I was chilling with Carl and TJ, and I had to fall asleep on one of them. Carl seems like such a dude. Like, he’s your bro. But TJ looked soft. And off I went. TJ’s route. I love TJ. A good Christian boy. Really reminds me of myself. It seemed pretty fine at first, and I was really starting to get emotionally attached to both. But then Chase started going… bad. Don’t get my wrong, fuck Julian. Die in a hole bitch. I got genuinely angry at Julian, even though I knew I shouldn’t have been. I was becoming Chase. But I start realizing what was going on, and I started getting creeped out. I didn’t want to kiss TJ(want to cuddle him sooo much though). I’m still fuzzy on how TJ killed Sydney, unless I’m just stupid and Chase actually did see them. I hated Flynn for a long time, but I ended up feeling bad for him in the end. This game got to me on an emotional level. I felt for every single character. I even felt bad for not talking to Leo while spending so much time with TJ. I hated Chase for what he did, trying to kiss TJ, but as I saw Chase’s decline, I understood. This game is outstanding, and I love everything about it. I can’t wait to spend more late nights completing the other routes. Yes, I did cry myself to sleep after completing TJ’s route. Thanks for reading!
Hahah yeah first route experience is such a shock for any of the 5 routes. Though I get being fuzzy on that one part if you haven't had the context of the other routes. It's actually Chase who killed Sydney. That's not a spoiler for the other routes either, you're supposed to find that out in Tj's.
I'd recommend playing Leo's next, then Carl's, then Flynn's and then Jenna.
Carl's is probably the most confusing to get through since it introduces a new idea that isn't explored in Leo's and Tj's so maybe playing Flynn's route before Carls would be better but either way I'd recommend you do Leo next and definitely end with Jenna.
Don't you think it's a better option to do this order? - TJ first, it barely has supernatural, it's the most chill and is good for "beginners" - Then Carl's because it's kinda "separated" from the rest of the story and has a good horror ladder. - Then Leo's, probably the scariest, introducing new elements to the story, but just briefly
- Then Jenna's, telling you even more about these elements introduced in Leo's story (also the dam scene is so good)
- Then Flynn, because it's the most complex, scariest (Sydney's flashbakcs), saddest, most wtf, and mostly because the very end of the route is like a twist: Within a few lines, you understand everything about the story, the past, the *truth*.
I Think you could easily change places among Jenna and Flynn's route. I could tell Jenna's is the canonic good ending and Flynn is the canonic bad ending.
ok so im hearing how this vn is super harsh and like sad, i just got done with the tbc for fbtw and still suffering the emotional trauma but i wanna read it since ive been waiting to for a while, should i? cuz im one for all of those emotional vns but i just wanna make sure its not too sad lmao
It seems comical but I swear to god, 100. I mean, even I who LOVES horror games/movies or sad, deep, and emotionally traumatizing games/movies (so I should be a little immune y'know) find this absolutely heartbreaking.
if you’re still sad, I suggest you wait, or maybe play till Wednesday on most routes. It… goes downhill after that. But it’s still really good after that.
This is my story about this game, or more accurate about my life after playing this VN. To be honest I don't care if you believe me nor if you don't. I am aware it might not be the best place to send such thing, but I'm going to do it anyway. Also I wanted to post it on Echo anniversary, but I want to give enough time for mods or whatever to delete it if it is too disturbing and out of place before the big day.
It all happened almost one year ago. I saw this title and though „hmm, furry horror VN, I haven't seen such thing before. Oh, there is some CW that warns me that this is game that is emotionally intense. Well, it ain't stopping me though.”
You have to know, that my mental health wasn't... well, good. I had no real friends nor online for 4 years at that time and I abandoned my last one nearly one year before playing this game. But about him later. The point is... I was 19 years old wreck.
Playing this game wasn't just hard, it was absolutely heartbreaking. It sounds pathetic, but those stories somehow oneped my eyes to things I was blind for my entire life.
I had a friend, let's call him Rob for keeping this somehow anonymous. We knew each other since we were 7 (7-18, it's 12 years), we weren't best friends, but we were good friends. Except we wasn't... not really...
I was constantly making his life miserable through our childhood years (I would even go so far to say that I wronged him) and he was making me miserable during my teen years. We didn't see our problems and when we did we pretended it was all fine and that there was nothing wrong after ours arguments. I was the first one that just... broke after one of those, I was sick of his behaviour and simply ghosted him. He tried talking to me again, like he always tried, Rob was always the one who tried to make amends after argument, but this time I didn't talk back. It was so painfull at that time, I knew exactly what I was doing – I was breaking friendship with the last person I was talking to yet. And what is even more sad, I did that in the worse possible way, he tried talking to me for months... but I was adamant.
After playing Echo, I was thinking about him again and about what I have done, how it could affect him, how HE could react to my absence.
