EPΘCH – PC Review – by Ky
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG
Developer: Nick Everlith Publisher: Nick Everlith
Release Date: May 18, 2016
As someone who grew up playing the classic Legend of Zelda games on the on the Game Boy, I can’t help but notice the inspiration that EPΘCH pulls from it. These occurrences happen in both art style and gameplay. This gives the game a distinct nostalgic feel.
Starting out, the game gives you seven races to pick from, each having its own starting bonus. Some of these races include humans, elves, orcs, and dwarves. You can also pick a hairstyle for your character, giving it your own personal feel. The game also includes a leveling mechanic. Leveling is done by collecting “essences”. The essences are used to upgrade certain attributes, such as health or resistance to certain attacks. However, there’s nothing showing how many essences you have collected, meaning they should be used as soon as you collect them.
EPΘCH is played from a top-down view. Normally, top-down games allow players to view their surroundings and view enemies that wouldn’t be seeable from a first person, or even a third person view. However, EPΘCH prevents this by adding a “fog of war” mechanic that only allows the player to see what their character can see. This ups the tension of the game because there’s no way of knowing what lies around each corner. Thankfully, EPΘCH provides the player with a multitude of weapons and items to combat enemies including swords, shields, bows, and magic. On top of that, the game allows for extra movement during combat such as sprinting and rolling.
EPΘCH at its core is a difficult game. As mentioned before, the game only allows the player to see what their character can see. Additionally, enemies are no slouches and put up more than a good fight. However, EPΘCH’s difficulty may also be its biggest flaw. The game has no sense of direction and gives you absolutely nothing to indicate where you should go next. I found myself wandering endlessly. At one point I even found myself needlessly sprinting through a cave full of high level enemies because I had no idea where to go. On top of this, EPΘCH’s hit detection can be poor, making enemies even more difficult to kill. Even the controls feel unresponsive at times making things as simple as jumping over a hole in the floor a nuisance.
EPΘCH does have cooperative multiplayer, allowing players to explore the world and experience the game’s story with friends. Additionally players can leave “echoes” for other players. These echoes are simple messages that can help other players or even troll them. I’ve seen everything from echoes indicating a secret passage, echoes celebrating the appearance of an NPC, or even echoes telling me to jump into a pit to my death.
EPΘCH is currently on sale for $15. At this price, I recommend it if you’re a fan of difficult games that provide interesting stories. The game definitely pulls those off well and even has a good soundtrack to support the story. However, if the game goes on sale, I would definitely recommend it to everyone.
Pros
- Good soundtrack
- Fog of war mechanic
- Has a nostalgic feel
- Good character creation
Cons
- Provides no guidance
- Poor hit detection
- No way of knowing how much essence you have
Ky gives EPΘCH a Drastik Measure 7.5 out of 10 (75)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/467910/
