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By Chris Penwell

Super Rare Games, unlike PlayStation and Xbox, is still continuing the tradition of releasing physical video games now and into the future. It recently launched a hidden gem of an indie RPG called Chained Echoes, and let me tell you, it’s something special.

I love physical games…

The stunning pixel art turn-based RPG has launched physically for the Nintendo Switch. DownUpJourney received the standard Complete Edition, which comes with the main game and the Ashes of Elront DLC.

When you first get the package, it feels special. It’s all wrapped in high-quality plastic sealed with a special Super Rare Games sticker specialized with custom artwork. This company knows how to make getting a physical edition special. Even the cardboard shipping box unravelled neatly.

And unlike most physical launches, it comes with extras other than just the physical cart (with all of the content on it!). It has a fully coloured manual, three trading cards based on the characters of Chained Echoes, and an exclusive sticker. It felt so nostalgic to run my fingers through the manual, despite how small it is. It’s mini-sized, just like the Switch cart itself.

The manual has tips for beginners, battle basics, basic controls, and some lovely pixel art included in its pages. It also shows a full world map with each nation displayed, even if you have to squint your eyes to focus on the words. The book is small, but man, it’s such a rush to see when you open the box.

The cover art is gorgeous, with several characters displayed in a lovely anime-like art style. It also has some wonderful cloud-based imagery as a background. The back cover shows a starry sky with mountains in the background, which is a nice touch. It would have been cool to get an alternate cover, but it’s great all the same.

First Impressions with Chained Echoes

I’ve put an hour into the RPG, and so far, I’m impressed. It steps up what the medium can do with pixel art. There is a battle scene during the intro that looks epic in scale. It’s a fantastic way to get the player enticed into the RPG.

What seals the deal, however, is the town of Farnsport. The art is absolutely gorgeous, showing you a vast fantasy landscape. Floating islands, medieval-style buildings, and a huge castle in the background give the game a sense of scale. My mouth dropped open as the intro gave us a swooping look at the first town.

Even at the start of the game, an epic boss battle awaits you. Wywyan is mighty, with powerful attacks hitting your party. With debuff attacks and strengthening moves, I was able to triumph over evil.

However, when we decide to destroy a powerful resource, calamity strikes. You see the devastation from far away as the pixel art cutscene shows the explosion from afar, Dragon Ball style.

From the beginning of the game, it’s what you’d expect from a turn-based experience. There are skills that cost TP (Tech Points), but you can use a standard attack too.

The twist is that you can cause your party to get into an overdrive that causes more damage to your foes and you take less damage from attacks. The problem is that you can take that meter too far into an Overheated stage. This makes you more vulnerable and has the enemy deal “massive damage to you,” according to the game’s tutorial.

You can reset the meter by switching out characters, using the defend action, or using an Ultra Move. It’s a cool mechanic that has you constantly thinking about what to do next.

Chained Echoes has a lot of potential, and other people who have the physical edition will likely enjoy the heck out of this game, thanks to its vibrant visuals and turn-based combat. It’s a shame the generic music doesn’t live up to the promising concept.

Thanks to Super Rare Games, which has provided a copy of the game for coverage purposes.