I knew for a fact that he had absolutely no one either and I was the only friend of his. I saw how devastating it was for him just as it was for me. I saw how shitty friend I was not only through those brat years, but through my whole life, how badly I didn't give a shit about him, how I didn't care about anything he was talking to me. Of course, he was as bad as I was, but here is the problem: I was shitty friend. He saw that. He stoped giving shit either cause „why bother?”. I felt worse and I was behaving even worse. He saw I'm even worse than before so he didn't care even more. It was vicious circle that none of us saw at the moment. Our problems could be easly resolved if we just TALKED, but we never did. Yeah, we could split earlier either, but it would be healthier and farier to both of us.
So. After I played whole VN I decided that I will tell Rob everything what was bothering me through those years, everything what I thought of him and of me and everything what I discovered after reading this VN. This letter was so big that I was writing it a couple of days...
… and when the time came I send it to him.
He was silent for a whole month, but finally send me back his answer. It was one sentence.
He thanked me and bid me farewell.
He never showed me any appreciation. Never ever. Even though it was too late to save this friendship, I was happy. I was happy, because I made it right, for both of us. I'm glad I did that. I'm glad that this one time I could bring him smile, even the bittersweet one and he could bring me the same smile either.
But it's not the end of the story! 2 months after that I decied to send another similar letter to my best friend whom I ditched literally the same way and because of the same reasons like Rob. But... she was always good to me, she was the best person I have ever met (before u all get this wrong, life is fcking ironic, I'm gay and she is lesbian xD). We hadn't talk to each other for 4 years. Yes. 4 years. I didn't want to befriend her again. I wanted to make things right just like with Rob. But she insisted to meet again and this time she didn't take no for an answer. So I said yes and we met...
… it wasn't easy, I told her it won't be like ol' good times, but we are making progress and it is all looking pretty good so far.
It's not easy to crawl back from the pit I was in for such a long time. It's a proces, very long one. I won't say that I'm now a different person, it would be a lie. However I am better that before. I'm better to myself, I'm better to those around me, I'm improving. I know I shouldn't have play this game. To be honset it was 50/50 in my case. I would go either the path I have gone or I would break (I wasn't suicidal though). I wanted to write this letter many months ago, but I had to wait and see for myself that I indeed changed and that it wasn't just spur of a moment after experiencing the best piece of media I have ever seen. I'm Echo's patreon just for this one reason, I want to show anyhow my appreciation because I am grateful this much for the life I got back (at least partially)
I want to say one thing to the creators and it's not how good this VN is, because they know it already and I just said that.
I want to say that you saved someone. Literally. You were the reason I ended up here where I am. You are the reason I am smiling more. You are the reason my former friend found closure and my second friend got her friend back. I'm wholeheartedly thankful. Thank you.
Healing is not an easy process and antagonizing ssomeone is easier than to accept that one has problems too. Congratulations on deciding to make amends, this is no fairy tale and things never return to a previous, everything and everyone always change, sometimes for the best, hope you keep getting better. And yeah, who knows how does the Echo project does it, but they always cause such an impact on their novels.
this by far one of the best vn i have played the story keep me on the on the end of my set the whole time wow just wow keep up the grate work look forward to playing more of yalls vns
if you are New and wish to know which order to play, first of all "Hi!" hope you are having a great day cause things will get depressing, and second i recomend this order:
Leo
Carl
Jenna
TJ
Flynn
the main core of this game is learning about the characters and this order will give you a more consistent story and you wont have to piece toguether to much of each character and lore by playing it this way.
I recomend Leo first cause you're in for a rude awakening, and Flynn last cause it is the most confusing if you haven't played the other routes first, and because i want you to finish the game feeling hopeless and depressed XD
mind you this is my prefer order, you could also go:
Carl
Leo
TJ
Flynn
Jenna
as this is the order the game gives you in the extra and the order the developers took when making/finishing the game. It is also consistent and will leave you with a more "happier ending" to end on if you are a coward.
I think i'm going to go from bottom to top in your first list because, with these VNs I like always being confused at first than understanding the lore and points behind each character as the story goes on. I try to do this with all VNs I read, so yea. Its just more exciting for me that way.
Then you would be achieving the opposite of what you want by following the bottom-top order as Flynn and TJ's routes contain some of the most massive reveals of all the routes
I always had my doubts about whether doing TJ's route first or Leo's, as key features are mentioned on Leo's route that may have a lot more sense once you went through TJ's.
well in my opinion i choose Leo first cause the other routes tend to spoil Leo's behavior and having it kept in the dark while doing his route first makes it more impactful in my opinion
i say this as some one ho started with Flynn and ended with Leo
Is there a recommended route order? I'm on my second route and I was surprised at just how far the story diverged. I played Carl -> Jenna (not through with hers yet). No spoilers please!
play it in this order, theres no actual right order but the story will be more consistent this way as the main core of the experience is learning about the characters and this way you learn something in each route that will carry over if you play it in order
dont play flynn route first as it is the most confusing if you havent played the other routes first
I'm going to be completely honest. This novel really took the cake. there were some parts I wasn't a fan of that probably broke my brain making me re-think a lot. I have a ton of questions for the developer because there are some things I need to know. If I had to rate this, it would be 4.3/5 because even though the plot was amazing... There were some unanswered questions. But overall, I love this to pieces. I look forward to a sequel of this.
