Chained Echoes takes place in war-torn Valandis and narrates the story of a group of individuals of different backgrounds and skills on a quest to stop the atrocities of war and, in a truly heroic fashion, save the world. Mathias Linda, the sole developer of the game successfully created a love letter for old RPGs.



In Chained Echoes, you play as Glenn, the main protagonist and de facto leader of a group of mercenaries on a mission to destroy a weapon of mass destruction, restore peace and fight your way through tyrants, monsters, religion and tremendous magic powers.

Without spoiling anything, the game’s storytelling is extremely well done, and a lot of effort was put into building a cohesive universe. The lore, deities, places, Matthias Linda really thought of everything. Furthermore, this story is exceptionally well-paced and surprised me at times; expecting a classic scenario, some unexpected plot twist drastically changed the course of the story and this down to the very end.

Furthermore, you will be able to play the game with a cast of 12 characters, each with their reason for joining the band and their backstory influencing the main storyline.

Sadly, dialogues sometimes feel forced and extended for no reason. While it is great to have a variety of playable characters for a turn-based RPG such as this, their late arrival in the game and their limited use make the character development extremely uneven. Quite frankly, I didn’t try most of them in actual fights. I am sure it was also the case for most players.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2930118975



The Mechanics of the game work well together but can sometimes be frustrating.

Beyond the story and the act of “beating” the game, there is much optional content. Including and not limited to a reward board that will push the challenge further for full completion. Chained Echoes has an astonishing amount of content for you to explore, loot, fight etc.

In the middle of the story, you will unlock Sky Armour (Mechs), which allows you to fly, discover, and reach new areas of the map previously blocked off. You will also be able to fight with them; it is super fun but eventually becomes a tad tedious as only the same characters can enter mechs. The fighting strategies are extremely limited to a few that shine and many that aren’t useful.

But the same can be said for combat in general; turn-based and not very innovative until the overdrive system makes its entry. Imagine a bar that buffs you, while you keep it in the green, granting you better defence and less TP (mana) used for skills and pushing it further into the red zone will do the opposite. To raise or lower your overdrive, you need to use specific actions as requested by the game.

I was using the strategy at the right time to facilitate my progression until I completely forgot about this system, ignored it entirely, and wasn’t punished at all (except at 2 specific boss fights).

Similarly, you are fighting on foot, and agility is the most important stat to grow for your characters. Defence doesn’t seem to have an impact, and while there are so many variations of builds you can do, some shine, while most of them are not helpful.

On the bright side, all your characters level up simultaneously, and you can max out all their skills and talent tree by simply playing, not limiting you in any way should you have made less desirable decisions early on.

An interesting mechanic is that each character can be assigned a backup that you can switch out at any time in battle to adjust your strategy. Exciting concept, beneficial at times. On top of that, you also have an Ultra Bar, a super skill that builds up with every attack and is available at every boss fight.

Finally, the difficulty will randomly spike, making you wonder what just happened; thankfully, you get to retry battles should you die, which will happen.

Chained Echoes won’t let you grind levels and overpower the game; you can only acquire new stats or skills each time you kill a boss. Thus, leaving you at the same level as what was first intended by the game. I greatly appreciated that aspect.


Chained Echoes has a pretty big map allowing you to explore every little bit of it, and what a beauty. Pixel games are pretty en vogue and have been for quite a couple of years, but this game doesn't pale compared to some bigger names in the genre. Distinguishing itself with magnificent art, locations, buildings, fauna and flora so rich and diverse with such attention to detail that it all truly comes to life.

The Graphics are fantastic, with great animations that are all just contributing to create a general ambience that is to die for.

The score of the game and its different track were also fantastic and reminiscent of some of the classic RPG I played a long time ago. Very well done.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2925789573

Chained Echoes was a surprise; I wasn't expecting too much and was blown away by the story and general quality of the game. It is an exceptional game to play, even more so considering that only one person made it. This game is a must play.

Game ran great, experienced a few glitches here and there but nothing ground breaking.

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In Dead Space, you are Isaac Clarke, an engineer sent on a repair mission to USG Ishimura, a gigantic spaceship that also seems to have lost contact with the rest of their mission. But you quickly realise this will not be your regular run-of-the-mill task as you discover that the entire vessel seems deserted, bodies have risen with blades for arms, they’re spewing acid, want you dead, and oh, the church is also involved?



Dead Space is a third-person shooter horror game with gloomy corners, little to no lights, and metallic hallways that could potentially hide a monster at every step. The atmosphere is frightening, and your only mean of survival is to dismember your enemies.

We can also start by praising the development team for what seems to be an impossible feat lately. A game was released and was functional and optimised adequately on Day 1. Throughout my gameplay (so far), I never encountered a single frame drop or a loading screen. The transition in action is seamless.

Gameplay-wise, the mechanics have been refreshed and are adding a whole new spin on Dead Space; the Telekinesis and Stasis are getting some significant improvement and proper tools in your arsenal; you are not confined to one way of playing the game, even though nothing will separate me from my plasma cutter. Each gun is enjoyable to handle and provides a unique way to use it, depending on the situation. The difficulty levels are significant in HARD and above and seem just enough for Normal. The completionists will have a solid task ahead to complete the game without dying once. Finally, maybe it was the force of habit, but it took me a minute to remember that there is no dodge button, loyal to the original gameplay and reminding you that it has been 15 years. Furthermore, replayability is essential nowadays; Dead Space offer the possibility to play in New Game +.

The ambience is superb. Dead Space truly shines in the inclusion of modern graphics in the game, the metallic hallways, every dark corner, flickering lights, and the anxiety of an incoming jump scare. Every little detail has been used to put you in the universe of Isaac and make you feel like part of his adventure. The sound design is crucial in the game as it alerts you of enemies you haven't seen yet (looking at you child-monsters-on-walls); the engine noises, the random screams, sobs, and voices are developing more anxiety than having to host my wife's family over for the holidays. The music also goes along the situation; you forget it's here, but it switches between light tension, full-blown heart attack and deafening silence, which makes your heart race. Finally, different collectables offer tidbits of information, lore and audio logs; all add just enough to the general theme without being a chore to find or essential to the game.

The story did not change from the original, except that you are now part of it. Isaac Clarke has lines which contribute a lot more to the immersion. This is probably the weakest part of this remake as it remained untouched primarily, without being a negative in itself due to it staying loyal to the original content. The addition of different dialogues, lines and other elements was welcome.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924637819

It is now time to answer the original question: yes. I think this remake performs better than its predecessor in many aspects.

Dead Space stayed faithful to the original game of 15 years ago; purists should not feel concerned. Dead Space kept the same gameplay ideas and mechanics from then and improved on them a little bit. What sets this remake apart from the rest is that a whole new generation of players that can't build up on nostalgia will be able to explore the franchise in a modern setting. The graphical facelift is superb, on par with modern technology, and all the added extra details contribute significantly to the general ambience and atmosphere of the game.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924932920

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