ECHO’s New Trailer Gave Us Chills

There’s something creepy and beautiful on the way from Ultra Ultra, the Copenhagen-based studio composed of former IO Interactive developers. Their debut title, ECHO, is slated to make waves on PC and PS4 on September 19. Ultra Ultra just released a brand new gameplay trailer for ECHO, and it’s the most strangely unsettling trailer I’ve seen in a long time. There’s nothing inherently frightening or grotesque in the trailer or its visuals. Instead there’s a certain ambience; a beautiful, lonely, lurking feeling that the music and aesthetics seem to impress upon the watcher. Check out the trailer above for yourself and see if you can’t see what we’re describing.

In ECHO you’ll play the role of En, a space traveler exploring an ancient construct known as “The Palace.” It’s said that The Palace is “born of legend,” and filled with mysterious technology. The place is alive, and it’s hunting En in a strange way as she delves deeper in hopes of bringing back a life that should not have been lost.

“A character-driven story of introspection and discovery, ECHO quickly develops into something much more unsettling. Stepping into the shoes of En, it becomes clear that The Palace itself studies everything you are, everything that you do; in order to use it against you.

“The Palace creates ‘Echoes’, with the sole purpose of destroying you. The game will shift and change as you do, constantly evolving its Echoes based your actions – If you sneak, they will get stealthier. If you shoot, they will start to shoot back.

“Your only respite lies in the sanctuary of a Blackout. As The Palace shuts down in order to update its deadly copies of En, you have a small window of opportunity to act without consequence. But beware, when The Palace comes back online, your pursuers will now be even more relentless.”

Pretty neat, right? And more than a little eerie. I can tell that there is a great mystery at work here, and I can’t wait to see where this game is leading us all. It’s a truly unique premise, and I honestly can’t think of another game to compare this to, though the lighting and animation definitely do give off a Hitman vibe.

I’m keeping my eye on this one, and I’ll be checking it out once mid-September rolls around. For more on this mysterious gem, stay tuned to WWG.