Please, to all the artists and writers for this project, "Echo".
Thank you for your efforts. This work is amazing in it's psychology. I read each route. You wrung me out and left me shaken and hollow. You made me question what exactly was a good ending. Is there such a thing?
Please accept my gratitude for a well thought out and written, illustrated project. <kneeling bow>
Let me just say that the people who made this game are geniuses for creating a game that is unique and different than the rest. In my opinion these endings and mature themes is what make this game powerful and memorable, without the bad experiences we've seen in this game it wouldn't be the same. This was my second visual novel right next to adastra and this one struck a chord within me I love echo and their games!
This game has become one of my no.1 fave games of all time, been about 2 months since I finished it and it is not going to be forgotten by me anytime soon, never have I read a game with characters and story so incredible they leave me staring at nothing for 20 minutes on the menu scaring trying to process what I just read in the end. Or crying for 2 hours straight over these characters.
In short, Leo's 2 endings are unsatisfactory if you're a big fan of the Leo × chase chip because regardless of your choices Leo will be taken by hysteria and from there everything that was built between them starts to fall apart like a old house
This is obviously lies. Chase and Leo get a flat together. Chase changes his major and becomes a novelist and Leo goes back to college and gains a qualification in electric car maintenance. Leo opens his own mechanic shop outside of echo and them and all their family and friends vow never to return to Echo ever again. Echo's dam malfunctions and floods the town.
I recently finished TJ's route and I feel an indescribable feeling of ¿numb entropy? this is one of the games where I need to do every route but at the same time with each step, it chips away at my soul. I had a hard time in the very beginning when everything was mostly fine and I didn't know what was really to come that I would regret playing the game or just general dread and foreboding.
Just finished the good and bad Leo endings. it's a shame that they could not get things to work out but the good ending is a lot better then the bad ending. I hope that the other endings shed more light on what the ___________ keeping you from leaving was or what was the ___________ that attacked the bear guy in the mine. also the route left me questioning if it was Chase that killed Sidney or was that only part of the TJ route but it seems like it was.
Oh man, i cant remember how many years ago i first tried this out, so hyped when i heard it got completed!!
Edit: So i just completed my first playthrough expecting a kinda dark yiffy vn like Blackgate, instead i got a super dark story about the absolute horros of serial killers, demons and mass psychosis.
So I actually played this VN for the first time over 6 months ago now. I came back to play some routes bc I love the story so much. Anyway, a weird issue I've had on my Mac (even when I first played it) is that it will overheat like crazy if I leave it sitting for a minute without changing the page. Does anyone else have this problem? (Probably just my computer being dumb, but I figured I'd ask)
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have never connected to a piece of literature as much as this one. It could just be my imagination, but regardless, the story feels incredibly nostalgic for me and really hits home. I love all of the characters and routes, and I cannot thank the Echo Project enough for bringing this chilling but beautiful piece of art to life. <3
this game is so amazing. if youre wanting a story with a "happy ending", or a normal dating sim, this is not the game for you. its a horror game! but more importantly, it's a story about trauma. ive played every route, gotten every ending, and have recommend it to all my friends. i went into this thinking it was a dating sim that just had more of a backstory for the characters then most ive played, but the reality is it is a deeply unsettling, beautiful story that uses its medium in a way that is so unique, ive never read a visual novel and considered it "perfect" until reading echo. its going to be something i think about for years and years to come.
Eh. I dunno, after Carl's "good" ending I just feel I was teased and lead on the entire time. Super demotivating to play the rest, I guess. Not sure what I was expecting from that warning but eh... I'll lump this entirely into the horror category and move on I guess.
Flynn's hallucination is best described as that, a hallucination. He is trapped in an endless purgatory after killing himself in the mines. The talk with Sydney was a dream and part of his hallucination, more how he wishes things with Sydney would have turned out if he lived. The monster is more a manifestation of Echo's curse or the traumas of the town. Not any sort of, folk-lore monster.
Exactly, it's a trauma demon, created by Echo as a means to curse the residents and basically feast on the traumas of it's residents, and it doesn't help that this demon is literally Flynn from another timeline-
No one truly knows what the monster is, sometimes it's a protector, sometimes it will be an aggressor. It's best to call it 'the embodiment of Echos curse' and yes Leos route is hella dark.
