Lone Echo, And The Importance of Immersion In VR
Introduction
Don’t be fooled by the announcement trailer. The similarities between Lone Echo and Gravity end pretty quickly, but as little as the two have in common, the things they share are what make this game so great.
Both titles start off with with a fairly standard Sci-Fi intro, where “Our two protagonists set off at another seemingly normal day at work on the [space station]. Suddenly, disaster strikes!” Those are pretty much the only similarities though. Where Gravity is a heart-pounding thriller, Lone Echo is a much more serene experience. Instead of fighting for your life, escaping the debris of a destroyed satellite, the majority of your time with Lone Echo will be spent performing maintenance on damaged equipment around the Kronos II station, and the surrounding mining areas.
At first, that might sound like a bad thing, but it’s one of the main reasons Lone Echo is so enjoyable. With how well this game is made, I don’t think it really matters what you do, since doing it is going to be fun. The execution in virtual reality is done almost flawlessly, and there were very few points during my initial playthrough where I was reminded, “Oh yeah, this is a video game.” When I think back on it, my memories are as a robot floating around a space station, not as a chunky 20-something guy sitting in his living room.
The novelty of navigating a gigantic space station in zero gravity is one that just doesn’t wear off, and it turns universally boring chores into interesting navigational puzzles.
“I’ll get started on the morning checklist in a bit… Just give me a moment to soak in this view.”
The Writing
If you want to be reductive, you could say that during the first 2 hours of gameplay, you’re basically just doing chores. And while folding up your laundry and putting it away would be pretty neat in zero gravity, in Lone Echo, you’re performing maintenance on futuristic mining equipment, built to extract helium isotopes from the outer rings of Saturn. Players take the reigns of Jack, the android tasked with keeping the company of the only human aboard the Kronos II mining station, Olivia Rhodes. The two of you are forced to repair the damage caused by electromagnetic pulses emanating from a massive, unidentified spacial anomaly that looms less than half a mile away from your mining station.
If that’s not about a million times cooler than space laundry, I don’t know what is.
The story starts off with Jack “waking up” from his activation pod after performing routine calibration (which is really just the navigation tutorial). He briefly overhears that, after years aboard the Kronos II with Liv, they’ll be forced to separate following her promotion to a larger facility. The first few minutes are spent conversing with Liv, building what feels like a legitimate relationship with her. The dialogue is written in a way that allows you to delve into their personalities, painting an accurate picture of the chemistry between the two, and it manages to do all of that without being overly expositional. About 80% of the dialogue in this game is optional, but the more time you spend speaking with her, the more like a real person she beings to feel.
The first interaction players will experience with Liv happens immediately after Jack is activated for the day. Liv notices that his pod is malfunctioning, and that he isn’t able to exit.
“That’s odd,” she says, “Your diagnostic program has never flat-out crashed before. It must have suspended the pod’s release procedures.”
“In the event of activation pod failure,” Jack replies, “Titan protocol recommends performing a complete powercycle of the pod, followed by a level 3 inspection of–“
Liv cuts him off mid sentence to strike the release mechanism with the side of her fist, until it slides back into position. The pod opens, releasing Jack. “You’re all set,” Olivia says.
It’s this type of interaction that elevates Lone Echo’s writing beyond most video games I’ve played, let alone one on a platform as experimental as the Oculus Rift. The best way to introduce a set of characters is by very SUBTLY telling the audience everything they need to know about them, and how they’ll be interacting with each other.
In a sequence that lasts less than 30 seconds, you’re taught that Liv is smart. She knows her way around the facility, and she’s very familiar with Jack’s activation procedures, so you can probably assume she knows everything else inside-out as well. You can tell the kind of character Jack is going to be, a very by-the-books personality, and even though he’s incredibly intelligent, he still has a lot to learn from Liv. They never explicitly say any of this, but since you’re not stupid, like so many other writers seem to think you are, you can figure this all out using context clues.
