Call Me Anytime: Echo Of The Wilds
Wild at heart
I was less than thirty seconds into the trailer for Echo Of The Wilds when a quivering sense of outrage overcame me. The scenes in the trailer alternate between mysterious, peaceful, beautiful and spooky, and it was the combination of these things gathered together that caused me to flip the desk over, bellow an obscenity and snap a pencil in two.
The source of my fury was obvious - why the hell has nobody told me about Echo Of The Wilds before now? I was sure that a search of the archives would reveal that John or Graham had already have nodded in its direction approvingly. Not so. Well, take a bloody good look because it's a gorgeous and mysterious wilderness survival adventure and it's OUT NOW WITH A DEMO AND EVERYTHING, FER CRYIN' OUT LOUD.
I appreciate that the visual style (grafix) may not be to everyone's taste but it's a damn fine example of its type. And listen to this!
Finding yourself in mysterious forests you must unfurl a spiritual tale of solace before the unending winter consumes all. There a spirit guide will help you learn the skills of survival and the secrets of the wilds: why you awakened there, their purpose, and how to finally be free from its clutches and malevolent apparitions.
The gameplay focuses on exploration and survival of the randomised wilds. Gathering resources to build gear and sustain yourself, learning new skills and the intertwining interactions between the various areas, seasons, and weather. The game includes 22 areas to discover and 157 items, including food, resources, tools, clothes, gear and furniture. There's also an 'Endless' game mode which removes all narrative to focus on simply surviving through the ever fiercer ages.
It sounds like Terraria or Starbound made for me instead of people who like mining tiny squares for hours and hours and hours. The website should just say 'Terraria for cool dudes - Adam Smith, 2014'. Or perhaps you'd prefer 'Terraria for pixel-hipsters - Adam Smith, 2014 (wishes it were 1991 LOL)'. Either way, I intend to download it immediately and bury my face in a fishing pond until things get weird.
Go vote on Greenlight.