Fading Echo makes being a sentient puddle surprisingly fun

Fading Echo has one of those videogame ideas that sounds simple until you realise just how much the developers have built around it. You play as One, a young hero who can transform into water, turning the game’s main movement ability, combat tool and puzzle mechanic into the same wonderfully splashy system.

Developed by Emeteria and published by New Tales and Com2uS Holdings, Fading Echo began life as a tabletop RPG setting before evolving into a colourful third-person action-adventure. The world of Corel is made up of floating islands, ancient ruins and unstable realities threatened by a mysterious corruption known as the Paradox. One must travel across these increasingly dangerous environments while uncovering the truth about her powers and her connection to the world around her.

Water powers make every puzzle and battle more fun

The water transformation is easily the star of the show. One can become a fast-moving sphere of liquid, slide across the landscape, squeeze through narrow spaces and use pipes to reach hidden areas. She can also spread water around the environment and combine it with hazards such as lava, toxic waste or corrupted energy. These reactions can create steam, explosions and other useful effects, encouraging players to experiment rather than simply bonk every enemy with the same attack.

Fading Echo feels a little like Kena: Bridge of Spirits thanks to its colourful fantasy world, compact adventure structure and approachable combat. However, its elemental interactions give it a more playful personality. Instead of relying entirely on traditional weapons and magic spells, you are constantly looking for surfaces to soak, hazards to trigger and new ways to turn the environment against your enemies.

The game also features upgradeable abilities, staff-based attacks, environmental puzzles and alternative versions of locations known as Shadows. These distorted realities change their dangers and resources, helping the adventure avoid feeling like one long trip through identical floating islands. The impressive English voice cast includes Samantha Béart, Laura Bailey, Matt Mercer, Liam O’Brien and Sam Riegel, giving the project some serious RPG star power.

Fading Echo may come from a new studio, but its clever central mechanic and experienced development team make it an exciting debut. It is the kind of game that understands that water powers should be about much more than firing blue projectiles—and honestly, rolling around as a sentient puddle already sounds like a pretty great weekend.

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