Videogames strike me as the perfect venue to explore ghost stories, considering that so much of what makes them effective resides in the relationship they establish between the deceased of the tale and the setting in which they haunt. The interactivity and sense of presence provided by games enables the development of a ghost story with the tangibility that other forms of storytelling can't replicate, and its a shame that so much of the use of ghosts in videogames usually amount to simple jumpscares that fail to explore the range of the genre outside of survival horror (Fatal Frame still rules, tho).

For this reason Echo Night peaked my curiosity, with its premise of saving lost souls trapped in a boat that disappeared at sea. Sounds like the perfect setting for a ghost story, right? A doomed cruise ship, filled with the hopes, dreams and fears of people of all ages and social classes left forever unresolved, sailing the open sea for all of eternity, real Titanic shit. Ahhh, it's always the ones you root for that disappoint you the most...

Echo Night's biggest failing to me rests in its inability to make you feel like you are indeed on a ship. Being an adventure game, it's disheartening to witness how little panache Echo Night has to offer regarding the description and detail of its world, being content with explaining to you that a lamp on closer inspection is indeed just a lamp. And it's fine that the budget wasn't there to give the look and sound that would sell the idea, but if I so, I question why they didn't lean instead more on the power of words to do that job for them.

Additionally, while I appreciate the ambition to add intrigue and mystery, the murder plot is needlessly convoluted and detached from the plight of what should have been the main event of the game, the ghosts. Lacking any presence or emotional baggage, the ghosts serve as mere obstacles to tackle with little reason for their existence within the overall story, and minus some forced hostile encounters added to spice up the gameplay, you are left feeling that you are pretty much alone on a deserted ship.

It's an unfair comparison, but I can't give Echo Night a pass when games of its era like Silent Hill managed to be more effective at feeling tragically haunted and at giving life to seemingly empty rooms. Ultimately, the biggest criticism I have for Echo Night is that I fail to see why it had to be a story about ghosts, and why that ghost story had to be set on a ship.

Reviewed on Apr 13, 2022


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