UUUUUUGH my heartstrings!!!! This vn i swear has me feeling so many things, such an amazing story, the characters, everything! Especially Leos story line
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also is there a moral to this i need to know lmao
I'm pretty sure the moral is "shit's fucked"
or maybe it's: trauma doesn't wrap itself up neatly in a bow, and you can't pretend that it does. No matter how much you think something is behind you, no matter how much you're certain that it was just a childhood phase and you're alright now, it always floods back suddenly and it feels like you're drowning and you can't come up for air and you can never escape. It feels like you're always going in circles... but with help, you can keep living and keep moving forward.
or just, like. "go to therapy"
wow, this was quite the hard hitting vn.
just finished it for the first time and i acc nearly cried*
this was absolutely fu-
i mean, this was absolutely freaking well made (yw TJ) and the storyline was a good balance of drama and just generic story.
also just saying but i find tj and leo hot
anywayssss, please do more vns like this, i sincerely enjoyed this even with me going into heart-broken state lol.<3
incoming spoilers*
i got the ending where chase drowned flynn, the image of TJ and chase hugging just broke my heart.
Me too! I also finished on Tj route last on Saturday. I was left over with feeling of sadness and loneliness. To be honest I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster. And I also nearly cried too, it's just so wholesome.. At least I know im not being only one who's gotten on their knees emotionally by it... (┬┬﹏┬┬)
haha sameeee tho
That ending left me shocked and sad for hours, since it's the first route I did. I just wish there could be some kind of normal, non-fucked up version of this game so you can actually date them (I only care for TJ) instead of being all crazy and all but I guess not. Great game, I should've probably just listened to the "warning " on the page because it left me devastated.
Okay, I did Leo's route first and wow. I was not ready for my heart to implode. Such a bitter sweet experience. I originally chose to work things out with Leo when the train arrived and damn that sucked for Chase. But then I redid it and got the better ending. You outdid yourself with the heartstring tugs on this one.
yeah being a LeoxChase shipper must suck but do you understand the pain us FlynnxChase shippers have to endure????????????
Finally finished playing this game today and there's an update?! Definitely gonna have to check out all of the new art now. <3
I followed the suggestion of another comment here for what order to do the routes in, and I mostly agree, with one tiny swap. If you are new to this game, the order I recommend you play is:
This order IMO creates the most cohesive story experience. I guess if you really want to, you can switch the order of the first three around, but I am adamant on playing TJ penultimately and Flynn last. TBH I am of the opinion that Flynn's route should only be unlocked after playing all of the other ones but ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
Overall, a really incredible experience and I'm in awe that it's completely free. Much love to everyone who poured their heart & soul into this project, it was a great way to spend the past few weeks. :) never thought I'd have such strong emotions towards a guy whose name is Carl
Flynn being the last totally makes sense.
I usually like to give another way to play (you do you, ofc x3):
1. TJ as it introduces the group, its traumas, and the tensions inside of it. It's also imo a good choice for the 1st route because it's not that creepy, there is no surreal.
2. Carl. Now that the group is introduced, I think it's time to play the route that has literally no connections to the other routes xD. His route focuses on him and his ancestor while being totally separated from the main storyline.
Carl's route is creepy, a little sad, but especially "WTFFFFF".
3. Leo. Leo's route is something different. It introduces new elements to the story (the Hysteria, the Hum, etc...) but they're not explained and therefore you're left to ponder things. Besides, Leo's route is also scary as shit.
4. Jenna. Now Jenna's route is not THAT scary (except for the dam scene that I LOVED). Jenna's route tells you a little bit more about the "elements" introduced in Leo's route (The Hysteria, the Hum, and... the Socketman ;P), allowing you to draw conclusions, but you're not quite sure.
5. Flynn. I think Flynn's route's motto could be "Mixing everything". Because it does. It mixes the group tension AND the terrifying elements, but most importantly, it reveals everything to you. It all comes to you in one, last, showing scene, in which you're left to cry, unable to do anything. Flynn's route combines extreme sadness, fright, and wtf-ness.
I don't know if I make much sense in this message tbh, explaining all this makes my English go crazy xD
Your English is great! Much more impressive than monolingual ol' me.
tbh TJ's route was actually the one that creeped me out the most. To me, less paranormal doesn't equal less scary. Carl's route creeped me out the least, although one ending is definitely more creepy than the other lol.
Thanks! Means a lot :D
(My Frenchy ass is satisfied lmao)
Well, TJ's route indeed remains a little scary, and you're right, less paranormal doesn't equal less scary (in fact, in most cases it means SCARY AS SHIT XD). But I guess I was so hyped and terrified before playing Echo, and I was expecting mind-blowing shit, and it's not what TJ's route gave me. If I hadn't played this route first, maybe it would have creeped me out more ahah
There is a bug in the windows version: the fast forward and the skip are swapped, and when i click the fast forward option (which is skip) it blocks sometimes and i need to click it again to continue the fast forwarding. Also the skip option doesn't skip to the next choose and it jumps only some sentences
Wow ty the update 😍
hi people on the compagnion app of itch can't download the game because the build for windows doesn't have an os setup
For the PC download, I marked it as "For Windows" just now. It shouldn't give you grief.
