Or rather, the knowledge that you need to circumvent the stealth segments is hidden behind those stealth segments (at which point you don’t need to go back, unless you’re achievement hunting). The one area where Echoes of the Eye lets itself down is by including three segments which require stealth to navigate, with no way around them. A big part of the marketing campaign, but what even is this thing? The Flaw The puzzle I was then presented with left me feeling the smartest I have since That Moon. ![]() ![]() The final piece of information I learned before reaching the conclusion is one of Outer Wilds’ greatest discoveries. The discovery within the expansion is still fascinating and as wonderfully giddy as the base game. This can mostly be chalked up to not having as much space as the base game – Echoes of the Eye took me about half as much time to complete as the base game (which is still great value for an expansion!) The information still spreads out from a single point before collapsing back into a single point by the story’s conclusion, but it doesn’t quite have the same feeling of multiple threads gradually pulling together that the base game does. Echoes of the Eye uses a lot of what you learn in the base game (though some of it only very briefly) and still manages to surprise you with the new “mechanics” it introduces.Įchoes of the Eye is slightly more linear than the base game, having “chunks” of information you need to complete before you can really progress to the next “chunk”. It presents a bittersweet contrast to the base game story and leaves you with an ending you don’t realise will hit as hard as it does.īeing an exploration game with minimal mechanics, there isn’t much to say for the gameplay. Echoes of the Eye almost takes you through the five stages of grief as you uncover its story, but the word which comes to mind when I think about its conclusion is “pity”. The base game uses hopeful messages to lead you through a tale of sorrow and finally leaves you feeling proud whereas Echoes of the Eye shows you a tale of despair (and even briefly anger) only to leave you feeling remorseful by its conclusion. If the base game is about exploring and embracing the unknown, Echoes of the Eye is about the opposite. The story of Echoes of the Eye is even more “show don’t tell” than the base game, with absolutely no text to tell you what’s going on, relying entirely on images and your interpretation of them. It answers a question from the base game that I didn’t even consider, but which in hindsight seems like a major plot point Mobius Digital set up for themselves. The StoryĮchoes of the Eye expands on the Outer Wilds universe in a way I didn’t expect, and yet it makes perfect sense. The way each track fades in and seems to crescendo just as the player reaches a major revelation will never cease to amaze me.Įven the beautiful moments are dark and eerie. From the awe-inspiring to the downright terrifying, the music only ever adds to the experience. The music only enhances the emotional heights that Echoes of the Eye offers. The MusicĪ brief note on the music, which is a major player once again. ![]() That said, if you can survive Dark Bramble, you can survive Echoes of the Eye. This doesn’t feel cheap, either: everything from lighting to music to furniture is used to make you feel uncomfortable and nervous to turn every corner.Įchoes of the Eye feels a lot creepier than the base game, and definitely earns that title with some of its sequences. The expansion does really well to make the player feel unnerved and afraid again, even with a complete understanding of the base game. Simply discovering the expansion is a journey in itself, and the first time you see where the expansion takes place is a breath-taking reward that almost makes you forget the sun is about to explode. It encapsulates the awe of the base game as you discover new things, enthralling the player with spectacular horizons and beautiful details. The ambience of Echoes of the Eye is nothing short of incredible.
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