Echoes of the Living opens in a quiet European town in 1996, a place that suddenly becomes enveloped by a thick and unnatural fog. Soon after, panic spreads as sickness consumes the residents, the dead begin to walk among the living, and chaos overtakes the streets. Two protagonists emerge in the center of this nightmare: Laurel Reaves, a police officer desperately searching for her missing father, and Liam Oakwood, a former Special Forces member who came hoping to rebuild his life with his fiancée. Their paths lead them through decrepit buildings, bloodstained alleys, and hostile environments overrun by grotesque creatures. As the horror intensifies, they must uncover the truth behind the outbreak, survive the relentless danger, and fight to find a way out before the town devours them.
Summary
Echoes of the Living debuted in 2025 through Early Access on PC. Developed and published by the small indie studio MoonGlint, the game was built as a deliberate return to the fundamentals of classic survival horror. Though still in development, it already offers one full campaign focused on Liam, while the second campaign featuring Laurel remains planned for a later update. The intention behind the project is to recapture the fear, pacing, and tension of beloved 1990s horror games, but rebuilt using modern technology, sharper visual fidelity, richer storytelling, and a fully realized three-dimensional environment. The Game was Nominated for Game of the Year 2025 by The Survival Horror (dot) Com. Also, The Developer MoonGlint was awarded Indie Dev Excellence Recognition of 2025!
Gameplay
Gameplay in Echoes of the Living embraces the traditional structure of survival horror. Players traverse confined spaces, solve puzzles, and return to previously explored areas while conserving ammunition, medical supplies, and inventory space. Fixed camera angles heighten tension and obscure threats, forcing players to move cautiously and remain aware of their surroundings. The town’s buildings ranging from medical facilities and civic structures to old theatres and galleries are not just set pieces, but interconnected spaces filled with puzzles and horrors. Players face an evolving roster of enemies including zombies and mutated monstrosities. The game also supports both classic “tank” controls and modern analog movement, allowing players to choose how they want to engage with its old-school foundations. Liam’s campaign currently offers a lengthy playthrough with multiple endings and secrets to discover, while the future addition of Laurel’s campaign is expected to deepen narrative context and replayability.
Visuals and Style
The visual concept behind Echoes of the Living is a fusion of retro design principles with contemporary production quality. Rather than relying on modern over the shoulder cinematics, the game frames much of its action through fixed camera angles, evoking claustrophobia, uncertainty, and dread. Lighting is used deliberately to conceal threats, obscure rooms, and create anticipation. The town itself is a believable place, grounded in recognizable European architecture, yet transformed into a nightmare space through gore, decay, and disturbing distortions. Creatures are rendered with grotesque attention to detail, making each encounter memorable and frightening. Ambience and sound effects reinforce the psychological tension, ensuring that even quiet moments feel unsafe. In combining modern rendering with nostalgic framing, Echoes of the Living successfully summons the aesthetic spirit of survival horror’s golden age while delivering the visual depth expected from current-day releases.
Importance in Survival Horror History
Echoes of the Living is significant because it proves that the older style of horror game design still thrives when executed with care. The project intentionally rejects action-heavy trends in favor of vulnerability, fear of the unknown, and thoughtful resource management. The town setting expands beyond familiar mansion based horror tropes, instead using civic locations to produce fresh forms of dread. The dual-protagonist approach recalls survival horror’s storytelling lineage while allowing players to explore multiple angles of the same catastrophe. As a modern indie release, Echoes of the Living helps bridge the gap between past and present, showing that classic survival horror structure when paired with modern production can still captivate audiences and inspire new titles in the genre.
Reception vs Historical Value
Early reception for Echoes of the Living has been highly positive. Players have praised its atmosphere, its willingness to commit to fixed-camera horror, and its strong sense of nostalgia without feeling like simple imitation. Some concerns naturally surround the Early Access state, primarily involving unfinished content and anticipation for future additions. Still, the game has already demonstrated a strong command of pacing, visual storytelling, and environmental dread. Historically speaking, Echoes of the Living may prove influential as a modern benchmark for how developers can revive classic horror mechanics without sacrificing graphical fidelity or contemporary storytelling depth. The more content MoonGlint delivers, the greater the chance that this title becomes a defining release for retro-styled horror in today’s gaming landscape.
Availability and Collectibility
Echoes of the Living is currently available digitally for PC through Early Access. Its price positions it within reach of most horror fans, especially considering its lengthy playthrough and planned expansion of content. As of now, no physical or collector’s editions exist, meaning there is no collectible disc or boxed release. However, should physical editions become available after full development, they may hold considerable collectible value due to the game’s indie origins and its importance to the ongoing resurgence of classic survival horror.
Get it on:
Steam: Echoes of the Living on Steam
Trailer: