Echoes of the End, the debut title from Icelandic indie studio Myrkur Games, is a cinematic, linear action-adventure that blends puzzle-solving, platforming, and light RPG elements against a backdrop of rich worldbuilding inspired by Icelandic landscapes and myth. The game is published by Deep Silver.

Set in the world of Aema, you play as Ryn, a ranger from Noi Syrouve who has spent her life suppressing her Vestige background and ties to ancient magic after a childhood accident scarred her brother, Cor. When Cor’s taken hostage by Reigendal, the totalitarian regime has taken over Aema, Ryn embarks on a rescue mission which, at its core, is a story about family, identity, and the dangers of unchecked, suppressed power.

She’s joined by Abram, a mysterious man whose dry wit and hidden motives provide both narrative momentum and flesh out the lore of the Vestiges, ancient magic users capable of manipulating time and reality.

Echoes of the End plays like a hybrid of God of War and Hellblade: a third-person, mostly linear journey where combat, traversal, and puzzles are tightly interwoven. The puzzles are a highlight and feel creative without being overly frustrating, requiring you to actually think about and plan for your next move.

Using Ryn and Abram’s powers in tandem provides a satisfying adventure of solving the world’s challenges. Ryn’s powers allow her to repair collapsed structures, rewind the state of objects, and even peer into the past to uncover hidden dangers, whilst directing Abram to electrocute enemies, stunning them, or powering devices to solve puzzles.

There are four skill trees that can be assigned points as you level through completing missions and defeating enemies. The technique tree focuses on your sword skills and combo moves, whilst the Vestige tree focuses on your magical abilities and powers. These two trees work together to enhance the combat experience by unlocking new moves and abilities to use against your enemies.

The endurance tree is all about health, resources and defence, allowing you to buff your health and unlock new defensive moves that include blasting nearby enemies away from you. The fourth tree is all about your companion, Abram, and upgrading his abilities to make him stronger.

The combat is a mixed bag. Ryn’s swordplay and magic offer a satisfying blend of slashes, dodges, parries, and force-like telekinesis. Still, the repetition of enemy archetypes, usually the same small pool of Reigendal soldiers or native wildlife, dulls the excitement. There is a learning curve when it comes to combat and its controls, and there isn’t a lot of leeway in missing your dodge/parry/block timings.

Boss battles offer a cinematic flair with a generous checkpoint system that respects your time, but whilst these encounters are visually striking, the biggest frustration in these fights is the camera not really behaving as intended, where I will lock onto an enemy and have trouble locking onto a different one, or the camera itself will point straight at the ground midfight.

Trying to rebind my controls away from the awkward default setup (Q for block/parry, especially) within the settings caused my game to become completely unresponsive to any input. I tried the game with both KBM and an Xbox controller, and found that KBM was a little more forgiving. However, there is just a little too much going on to make it a comfortable game for new or casual players to pick up.

Visually, Echoes of the End is stunning – the beautiful landscapes on offer here are some of the best I’ve seen in an indie game in a long time. The character models are equally strong, with Ryn and Abram’s designs conveying a sense of history and resilience. Unfortunately, bugs and odd graphical issues, like glitchy HDR reflections and some performance issues like frame drops and game stutters, particularly on an auto save, can sour the experience.

Despite these setbacks, the game’s Icelandic-inspired aesthetic, atmospheric score, and voice acting carry the presentation. This isn’t a Souls-like or sprawling open-world; it’s a focused, narrative-driven experience, and that clarity of vision is refreshing.

Echoes of the End delivers a heartfelt, visually beautiful adventure with a compelling duo at its centre. Its puzzle design and worldbuilding shine, even if combat and technical hiccups hold it back from greatness. Myrkur Games, as an upcoming studio, shows promise here. If the rough edges can be smoothed out, their next outing could be something truly special.

Written by: Emily France