Chained Echoes

By now, you've likely heard the accolades for Matthias Linda's throwback JRPG, Chained Echoes. Believe every word of it. This is a fantastic game that succeeds at everything it sets out to accomplish.Read More

It's not every day you get to experience a game like Chained Echoes. With an incredible story, excellent writing, characters you can connect with and a combat system that takes a traditional turn-based system and turns it into a strategic, thought-provoking experience. What's not to like about that?

Every now and I then I come to a game with no expectations, and get completely blown away. Chained Echoes is a gift to JRPG fans. It’s an homage to classic 2D titles from the Super Nintendo and PS1 eras. And it’s a near perfect modernizing of all the genre tropes non-genre fans complain about. Chained Echoes is a late 2022 contender for Game of the Year, and a must play for all fans of 2D JRPGs.

Chained Echoes is a new 16-bit JRPG that shines with its visuals, faster turn-based combat, and attention to detail. It also performs near-perfectly on the Steam Deck!

Take up your sword, channel your magic, or board your Mech as you follow a group of heroes on their journey through the war-ridden land of Valandis. PC version reviewed.

Considering the hubris of Chained Echoes, it should not work, but it does, and beautifully. Matthias Linda has created a broad world that is ripe for further exploration. The only worry now is that the bar is set too high, but it's hard to imagine the team creating anything with less passion and polish. After playing through a creative, familiar, yet distinct game that engages players in nearly every way, one can only hope that there will be more from the brilliant team behind Chained Echoes.

Chained Echoes is a 16-bit-era JRPG that lends itself well to the genre. A definite pickup if you are wanting to do a run of more SNES-era games but still have some quality-of-life adjustments of the modern era.

Chained Echoes rises above its SNES-era inspirations, crafting an experience that easily stands out for its own merits.

Overall, Chained Echoes is a great throwback to the old JRPGs of the SNES era, and for those who loved those sorts of games, this one is definitely worth your time. This game is also for those who are not looking for a nostalgia trip though. This comes from someone who does not ordinarily enjoy JRPGs, but Chained Echoes is chockful of content, systems, and loads of great characters and complex mechanics. You’ll probably love it if you do or don’t love those old-school JRPG classics.

If you're like me, you've been waiting for Chained Echoes to release for quite a while; well, it's finally here and it's great stuff.

The best sequel to Chrono Trigger there’s never been, with a pseudo-Japanese role-player that maintains a delicate balance between retro homage and modern indie game.

It is amazing how much passion was put into this project by its sole developer Matthias Linda and the artists involved. And you can see it permeate through the games gorgeous 16-bit visuals, accompanied by Eddie Marianukroh’s phenomenal score consisting of tempered orchestra and pleasing synthetic melodies. Despite my frustrations with the combat system, there’s a lot of good you’ll find in Chained Echoes. I can easily recommend this game for any Super Nintendo era role-playing game. A beautiful rose with a very sharp thorn.