These types of interactions happen throughout the entire game, and there isn’t a single moment of dialogue that feels forced or unnatural. Everything you’re asked to do is for a good reason, and while there are a few moments that feel like pretty obvious video game objectives, they’re subtle enough that it doesn’t detract from the overall experience. Lone Echo has 40 malfunctioning cubesats strewn across the game’s map, and you’re given the side quest of finding and repairing all of them. Obviously the developers did this to increase the total playtime, but at the very least, it feels like a natural addition to the story, and you’re rewarded with additional backstory for finding all of them.
One of the 40 cubesats strewn across the Kronos II mining facility
Gameplay
One of the primary issues with Virtual Reality as a medium is moving a character that’s mapped 1:1 to the body of a real person. You might assume that the traditional method of “Hold up on the control stick” would work just fine, but when the world moves around you while your body remains stationary, your inner ear doesn’t really know how to compensate, which results in loss of balance. That’s not really a problem when you’re sitting down, but part of what makes VR gaming so fun is the ability to move around in virtual space, and you can’t really do that on a couch.
The majority of Oculus titles have players sitting in a stationary location, like in I Expect You To Die, or teleporting throughout the map, like in Robo Recall. They both work, but they’re the exact opposite of immersive. Nothing takes you out of the world faster than abruptly popping up from one point to another. Robo Recall does provide pretty unfettered access to the game’s map vis-à-vis the teleporter, but using it makes you feel like you’re playing a video game. This is especially noticeable when the controls are slightly finicky, and have a bit of a learning curve before you finally get the hang of using it.
Lone Echo very elegantly solves this problem, while simultaneously creating the most immersive experience I’ve ever had in VR up to this point. You’re placed directly inside of the game’s world in the most creative application I’ve ever seen in an Oculus title, and players are given a level of control that just hasn’t been experienced in VR, by not only allowing them practically unlimited freedom of movement, but encouraging them to go wherever they want.
Given the story’s location, players are suspended in zero gravity, which allows them to grab onto any surface within arm’s reach, and pull themselves towards it. Even though your body remains stationary, the game establishes an excellent connection between your head and your hands, which manages to trick your inner ear into thinking you’re moving. And that’s great, because this is the only Oculus title I’ve ever played that allowed me to go literally anywhere in the game’s world, and I was even able to stand up while playing it. If you can’t reach a wall or ceiling, you’re also given thrusters directly below your wrists, which allow you to fly in whatever direction you point your hands in case you get stuck. Playing Lone Echo really does make you feel like you’re in zero gravity.
Neither of them have ever really played video games to much extent, so I asked both of my parents to put on the headset and try moving around the game’s world. And that’s part of the magic of VR, with very little instruction, they were able to get the hang of almost immediately.
Playing Lone Echo really does make you feel like you’re in zero gravity.
Final Thoughts
I’d rather not spend too much time talking about the story, because this is a game I believe you should experience for yourself. If I had any complaints about it though, it’d probably be that it feels a little bit rushed near the end. The climax of the story is incredibly tense, but it really just left me wanting more. My first playthrough ended up being about 5 hours long, and while that was plenty of time to experience the game’s amazingly well crafted world, I just wish there was a bit more to it. If Ready at Dawn Studios decided to release DLC, or a fully blown sequel to Lone Echo, they’d have my money before I even see the first trailer.
The Good:
- Excellent writing and voice acting
- Well developed characters that almost feel like real people
- Incredibly detailed visuals
- Polished controls
- No motion sickness
- Thought provoking story
The Bad:
- Slightly rushed near the end
If you’ve got an Oculus Touch, do yourself a favor and buy this game. It’s worth the $39.99 price tag.
Don’t have an Oculus Rift? The Rift + Touch Controller bundle is on sale for $399 right now, which is an incredible deal given that the HTC Vive is still selling for full price at $799. Check it out if you’re interested https://www.oculus.com/rift/
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