I’ve always been impressed with the experience the developers have managed to pack into Playdate. It’s not that I had very little expectations for this handheld and its potential product when I first impulsively pre-ordered it a long time ago, but other than the Crank-focused game that Panic had originally teased before its release, I don’t think I really knew what to expect, it seemed like it was meant for short periods of play. Over the past few months, I’ve played a lot of these games and thoroughly enjoyed them, but I’ve spent hours solving puzzles and exploring intricate maps in surprisingly high-content games. Ta. Echo: Oracle’s Scroll, recently introduced to the Playdate catalog, may be one of the best yet.
Created by developer bumbleborn, Echo: The Oracle’s Scroll is a Metroidvania, but don’t let that scare you if you’re not into combat. It is non-violent and instead focuses on tricky platforming, puzzles, and finding ways around vast caverns. The map feels huge for a Playdate game. According to the developers, there are over 250 rooms spread out between the four levels.
In Echo: The Oracle’s Scroll, the inhabitants of three kingdoms are forced to flee underground as a disease known as the Blight threatens to wipe out all life. Humans live at the bottom of the kingdom called Bottom Rock. As the game’s child protagonist, you’re tasked with delivering a scroll to the archives, which requires you to travel through the somewhat dangerous Kingdom 3. This world has many secrets, and in order to advance or access seemingly inaccessible items, you will need to interact with certain elements of the environment in unexpected ways.
But even in difficult moments, there is a certain haunting calmness in all of them. The music sets just the right mood, and visually, Echo: The Oracle’s Scroll is stunning. The artwork is very clear in detail and I love the style of it all. In particular, the large characters, such as the frog prince who can bounce on his stomach, really come to life. Between the music, art, lore, and overall atmosphere, I was completely drawn into Echo: The Oracle’s Scroll. If there’s one Playdate game you should pick up right now, it’s this one.
