Echo Weaver, the new “Metroidbrainia” from indie game publisher Akupara Games and developer Moonlight Kids, sends players — now called “Weavers” — through a dingy underground dungeon in challenging, Groundhog Day-like runs.
You’re a Weaver, among the last of your kind, and…well, you don’t know much beyond that yet. But as Metroidvanias are wont to do, this one puts the onus on players to investigate.
With nothing but a holographic pizza cat guardian, boomerang-like glaive, and some gumption, you’ll explore the vast, labyrinthine world of Provenance while stuck in an oppressive time loop. Bravely barrel into the darkness to expand your map, meet mysterious entities, and ultimately uncover the sinister conspiracy behind the world’s relentless time loops, called “cycles.”
You’ll discover more with each run, automatically logging each tidbit, battle, or passerby in your little exploratorial compendium. Each run starts with a reminder to “plan”; players should open their menu and study their maps and adventure logs to utilize every millisecond of their limited cycle time.
At the time of writing, Echo Weaver boasts an 82/100 on Metacritic and a “Very Positive” aggregated Steam review average.
‘Echo Weaver’ marries masterful Metroidvania mechanics, satisfying ‘Blue Prince’-like resets
Every movement matters. Weavers hoping to dive deep underground with little cycle time should plot every accessible time crystal to extend their runtime and optimize each step. Don’t miss those jumps, because it’ll cost you. Succeed, young Weaver, and you’ll add new, relevant info to your adventure log that could potentially inform your next move.
Devs cite Ori and the Blind Forest and Outer Wilds as inspiration, and you can feel it while playing. Personally, Echo Weaver‘s high-stakes storytelling and vibrant, almost intoxicating visuals remind me of Billy Basso and Bigmode’s woozy subterranean Metroidvania, Animal Well.
Ruthlessly short run times add urgency to every move, sometimes derailing what you thought was a masterful plan. However, like most addictive “numbers go brrr” roguelikes, this run turnover only makes the game harder to put down. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait ok one more time,” ad nauseam.
Tough time constraints curb curiosity, stifle storyline synchronicity
I’m a touch-every-corner kind of player. That weird, shadowy ledge? If three decades of gaming have taught me anything, there’s a special collectible up there. That unexplored nook you passed a few steps back will have to wait, though, because Echo Weaver‘s punishingly short cycle lengths mean players must prioritize progression if they’re hoping to get anywhere.
Despite the fire these short, fast-paced runs put under your bum, they can make the game’s story feel more disjointed than discovery-forward at times.
All runs eventually end, no matter how much you don’t want ’em to. Despite finding eleventy-six time crystals in a particularly fruitful run, my time wouldn’t extend. Once it ends, you’re teleported right back to that same, god-forsaken starting point. Sigh. You threw off my groove.
“Time is your greatest resource and secrets are your only upgrades,” reads Echo Weaver‘s Steam logline. You’ve got that right. Type-A listmakers will revel in Echo Weaver‘s organizational flow; scatterbrained adventurers (read: me) will benefit from the comprehensive quest log, but the go-go-go of it all stifles true, untethered exploration.
Despite some run-damning time limits, Echo Weaver is a sleek and satisfying cyberpunk Metroidvania full of the genre’s rewarding “aha!” moments. Those burst-like runs are stressful, no doubt, but Weavers get infinite mulligans.
“Master an unraveling time loop in this knowledge-based Metroidvania. As the last Weaver, exploit time-altering anomalies and use what you learn to break the cycle. Explore what remains. Uncover the mystery. Perfect the loop.”
Echo Weaver is available now on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, XBOX Game Pass, and Nintendo Switch 2 for $19.99.
Echo Weaver
Developer → Moonlight Kids
Publisher → Akupara Games
8/10
Echo Weaver is out now on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and XBOX. Got an XBOX Game Pass plan? Serendipitous — you can find Echo Weaver there, too!
Stay tuned to learn more about Echo Weaver on Akupara Games’ official website and X, as well as Moonlight Kids’ website.
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