Playing Every Game in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality
PEGBRJE: Fossil Echo
This is it, the final entry.
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Fossil Echo is a narrative platformer created by Awaceb, an indie studio based in Canada and founded by two friends from New Caledonia. Inspired by fantastical tales of adventure and mystery, players will follow a small boy as he attempts to climb a massive tower in the middle of the sea. What awaits him at the top is unknown, but that will not stop him.
In this 2D world, the player will perform platforming feats in order to reach a doorway to the next level. The foundations of these platforming mechanics should be familiar to nearly anyone that has ever touched the platforming genre, with the iconic wall jump being at the core.
Since our boy is a bit small, he can grab on to ledges to ensure that jumps he ‘nearly’ makes are still successful, but as the game goes on, these few seconds spent pulling himself up could spell doom for the entire section.
This is especially apparent on the timed levels, as every so often his two feathers escape his headband and require him to chase them up the tower — failure to go fast enough results in the feathers escaping, and the player forced to restart the section.
There’s a certain amount of weight to his jumps, something usually not seen in hardcore platforming. It showcases that it is still quite challenging for him, especially when he falls a decent distance and is stunned for a bit on landing. It all adds to the more narrative and character focus of the story, as the player watches the little interactions between the boy and the guards as he lands on them, or the panic that sets in if he’s spotted.
When the boy reaches a safe spot in the tower at night, he dreams of what brought him here, which takes players on a journey through his village and his life before coming here. It is absolutely rich with details, every scene screaming to be seen as the music swells to match. There are some platforming sections in the dream — like the one at the top — but they are for revealing murals on the walls to help hint at his motivation and purpose.
It’s all layered together in such an intrinsic way that it is hard to ignore, even as someone who is not the biggest fan of platforming titles. You aren’t really certain where the plot is going, but feel compelled to see it through thanks to the gorgeous set pieces and drip-fed world building. ‘Who is this small boy, and why does he want to climb this tower?’ will be running through your head the entire time, and maybe even after you finish the game.
No matter what, it’s a visual treat to witness. If you love narrative platformers it is an easy grab.
I don’t really believe myself when I write this, but according to my calculations… that was the last game of the bundle. Everything else is software.
Tomorrow will have a dual special for page 58 and 59 as 59 only has a single entry. There will be a compilation review of the past 18/19 pages coming up shortly, and then… The full overview. See you then.
