Forget sprawling fantasy realms or gritty urban landscapes. The upcoming action-adventure game Fading Echo plunges players into a striking desert punk setting, immediately catching the eye with its unique aesthetic blend of Japanese manga and American comics. While its visuals and fast-paced action look promising, what truly sets Fading Echo apart is a fascinating core mechanic centered around fluids and a development lineage unexpectedly rooted in the world of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs).
From Dungeon Master to Game Developer
The connection to TTRPGs isn`t just superficial; it`s baked into the game`s origin. Emmanuel Obert, co-founder of developer New Tales and co-director of Fading Echo, hails from the tabletop industry. Years ago, he crafted a TTRPG setting for friends, drawing inspiration from complex, diceless systems like the Chronicles of Amber but designing something more adaptable and interactive. This homebrewed world, initially built to work with a system like Marvel Heroic Cortex Plus, is the direct ancestor of Fading Echo.
When New Tales was formed three and a half years ago with a desire to develop, not just publish, games, Obert`s TTRPG setting presented a compelling starting point. The team saw its potential, refined aspects, and the result is the foundation of Fading Echo`s world, Corel. Echoes of the original TTRPG legends, like a version of a “Princess of Amber,” persist in the game`s lore.
Systemic Gameplay Fueled by Fluid Dynamics
Corel, a lost planet discovered and exploited by House Kelevra (protagonist One`s house), is depicted as a world literally fighting back against its colonizers. This conflict is central to the gameplay, which leverages deep systemic interactions. As studio head Sylvain Sechi explains, “Water [is] the mana of the game.” This concept expands to include other fluids like lava, waste, and corrosion, each reacting elementally with others. The core idea is to make the player feel intelligent by anticipating and exploiting these fluid interactions in combat and traversal.
Need to cross a pool of lava? Push a wave of water through it to create a temporary rocky platform. Facing fluid-based enemies? Your water abilities will have specific, predictable effects. The game isn`t designed with single-solution encounters. Instead, players are encouraged to experiment and combine their own fluid powers with environmental elements. If all else fails and you`re out of fluid resources, well, you can always resort to classic hack-and-slash with your spear. It`s the TTRPG philosophy of choice and freedom translated into action mechanics.
Star-Studded Team with Tabletop Roots
Extending their TTRPG connection, New Tales has brought in significant talent from that space. Jasmine Bhullar (DesiQuest, Coffin Run), a game master and actor, serves as the game`s writer and voices Rahne, One`s mother. Prominent voice actors Matthew Mercer and Laura Bailey from Critical Role lend their talents to major characters. Samantha Béart, known for their compelling performance as Karlach in Baldur`s Gate 3, voices the protagonist, One.
Béart`s involvement highlights New Tales` unique, collaborative approach. Unlike typical video game voice acting where actors often work in isolation, Béart was given early access to the game, allowing them to understand One`s movement and abilities firsthand. This practical understanding informed their portrayal of the character. Béart noted the small triangle symbol that appears on One`s head in her humanoid form and as her “face” in her water droplet form, interpreting it as a constant representing the core of her character, unifying her dual nature.
This collaborative environment, bringing in diverse perspectives from outside the traditional video game industry (writers, composers, cinematic artists), is seen by the developers as a key driver of innovation and creativity. It allows a French studio, for example, to work with an Indian-American writer to build characters and narratives from a fresh viewpoint, essential for exploring a vast multiverse.
A Multiverse of Exploitation
The narrative explores an “Echoverse” of realities. Corel is presented as a “prime reality,” initially untouched. House Kelevra`s aggressive colonization and manipulation of Corel`s resources create “Shadows” or “mirrored realities” – twisted reflections of Corel shaped by Kelevra`s exploitative choices. As One embarks on her quest, she travels through these varied realities, confronting the consequences of her house`s actions and gaining insight into her own identity and purpose.
This structural element of traversing different realities born from specific, harmful choices provides a powerful narrative framework, allowing the game to delve into themes of consequence and redemption against the backdrop of a visually diverse multiverse – from the initial desert setting to underwater worlds shown in trailers.
Anticipation Builds
With its unique desert punk setting, innovative fluid-based systemic action, TTRPG-inspired design philosophy, and a development team benefiting from diverse industry talents, Fading Echo is shaping up to be a notably interesting action-adventure game. It promises a blend of creative problem-solving, fast combat, and a narrative exploring complex themes through a multiverse structure.
The game is slated for release on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC. As of now, the specific release window remains under wraps. Players eager for something off the beaten path, particularly those with an appreciation for systemic gameplay and perhaps a soft spot for tabletop origins, should keep a close watch on Fading Echo.
Callum Darby