14 DAY TRIAL // 
Robot Entertainment delighted many gamers with the impressive Orcs Must Die titles but also with Hero Academy, all of which came out a few years ago. Now, the studio has brought on the PC Echo Prime, a lightweight brawler with RPG elements that sees players explore the universe, battle a variety of enemies, and acquire special powers called Echoes.
The game originally appeared on mobile platforms, and now on the PC Robot claims that new maps, enemies, visuals, and enhancements are included. Besides traditional improvements, there's also a brand new alien race, not to mention environments that should add a bit more variety to the game.
Does Echo Prime manage to feel like a new game or should it be lost in space? Let's find out.
Echo Prime puts players in the shoes of a regular space explorer who makes contact with a mysterious group of aliens called Echoes, led by a female named Prime, while trying to survive an attack from space pirates. These aliens are sympathetic to your cause and allow you to use their various powers.
During your adventures, you can use a sword for close quarters encounters and a blaster pistol for longer range ones. Both can be upgraded by visiting the in-game store, and there is a big number of variations with different stats, extra features, or elemental effects. You can also buy new armor or helmets, also quite varied in terms of properties, but also temporary boosts to your XP or Credits earning rate.
Of course, the most important part of the game is the ability to use Echoes to augment your regular attacks. These can be active or passive, with the active ones giving you access to special attacks ranging from poison darts to fire balls, and a lot more. The passive ones augment your health, attack range, dodge distance, and more.
My examples are just scratching the surface however, as there is a huge number of possible Echoes that you can use. What's more, the game doesn't restrict you to the ones that you have already unlocked, as at the start of each mission you can choose between three random echoes from other Echo Prime players and use them for that certain mission. Echoes start off as normal but, as you use them in the campaign, they can get upgraded to Veteran status, augmenting their ability in different ways.
In terms of actual missions, the game has a few core recipes, as you can scour a level and defeat all the enemies, or protect a certain item from foes, or just survive a certain period against different hostile waves.
The level design is rather good and there are certainly some varied environments unlocked as you progress through your fight around the galaxy. If you just want to fight enemies, however, there's also a special arena simulator that will just throw endless waves of foes against you until you die.
While Robot Entertainment has definitely tried to augment the experience so that it will delight PC owners, its mobile roots are still evident, especially in terms of the rather short levels that are constantly broken up by loading screens.
There are also quite a few bugs, including some framerate problems. Controlling the game is also a bit problematic, as it will sometime misinterpret a mouse movement and cause the character to execute a combat roll instead of shooting at an enemy. Using a controller is also a bit difficult, due to some bugs relating to menu navigation.
In terms of visuals, the game looks pretty good, with great animations and decent textures. Enemy characters aren't that varied however, but it's not something you'll notice all that much.
Sound-wise, the game’s soundtrack is decent, albeit a bit repetitive in certain moments. The sound effects are good but don't expect any voice acting here.
Conclusion
Echo Prime is a fun lightweight game on the PC. While it can get a bit tedious if played in extended sessions and still has a few bugs, it's certainly enjoyable and should delight those looking for a simple yet customizable brawler experience.
