Echoes of Etheria is a Text-Adventure/Metroidvania inspired by the "Souls" series and various old-school CRPGs. The game features a large interconnected world, turn-based combat, nine starting character classes to choose from, and eight character skills that can be leveled for a variety of playstyles. Etheria was a thriving urban center that is now reduced to ruins long after a catastrophic event brought on by a mysterious extraterrestrial species. The player awakens amongst the wreckage ravaged by an unrelenting storm shrouding the city ruins in darkness. Your survival skills will be tested as you explore and fend off the mutated wildlife, otherworldly beings, and other horrific creatures inhabiting this strange new environment. Go on an atmospheric journey as you explore the ruined city of Etheria and uncover the secrets within. The world map features unique and interconnected areas, there's also many secrets and character upgrades to find along the way. Strange mirrors can be found in various locations that serve as checkpoints/safe rooms where you can spend silver acquired from exploration and combat encounters to level up your character's skills. Rooms marked with a raindrop icon are hazardous due to acidic rain and flooding. The Scavenger - "A weary scavenger barely scraping by. Well-rounded in combat with reasonable survivability, highly skilled at finding their way around the city of Etheria." The Prison Guard - "Former prison guard, barely made it out alive when the riots started. Decent strength and survivability, excellent defensive capabilities." The Engineer - "A skilled mechanical engineer, remains sharp by collecting scraps. Decent survivability and well-rounded in combat, quick on their feet and skilled at locating weak points." The Astronomer - "Dedicated their life to studying the stars, long forgotten due to the blackened skies. Weak combat skills but they make up for their shortcomings with a strong understanding of the world around them, evading enemy attacks with ease." The Paratrooper - "A former paratrooper who served loyally after being deployed in the city outskirts, managed to survive long after the military failed. Good survivability and strong combat capabilities with a specialization in firearms." The Acolyte - "A pastor before the old gods were abandoned, they spoke out against Quelthra's supporters and were nearly killed for it. Decent survivability in combat but lacks defensive skills. Excellent willpower protects them from the elements." The Dock Worker - "Hard working and disciplined from working manual labor. Good survivability with above average strength and firearms knowledge. Never really cared for much else though." The Botanist - "A plant scientist who travelled to Etheria from very far to conduct environmental research here. Healthy and physically fit, but lacking in combat capabilities, maintains good survivability by evading enemy attacks and closely studying their surroundings." The Vagrant - "Beaten and broken by the world, continues to survive out of spite and determination. Lacks any survival skills, each day is rife with challenges to overcome." There are many useful items scattered around Etheria's ruins that can help you along your journey. Some of these items are one-time use consumable items and others are permanent but have limited uses in between mirror visits, tough combat encounters will require the strategic usage of these items to cure status effects and provide temporary bonuses to give you an advantage. Armor provides damage reduction bonuses and can even grant new combat abilities, weapons have unique combat abilities to encourage different playstyles and strategies. Vitality - "Vitality increases your max health. Withstanding greater amounts of damage can improve your chances of survival." Strength - "Increases your physical strength and ability to use heavier weapons, increases damage with strength weapons." Firearms - "Increases your knowledge of firearms and ability to use them, increases damage with firearms." Defense - "Defense improves damage resistance, heavier armor requires higher defense." Evasion - "Evasion helps you avoid enemy strikes and reduces the frequency of incoming critical hits." Insight - "Insight heightens your awareness, increasing your ability to uncover items and hidden areas." Will - "Will improves your resilience against status effects and protects you from losing your humanity." Precision - "Precision improves the accuracy of critical hits against enemy weak points."