- McSkinny
ty
we all know, but he's a wolf with tits so I would let that man manipulate and ruin my life.
lmfaoooo
It would've been nice for him to join the others on escaping
probably but it hasnt stopped leo from being my number one best husband unironically
haven't played the game yet but probably, it sounds like it would be hard to accidentally do that
what thing?
He had in mind that it would be hard to accidentally show Leo as bad husbando material, but not only show him as bad one, also explain why, because this is the most important.
This way EchoProject made character that can't be seen as a villain and instead is seen as a person with flaws like we all are
Everyone in this VN are shown this way, everyone has two sides: the good one and the bad one (yes TJ, you too)
I asked just to see if something changed ever since I played his route a year ago, GOD if his route wasn't traumatizing, tho i always kind of get why people would be so in love with this guy, he's basically the embodiment of a nostalgia for your first love and all the "what would have happeneds" that surrounds him, like you know you have to move on, but they'll always have a place in your heart for all they meant, even if you were incredibly toxic for each other, but in the end you need to let go...
That and he is hot XD, chingas a tu madre cada vez que respires pinche perro todo toxico y culero, (for everyone that doesn't speak spanish "lysm <3 latino solidarity")
Also, P.D. while I didn’t particularly like TJ´s route I’ve always loved how they perfectly portray how toxic his desire for vengeance is but how afraid he is to act upon it himself, having to rely on others to fight for him, even manifesting to an extent as a sort of twisted wish fulfillment love sick chase that acts as his abuser and Knight in shining armor doing everything TJ ever wanted to be done.
Are you talking about the overprotection thing? Or something else?
I just completed the game for the first time, in the sense that I completed one route. The visuals are beautiful. The Art is good. The story is great. The Music is good. The sfx are amazing. 10/10, would recommend to everyone. QUIT READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. I got stuck in one decision in particular. I was chilling with Carl and TJ, and I had to fall asleep on one of them. Carl seems like such a dude. Like, he’s your bro. But TJ looked soft. And off I went. TJ’s route. I love TJ. A good Christian boy. Really reminds me of myself. It seemed pretty fine at first, and I was really starting to get emotionally attached to both. But then Chase started going… bad. Don’t get my wrong, fuck Julian. Die in a hole bitch. I got genuinely angry at Julian, even though I knew I shouldn’t have been. I was becoming Chase. But I start realizing what was going on, and I started getting creeped out. I didn’t want to kiss TJ(want to cuddle him sooo much though). I’m still fuzzy on how TJ killed Sydney, unless I’m just stupid and Chase actually did see them. I hated Flynn for a long time, but I ended up feeling bad for him in the end. This game got to me on an emotional level. I felt for every single character. I even felt bad for not talking to Leo while spending so much time with TJ. I hated Chase for what he did, trying to kiss TJ, but as I saw Chase’s decline, I understood. This game is outstanding, and I love everything about it. I can’t wait to spend more late nights completing the other routes. Yes, I did cry myself to sleep after completing TJ’s route. Thanks for reading!
Hahah yeah first route experience is such a shock for any of the 5 routes. Though I get being fuzzy on that one part if you haven't had the context of the other routes. It's actually Chase who killed Sydney. That's not a spoiler for the other routes either, you're supposed to find that out in Tj's.
I'd recommend playing Leo's next, then Carl's, then Flynn's and then Jenna.
Carl's is probably the most confusing to get through since it introduces a new idea that isn't explored in Leo's and Tj's so maybe playing Flynn's route before Carls would be better but either way I'd recommend you do Leo next and definitely end with Jenna.
wait wait wait, so, TJ saying he was the one who killed Sydney was just TJ trying to protect Chase?
Don't you think it's a better option to do this order?
- TJ first, it barely has supernatural, it's the most chill and is good for "beginners"
- Then Carl's because it's kinda "separated" from the rest of the story and has a good horror ladder.
- Then Leo's, probably the scariest, introducing new elements to the story, but just briefly
- Then Jenna's, telling you even more about these elements introduced in Leo's story (also the dam scene is so good)
- Then Flynn, because it's the most complex, scariest (Sydney's flashbakcs), saddest, most wtf, and mostly because the very end of the route is like a twist: Within a few lines, you understand everything about the story, the past, the *truth*.
