VN - Ren'Py - Echoes: The Lies We Tell Ourselves [Ep.1 Public] [Oldcat]

Who are you and what you had done with the dev ? Seriously thought, my entire expression reading this game is "The dev can actually write now ?" The story and writing is a massive upgrade from My Real Desire (I take a shower, I eat, I sleep) and Myth of Slayer. All the girls has depth, even the ones with little screentime., and they are more than just stereotype. The graphic is good, though the eyes puff is a bit much imo. And the interaction, man oh man, it feel more real and emotional than the dev's other work. I will wait for the next update but right now, 4.5/5

Echoes: The Lies We Tell Ourselves [Ep.1 Public]

Pros:
+ Excellent writing quality, inner monologue breaks up any monotony
+ Character quirks and overall personalities feel diverse
+ Main character feels fleshed out and relatable, not just a blank slate
+ Great and memorable introduction to all of the game's love interests
+ Character models are all attractive
+ Clean, simple yet effective UI and character info menu
+ Animations are solid
+ Roxy is hot (personal bias)

Cons:
- Not very much content so far but expected of an initial release

I don't often bother writing reviews for initial releases, and although I don't think that the game was particularly groundbreaking, nor has it given me some new, profound meaning to life, it doesn't have to. It was a great start to a potentially fun and interesting journey to come.

The game does an excellent job as a first episode in introducing us to a unique cast (particularly the story's love interests), as well as showing us their unique quirks and overall personalities. Some more than others but I'm fully confident that their stories will flesh out more as the story develops. The key thing about their introductions was how memorable they were. Most of them left an quite an impression.

That being said, I think where this game excels is the writing of the main character. We still don't know everything yet about him, but the inner monologue does a great job of painting the picture of the man whose story we are following and directing. It also helps break up the monotony of reading from one conversation to another. It's refreshing to see rather than a blank slate, and even relatable at times. This might not appeal to everyone but overall, I think it was well done.

There isn't much content yet, as this is only the initial release, but I think it does a good job of setting up what type of characters you'll encounter and the type of story you'll be navigating through. For most people, I would say to wait for more content, but if you have some time, check it out and see if it's for you. I think the first episode alone will be enough for you to get a feel for the game and find out if it's your cup of tea or not.

Overall Rating: 10/10

I really like this game!
Here is a brief summary:

• the girls are really good looking and slim - I feel like I am surrounded by supermodels;
• the story is really good and it looks like some mystery would be involved too;
• the dialogs are smart, witty and funny - plus I really like MC's internal dialog which is really sharp because MC seems to notice a lot of things about different people (I wish I would be like that );
• this game makes you think - sometimes you need to really decide what you want (vs mindless clicking "Next", "Next", etc).
• the music in the game is really good too - it really adds some good vibe to the game (vs. often just some background noise in some other games).

This game is one of my Top Five games for sure!

PS. If the game develper @Oldcat (Lyk4n) reads this review - I expect nothing less but another Masterpiece (consider yourlself warned ).

I think there's something here but at the moment this is an overdescribed mess. The MC is just so depressing, with the constant inner monologuing, it makes for a very hard read. What's worse is there no real signs of anything changing for him or enough detail as to why he is like this to give us empathy and understanding for the character. We are 'hearing' too much repetition of his own thoughts for it to be a pleasurable. The MC has to be fixed or too many readers will give up. The principle is fine but the way its being done isn't working. The MC needs to be sent to a shrink for help and to give us an explanation as to why he's like this or to quickly be in relationship that helps him feel better and starts him living back in the real world, rather than his head. Preferably the dev needs to rewrite the character and tone it down. Please stop the 'in the role of director' and 'I'm an actor putting on a performance' crap. It's goes too far. One reference in a light-hearted way is ok; the way this has been done, the idea is pushed too far. I get that something has happened to him but this is comes across as a serious mental health issue, where the MC is referring to that part of himself like a different person. The only conclusion if this is deliberate be the writer is, is he going insane and about to go on a very dark path, killing the people he meets? I found myself skipping text to look for him talking to people rather than himself, hoping for a lighter tone. Everything looks okay with nice spread of LI's but we find out too little about them, as the MC is only interested in himself and what he thinks, rather than what they think. Depression / Mental health issues can be done well, with thought and care in a VN, such as in SG but you have to give the reader hope of a brighter future, that things will/could get better or give us an 'anchor' character who knows, understands and helps them. Too much thought and not enough talk.

Well for now from everything I've experienced from this game so far is really new from what I've used to from his other games its more serious than mos or mrd.
The graphics I have no complaints even though its still early but my only criticism here is too much inner monologue, like I get what he is trying to do but sometimes its too much especially in some scene. Still I think this game is gonna be good just hope he can alternate between this and mos.