Developer: Working Game Studio Ltd.

Publisher: Working Game Studio Ltd.

Platforms: PS5, PC (Reviewed)

Review copy given by publisher

Sofie: The Echoes presents itself as an intense survival-horror action game, opening with highly polished, cinematic visuals that hint at a rich story. A voiceover that explores our protagonist’s spiral into violence and abstract, eerie images of a massacre make for a terrifyingly effective setup. With a female hero in a grim, zombie-infested hospital, it’s a daring beginning that has all the makings of an exhilarating, gripping adventure.

Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to enjoy or even play through after the initial thrill quickly fades into a frustrating, broken experience!

In what feels more like an endless runner than a survival-horror game, the game opens with Sofie running through hallways while avoiding bullets and broken furniture. There are no tutorials, which could add a sense of desperation if executed well, but here, it only heightens the frustration. Without clear guidance, you’re left fumbling through control screens and dying repeatedly, all for basic actions like vaulting over obstacles or figuring out where to go.

Unresponsive Controls and Broken Mechanics

The controls themselves lack polish, which is frustrating. The controls for basic actions overlap in a way that makes simple tasks like picking up a weapon more difficult, and Sofie moves in a strange, floaty way that feels anything but realistic. What genius though that having the jump button be the same as the interact button would be a good idea? The game suggests shooting a pipe at one point to slow down your assailants, but it doesn’t give you a gun until afterwards. Climbing over crates is necessary to get the gun, but since the button for jumping and interacting is the same, simply picking it up is more difficult than it needs to be.

The game’s design only gets more complicated after you get past these absurd obstacles. For instance, you will need a key the first time you enter an elevator, and even then, it is almost impossible to survive the wait while guards close in. When facing adversaries with fully automatic weapons, Sofie’s handgun feels like a pea shooter and cover is useless. Repeatedly dying here doesn’t heighten the tension or suspense; it just seems like bad design.

Glitches and Unintentional Comedy

Technically, “Sofie: The Echoes” is rife with glitches that hinder gameplay. Animations are janky, enemies flip and fly awkwardly after death due to physics problems, and characters glitch through walls (often at awkward times, like during the elevator scene). I twice glitched through the walls in the notorious elevator section, which resulted in instant deaths. As the game went on, these problems only got worse.

Progress Halted: A Frustrating Wall

I eventually got to a point in Sofie: The Echoes where it was essentially impossible to advance further after endless attempts and numerous deaths. You are led by the game into a lengthy hallway where three soldiers on patrol are waiting for you. Fighting these enemies is a nightmare because of your low health, erratic ammo pickups, and lack of useful cover mechanics. Regardless of your health level, every time the guards spot you, it’s almost an instant kill which seems absurd. I also attempted stealth but it doesn’t seem to be even possible.

Nothing worked, even after trying every possible pill or health item, trying a stealth approach that only resulted in certain death, and trying cover that offered no real protection. Even if I manage to isolate and kill one guard, the other two would inevitably turn me into Swiss cheese.

This constant cycle of inevitable deaths and erratic mechanics made me give up, even though I wanted to keep playing and give the game a fair shot. Playing further was now not only difficult, but also draining and frustrating, with no obvious way to go. In the end, despite its cinematic potential, Sofie: The Echoes felt like an unbreakable wall of glitchy gameplay.

I checked reviews on Steam at time of writing and everyone else was having the same bad experience. This game is not in a playable state!

Final Thoughts: Avoid This One Until It’s Fixed

With its evocative opening and its idea of an unflinching heroine overcoming horrifying obstacles, “Sofie: The Echoes” has promise. However, it is almost impossible to appreciate due to the overwhelming number of bugs, bad design decisions, and an unpolished experience. Players are unable to get past the game’s opening sequence without feeling similarly frustrated, according to Steam user reviews.

In its current state, “Sofie: The Echoes” is unplayable. It serves as a reminder that even brilliant concepts require careful planning and refinement to be truly effective. Avoid this one for the time being until the developer fixes its numerous problems, or else you run the risk of an experience that is horrifying for all the wrong reasons!