I Think you could easily change places among Jenna and Flynn's route. I could tell Jenna's is the canonic good ending and Flynn is the canonic bad ending.
ok so im hearing how this vn is super harsh and like sad, i just got done with the tbc for fbtw and still suffering the emotional trauma but i wanna read it since ive been waiting to for a while, should i? cuz im one for all of those emotional vns but i just wanna make sure its not too sad lmao
It's the most heartbreaking piece of art (movies, books, comics, games, painting, etc...) I've ever seen, pal.
shit on a scale of 1-20 how bad is it
It seems comical but I swear to god, 100. I mean, even I who LOVES horror games/movies or sad, deep, and emotionally traumatizing games/movies (so I should be a little immune y'know) find this absolutely heartbreaking.
then i think i should pass this game lmao
Not all the routes are messed up, just Leo and Flynn, the others are tolerable (in the sense that they won't hurt as much)
if you’re still sad, I suggest you wait, or maybe play till Wednesday on most routes. It… goes downhill after that. But it’s still really good after that.
i guess i could try that as well
I take it back. I hadn’t played all routes when I said that and Leo’s route goes downhill pretty fast,
This is my story about this game, or more accurate about my life after playing this VN. To be honest I don't care if you believe me nor if you don't. I am aware it might not be the best place to send such thing, but I'm going to do it anyway. Also I wanted to post it on Echo anniversary, but I want to give enough time for mods or whatever to delete it if it is too disturbing and out of place before the big day.
It all happened almost one year ago. I saw this title and though „hmm, furry horror VN, I haven't seen such thing before. Oh, there is some CW that warns me that this is game that is emotionally intense. Well, it ain't stopping me though.”
You have to know, that my mental health wasn't... well, good. I had no real friends nor online for 4 years at that time and I abandoned my last one nearly one year before playing this game. But about him later. The point is... I was 19 years old wreck.
Playing this game wasn't just hard, it was absolutely heartbreaking. It sounds pathetic, but those stories somehow oneped my eyes to things I was blind for my entire life.
I had a friend, let's call him Rob for keeping this somehow anonymous. We knew each other since we were 7 (7-18, it's 12 years), we weren't best friends, but we were good friends. Except we wasn't... not really...
I was constantly making his life miserable through our childhood years (I would even go so far to say that I wronged him) and he was making me miserable during my teen years. We didn't see our problems and when we did we pretended it was all fine and that there was nothing wrong after ours arguments. I was the first one that just... broke after one of those, I was sick of his behaviour and simply ghosted him. He tried talking to me again, like he always tried, Rob was always the one who tried to make amends after argument, but this time I didn't talk back. It was so painfull at that time, I knew exactly what I was doing – I was breaking friendship with the last person I was talking to yet. And what is even more sad, I did that in the worse possible way, he tried talking to me for months... but I was adamant.
After playing Echo, I was thinking about him again and about what I have done, how it could affect him, how HE could react to my absence.
I knew for a fact that he had absolutely no one either and I was the only friend of his. I saw how devastating it was for him just as it was for me. I saw how shitty friend I was not only through those brat years, but through my whole life, how badly I didn't give a shit about him, how I didn't care about anything he was talking to me. Of course, he was as bad as I was, but here is the problem: I was shitty friend. He saw that. He stoped giving shit either cause „why bother?”. I felt worse and I was behaving even worse. He saw I'm even worse than before so he didn't care even more. It was vicious circle that none of us saw at the moment. Our problems could be easly resolved if we just TALKED, but we never did. Yeah, we could split earlier either, but it would be healthier and farier to both of us.
So. After I played whole VN I decided that I will tell Rob everything what was bothering me through those years, everything what I thought of him and of me and everything what I discovered after reading this VN. This letter was so big that I was writing it a couple of days...
… and when the time came I send it to him.
He was silent for a whole month, but finally send me back his answer. It was one sentence.
He thanked me and bid me farewell.
He never showed me any appreciation. Never ever. Even though it was too late to save this friendship, I was happy. I was happy, because I made it right, for both of us. I'm glad I did that. I'm glad that this one time I could bring him smile, even the bittersweet one and he could bring me the same smile either.
But it's not the end of the story! 2 months after that I decied to send another similar letter to my best friend whom I ditched literally the same way and because of the same reasons like Rob. But... she was always good to me, she was the best person I have ever met (before u all get this wrong, life is fcking ironic, I'm gay and she is lesbian xD). We hadn't talk to each other for 4 years. Yes. 4 years. I didn't want to befriend her again. I wanted to make things right just like with Rob. But she insisted to meet again and this time she didn't take no for an answer. So I said yes and we met...
… it wasn't easy, I told her it won't be like ol' good times, but we are making progress and it is all looking pretty good so far.
