Parents' Guide to ECHO

This unusual action-adventure game proves it's still possible for interactive entertainment to break new ground. It also proves that good writing and strong gameplay are worth more than a pile of different weapons, locations, and characters. ECHO has only one character: the girl En. There's an AI (artificial intelligence) voice in her head and loads of AI clones after her, but she carries the weight of the game on her shiny armored shoulders. Fortunately, her futuristic flapper look and amazing voice performance (provided by Game of Thrones' Rose Leslie) make it look easy. En has great dialogue, thanks to some brilliant writing, and her story is excellent, thanks to good pacing. There are high-tension shoot-and-sneak sequences that alternate with slow walk-and-talk plot development.

There are also gorgeous environments and innovative gameplay. Everything takes place within an AI-controlled complex that has a timed light/dark cycle. During the light, the AI learns from your example, so if you shoot a gun, at the start of the next light cycle, they will too. The only way to avoid making things harder for yourself is to move when it's dark. It's a tricky rhythm to grasp at first, but once you do, you'll feel like a deadly elite warrior. The only thing detracting from it is the uneven AI. Despite their ability to learn, their knowledge remains somewhat unpredictable. This makes it hard sometimes to get them to follow you or to know how to lose them. Still, it's not a huge deal compared to everything else. This is a uniquely literate sci-fi adventure, one that anyone looking for something different is sure to enjoy.