Sometimes it’s totally fine, but more often than not, the dialogue is awkward and stilted. The most glaring issue with the game’s story, however, is the writing. One of the game’s mysteries involves these giant, red-eyed monsters that wreak havoc whenever they show up. Also, some of the big bads aren’t dealt with by the time the credits roll, which makes me wonder if Linda intends to one day make a sequel.

I will say, though, that the game’s final twist felt a little like it came out of nowhere, and it wasn’t particularly satisfying as a result. On the contrary, there were times when my expectations were brilliantly subverted, and I found myself surprised by several of the plot twists. It’s easy to see elements of the classic RPGs that inspired this game throughout its well-paced main story, but it never feels like a carbon copy. What starts as a noble quest to bring peace to the land turns into a sprawling crusade against evil tyrants, vain deities, and an ancient evil that threatens to destroy all life. Taking place on the war-torn continent of Valandis, Chained Echoes tells the story of a diverse and ragtag band of heroes brought together by equal parts fate and coincidence. Solo developer Matthias Linda had the same dream, and after many years and a successful Kickstarter campaign, he has created a love letter to his favorite RPGs that is also simply a fantastic game in its own right: Chained Echoes.

And many of us have wished at some point that a new game could capture the magic that “old-school” RPGs bewitched us with when we were younger. Whether it’s Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger on the SNES or Xenogears and Final Fantasy IX on PS1, we’ve all talked about a classic RPG with nostalgia and reverence.

A lot of us fondly remember our time playing games from the so-called “golden era” or RPGs.

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