It's not easy to crawl back from the pit I was in for such a long time. It's a proces, very long one. I won't say that I'm now a different person, it would be a lie. However I am better that before. I'm better to myself, I'm better to those around me, I'm improving. I know I shouldn't have play this game. To be honset it was 50/50 in my case. I would go either the path I have gone or I would break (I wasn't suicidal though). I wanted to write this letter many months ago, but I had to wait and see for myself that I indeed changed and that it wasn't just spur of a moment after experiencing the best piece of media I have ever seen. I'm Echo's patreon just for this one reason, I want to show anyhow my appreciation because I am grateful this much for the life I got back (at least partially)
I want to say one thing to the creators and it's not how good this VN is, because they know it already and I just said that.
I want to say that you saved someone. Literally. You were the reason I ended up here where I am. You are the reason I am smiling more. You are the reason my former friend found closure and my second friend got her friend back. I'm wholeheartedly thankful. Thank you.
Healing is not an easy process and antagonizing ssomeone is easier than to accept that one has problems too. Congratulations on deciding to make amends, this is no fairy tale and things never return to a previous, everything and everyone always change, sometimes for the best, hope you keep getting better. And yeah, who knows how does the Echo project does it, but they always cause such an impact on their novels.
this by far one of the best vn i have played the story keep me on the on the end of my set the whole time wow just wow keep up the grate work look forward to playing more of yalls vns
Why was Circles used as symbol here?I think Möbius Strip can also be used here.
if you are New and wish to know which order to play, first of all "Hi!" hope you are having a great day cause things will get depressing, and second i recomend this order:
Leo
Carl
Jenna
TJ
Flynn
the main core of this game is learning about the characters and this order will give you a more consistent story and you wont have to piece toguether to much of each character and lore by playing it this way.
I recomend Leo first cause you're in for a rude awakening, and Flynn last cause it is the most confusing if you haven't played the other routes first, and because i want you to finish the game feeling hopeless and depressed XD
mind you this is my prefer order, you could also go:
Carl
Leo
TJ
Flynn
Jenna
as this is the order the game gives you in the extra and the order the developers took when making/finishing the game. It is also consistent and will leave you with a more "happier ending" to end on if you are a coward.
I think i'm going to go from bottom to top in your first list because, with these VNs I like always being confused at first than understanding the lore and points behind each character as the story goes on. I try to do this with all VNs I read, so yea. Its just more exciting for me that way.
Then you would be achieving the opposite of what you want by following the bottom-top order as Flynn and TJ's routes contain some of the most massive reveals of all the routes
I always had my doubts about whether doing TJ's route first or Leo's, as key features are mentioned on Leo's route that may have a lot more sense once you went through TJ's.
well in my opinion i choose Leo first cause the other routes tend to spoil Leo's behavior and having it kept in the dark while doing his route first makes it more impactful in my opinion
i say this as some one ho started with Flynn and ended with Leo
That is a cool way to put it. And I do agree with this.
Is there a recommended route order? I'm on my second route and I was surprised at just how far the story diverged. I played Carl -> Jenna (not through with hers yet). No spoilers please!
yes:
Leo
Carl
Jenna
TJ
Flynn
play it in this order, theres no actual right order but the story will be more consistent this way as the main core of the experience is learning about the characters and this way you learn something in each route that will carry over if you play it in order
dont play flynn route first as it is the most confusing if you havent played the other routes first
Im kinda happy.....knowing i will never experience something like this again.
I cried after finishing Flynn's route 🙂👌
Although, I haven't tried the other routes but I don't really feel like going through them.
Trust me they're worth it, especially Leo and Carl's routes
I'm going to be completely honest. This novel really took the cake. there were some parts I wasn't a fan of that probably broke my brain making me re-think a lot. I have a ton of questions for the developer because there are some things I need to know. If I had to rate this, it would be 4.3/5 because even though the plot was amazing... There were some unanswered questions. But overall, I love this to pieces. I look forward to a sequel of this.
Please, to all the artists and writers for this project, "Echo".
Thank you for your efforts. This work is amazing in it's psychology. I read each route. You wrung me out and left me shaken and hollow. You made me question what exactly was a good ending. Is there such a thing?
Please accept my gratitude for a well thought out and written, illustrated project. <kneeling bow>
THANK YOU!
Let me just say that the people who made this game are geniuses for creating a game that is unique and different than the rest. In my opinion these endings and mature themes is what make this game powerful and memorable, without the bad experiences we've seen in this game it wouldn't be the same. This was my second visual novel right next to adastra and this one struck a chord within me I love echo and their games!
CW: Echo can be an emotionally intense experience - no joke this shit hits different.
;-;
This game has become one of my no.1 fave games of all time, been about 2 months since I finished it and it is not going to be forgotten by me anytime soon, never have I read a game with characters and story so incredible they leave me staring at nothing for 20 minutes on the menu scaring trying to process what I just read in the end. Or crying for 2 hours straight over these characters.
Can someone tell me about Leo's ending?
Just curious before I play his route
You're going to lose your soul, that's all I can tell you
Yep your right , I am traumatized by the ending.
