Echo Night for the PS1 proved to be a strangely captivating adventure from start to end, even though it was definitely rough around the edges. While the graphics are definitely on the ugly side and the story and puzzles can be convoluted at times, the unique combination of horror and adventure game elements coupled with an interesting setting provide for a game that is well worth visiting for the unfortunately short-lived playtime that it provides.

Echo Night follows the story of Richard Osmond during the 1930s looking for his estranged father Henry after a mysterious fire breaks out Henry’s home. After being contacted by the police, you explore the home as Richard. After solving several simple puzzles, you are transported to the past for backstory on how your father’a disappearance is linked to a powerful demonic red stone. Upon returning to your father’s home, a picture of the ship the Orpheus (disappeared more than 20 years prior) transports you to the ship, inhabited only by the ghosts of the crew and passengers from the lost ocean liner. The story, while short (only 4 to 7 hours depending on how quickly you solve the puzzles), involves a combination of ghosts, demons, murder, time travel, and much more, resulting in a uniquely interesting premise that helps to overshadow the shortcomings in the actual gameplay.



While the game was released back in 1999 for the PS1, the graphics are still very rough around the edges compared to other games of the day. Even though the textures can be a little painful to look at, the low quality design on the characters faces definitely adds to the creepy factor. Unfortunately, just as with the graphics, Echo Night is lacking in the sound department as well. The intro to the game boasts a powerful soundtrack but the actual gameplay is largely devoid of music with the exception of when evil ghosts are chasing you and a few other select sequences. The sound effects are carried out fairly well with each step, door opening and other various environmental interactions having it’s own resulting sound that is distinguishable and recognizable. The voice acting on the other hand, is downright atrocious for most of the characters. It is impressive that a game this old has voice overs for almost every line of dialogue but the voices are very stiff and robotic, perhaps due to an issue seen in with other games that are also ported to American after originally being made in Japanese.



As for the actual gameplay and controls, Echo Night gives the player a unique gameplay experience that is unfortunately hampered at many points by the slow moving and clunky control scheme. As Richard, you find yourself on the Orpheus for a majority of the game where you are trying to uncover the mystery behind your father’s disappearance. You interact with and collect various items from the environment to solve puzzles that allow you to progress further in the ship. A major part of the gameplay is interacting with the ghosts on the ship (both good and bad) and providing them with the necessary items or information to allow them to finally be at peace and leave the ship for a better place. You may find some puzzles much less intuitive than others but the variety in the environmental interactions throughout keeps the game fresh. All in all, the puzzles are well done, typically not too confusing and don’t require much backtracking to previous areas, making the gameplay effective in both concept and execution. The controls that accompany the gameplay are not as well-rounded as the gameplay unfortunately. The game moves at a very slow pace and there is no way to speed up your movement, making exploration a tad tedious, especially if you’re unsure of where to go at particular point. Turning and looking up/down is a slow moving process as well (and slightly tedious due to no analog stick support as a result of how old the game is) which can certainly prove troublesome when quick movements are needed to escape evil ghosts or when precision is needed to interact with a particular object. Thankfully, a well-sized crosshair is ever present in the middle of the screen and lights up whenever it is over something you can interact with.



As mentioned before, Echo Night is a very short game, clocking in around only 5 hours or so for an average play through. There is very limited reason for replaying the game as there is only one secret that can be unlocked in the main game (if you are thorough in completing everything). There are 3 different endings which is a nice bonus, but these endings have little to do with how you played the game as a whole and are more influenced by choices at the very end.



Story 8/10 – The story is definitely unique and enjoyable even if it is convoluted and plagued with bad acting at times.

Presentation 5/10 – The graphics are very rough, even for a game this old. Additionally, music is practically nonexistent and the voice acting is pretty abysmal; extra points were added back in for the decent quality of the sound effects.

Gameplay/Controls 7/10 – The gameplay provides a classic adventure game style infused with solid horror elements. The style of gameplay is only hampered by the sluggish and clunky controls that come with it.

Lasting Appeal 3/10 – The game is fairly linear and there are very few secrets hidden away. There are 3 endings, but they could theoretically all be achieved by simply replaying the last section of the game without starting over from scratch.



Final Score: 7/10