#echo chase

This man decided to make an entire documentary FROM SCRATCH (writing, research, b-roll, dubbing, editing, etc) for an assignment that is heavily implied to be due in ONE WEEK.

On top of that, he chose his project to be about a town that he hates, traumatized literally all of him and his friends, has barely any information about it, and has very few places to film.

ON TOP on top of that, he decided to make it a childhood friend reunion, who are all extremely traumatized by him murdering their mutual friend, he ghosted a bunch of (including his ex), and is trying to get in their pants.

Go back to being gay, chase

TJ -- The most horrifying route. Kinda silly to say this in retrospect considering what happens in all the other routes, but seeing the slow decline in isolation to all the other shit going on, I was genuinely shook by the end. And I feel like I still am.

Carl -- The most gratifying/wholesome route. Felt weird going into this after TJ's since that formed my impressions of what this was gonna be, but it makes sense in retrospect. Carl's whole portrayal of anxiety and the conclusion he comes to, it's not something I see that often and it was a very pleasant ending.

Flynn -- The route that made me fall in love with Flynn as a character. Holy shit, this lizard rules. He acts like he doesn't care but he cares so so so much. Though Carl will always be best boy, Flynn will be my favorite character in the game. He deserves so much more. I now know to not be afraid of my sleep paralysis demon anymore :)

Leo -- The most cathartic route, and my favorite. I deliberately held off on doing this for a while, kinda fitting into that thematic thing of Chase not addressing his problems. But the choice that you need to make at the end and seeing the shit that happens, the realization that things will never go back to how they were. It is painful and it hurts but I know it is for the best. Absolutely some of the best that Echo has to offer.

Jenna -- A nice sendoff. While I really liked Jenna as a character, I feel her route is kinda low for me on the enjoyment scale since the actual horror aspect never feels fully present, just tension. There are no doubt some absolutely horrifying moments (never before have I been so terrified of a walk cycle), but this route feels like it needs to be experienced last, which kinda makes it weirder to enjoy in isolation. It's the bow that ties everything up nicely, but it's hard to enjoy a bow without it being tied to something else. But overall, still a way to go.

GUYS I'M SCREAMING AND FREAKING OUT OH MY GOOOOOOD!!!!!!

So like I said, I have been playing The Smoke Room, and I am loving it. I ended up choosing Cliff's route since he's an adorable and earnest boy and I can't help but <3 him.

HOWEVER I DID NOT EXPECT THIS!!!!

So this is a map of the region of Echo from Avery's parents, and specifically his great great grandfather whom tracked where all the bonfires the Meseta people left behind... (These bonfires were places of safety and refuge, where they didn't feel at all threatened)

The FUCKED (and DEEPLY INTERESTING) part however is that the area surrounding the LAND of Echo, there was NEVER a bonfire in...

You guessed it.

A circle.

"You're always going in circles."

The Meseta people also know the land of Echo as 'evil'. This is so unbelievably interesting and fascinating to me. Oh my goodness. I have to think about the implications and theories for a while, now.

Unrelated side note;

I have really been enjoying Cliff's route. What I DIDN'T expect was the addition of Murdoch, too. It has given me quite a shine to him, as well, and I think it's AMAZING that the Echo Project was able to interweave another character like this into a character's route, and also the potential for this kind of throuple is fascinating to me. I haven't gotten much further than Murdoch's proposition, but I'm starting to get feelings™ because these 3 have found each other in such a desolate place, and I can see a deep and emotional bond forming for all three of them. And that's beautiful, especially given the time period they ended up in.

The Smoke Room has been fucking amazing and I just love these developments and characters I have been seeing. SPOILERS FOR LEO'S ROUTE/ECHO