Spoilers though
This is obviously lies. Chase and Leo get a flat together. Chase changes his major and becomes a novelist and Leo goes back to college and gains a qualification in electric car maintenance. Leo opens his own mechanic shop outside of echo and them and all their family and friends vow never to return to Echo ever again. Echo's dam malfunctions and floods the town.
I recently finished TJ's route and I feel an indescribable feeling of ¿numb entropy? this is one of the games where I need to do every route but at the same time with each step, it chips away at my soul. I had a hard time in the very beginning when everything was mostly fine and I didn't know what was really to come that I would regret playing the game or just general dread and foreboding.
Just finished the good and bad Leo endings. it's a shame that they could not get things to work out but the good ending is a lot better then the bad ending. I hope that the other endings shed more light on what the ___________ keeping you from leaving was or what was the ___________ that attacked the bear guy in the mine. also the route left me questioning if it was Chase that killed Sidney or was that only part of the TJ route but it seems like it was.
Oh man, i cant remember how many years ago i first tried this out, so hyped when i heard it got completed!!
Edit: So i just completed my first playthrough expecting a kinda dark yiffy vn like Blackgate, instead i got a super dark story about the absolute horros of serial killers, demons and mass psychosis.
Its, beautifully written, but damn dude D:
Blackgate... oh no
woe, woe, it is valentines day and there isn't a big red velvet cake-colored wolf in my home to spend it with
😳
👉👈
no wait..is it really the sexy Leo? the hum is ringing loud where i am.
So I actually played this VN for the first time over 6 months ago now. I came back to play some routes bc I love the story so much. Anyway, a weird issue I've had on my Mac (even when I first played it) is that it will overheat like crazy if I leave it sitting for a minute without changing the page. Does anyone else have this problem? (Probably just my computer being dumb, but I figured I'd ask)
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have never connected to a piece of literature as much as this one. It could just be my imagination, but regardless, the story feels incredibly nostalgic for me and really hits home. I love all of the characters and routes, and I cannot thank the Echo Project enough for bringing this chilling but beautiful piece of art to life. <3
my macbook gets very hot while i play too :(
this game is so amazing. if youre wanting a story with a "happy ending", or a normal dating sim, this is not the game for you. its a horror game! but more importantly, it's a story about trauma. ive played every route, gotten every ending, and have recommend it to all my friends. i went into this thinking it was a dating sim that just had more of a backstory for the characters then most ive played, but the reality is it is a deeply unsettling, beautiful story that uses its medium in a way that is so unique, ive never read a visual novel and considered it "perfect" until reading echo. its going to be something i think about for years and years to come.
Eh. I dunno, after Carl's "good" ending I just feel I was teased and lead on the entire time. Super demotivating to play the rest, I guess. Not sure what I was expecting from that warning but eh... I'll lump this entirely into the horror category and move on I guess.
I mean, Carl's route is not the best route, it's a good one but not the best imho, there are far more intense routes
Is there a happy ending with Leo or no
(I Badly wanna know🥺)
Spoiler.
The best ending for Leo is actually Jenna's good ending, so no not really I think...
Leo's route gave me emotional damage
Why Leo, why?
Leo route is the second saddest for me, number one is Flynn....
I downloaded this and it says the software isn't compatible with my Chromebook what is going on
well, that isn't a pc, linux, mac, or android machine, sooo...
it is an Android that’s how I have been playing the other VNs I play
Try using crossover trough linux,or on a phone
umm just finish flynn story and i'm not really strong eng but i think i got some understand there but not clearly
question below + some spoile?
is he turn in to vindigo?
how ?
is this bad end?
what that talk with syd it's dream or real?
who is he? like is he real syd or both side is vindigo?
Wow TJ story...... wow....
SPOILERS
Flynn's hallucination is best described as that, a hallucination. He is trapped in an endless purgatory after killing himself in the mines. The talk with Sydney was a dream and part of his hallucination, more how he wishes things with Sydney would have turned out if he lived. The monster is more a manifestation of Echo's curse or the traumas of the town. Not any sort of, folk-lore monster.
Exactly, it's a trauma demon, created by Echo as a means to curse the residents and basically feast on the traumas of it's residents, and it doesn't help that this demon is literally Flynn from another timeline-
Hi! I'm new here just want to ask what the monster really is i thought it a chupacabra
Ohh and just saw the comments that there was routes just done reading leo's route damn the ending it turn's dark but the other one kinda sting so much
No one truly knows what the monster is, sometimes it's a protector, sometimes it will be an aggressor. It's best to call it 'the embodiment of Echos curse' and yes Leos route is hella dark.
ohhh okay thank for the info
UUUUUUGH my heartstrings!!!! This vn i swear has me feeling so many things, such an amazing story, the characters, everything! Especially Leos story line