A technical reason why developers went for random encounters. Plus, back in the days, it was also most times a way to save resources.

But – and that might sound a bit silly – there are story reasons why I didn’t go for them. ML: There are games where random encounters do make sense. Was it always important to avoid this more dated design choice?

LC: I was so glad to hear that random battles don’t exist in Chained Echoes. Just that they grew up on more action oriented titles while I was always a fan of turn based RPGs. And from what I know the CrossCode Team did the very same. I did not try to recreate them but I tried to recreate them how I remembered them. We both picked certain games from the past and developed our own title in a way… hmm… how to explain that? So, what I did, I tried to create a game which looks and feels how I remember the games I grew up with. Matthias Linda: I know the devteam of CrossCode and in general we share a similar vision to be honest.

What made you decide to create a turn-based game? Lyle Carr: I adored the last game from your Publisher in these veins, CrossCode, but it was much more action oriented then Chained Echoes. I was lucky enough to interview Matthias in the run up to launch, and he his answers pretty much confirmed that this game is going to be a must play for fans of classic RPGs. Releasing next month, Chained Echoes is looking like the perfect way to round off a year of phenomenal games. With incredible visuals and turn-based combat that looks anything but slow paced, it immediately grabbed my attention. And that looks to be continuing with Chained Echoes.ĭeveloper Matthias Linda has clearly put a lot of love into this gorgeous 16-bit style JRPG over the last seven years. Deck13 are probably better known for games like Lords of the Fallen and The Surge than publishing phenomenal indie games, but it turns out they do both.

CrossCode blew me away when I played it in 2020, with its exceptional premise and tricky dungeons I immediately fell in love with the pretend MMO. They say you’ll always remember your first, and I certainly remember mine.

Chained echoes story download