Echoes of the Living

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Fixed cameras and tank controls in a town the dead took overnight.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (84% of 1,045 reviews), in Early Access
Length: 12 hours or more for Liam's campaign, by the developers' count
Players: 1
Made by: MoonGlint Studio
Released: 2025

What frightens In 1996 a fog rises over a quiet European town, the locals fall sick and the dead start walking its dark, bloody streets. Through fixed camera angles that hide what is round the corner, you fight zombies, mutated animals and other creatures with limited inventory space, backtracking between save rooms through places such as the hospital, art gallery, city hall and theatre.
Content: gore, violence.

Echoes of the Living is a classic-style survival horror game with fixed camera angles and tank controls, set in a small European town in 1996 where a fog brings the dead to the streets. You scavenge, manage a small inventory, solve puzzles and fight zombies and mutated creatures between save rooms. It is in Early Access on Steam with Liam's campaign; Laurel's is still to come.

About Echoes of the Living

Echoes of the Living is the first game by MoonGlint Studio, a young couple who left their jobs to make it full time. It is built on the survival horror games of the 1990s: fixed camera angles, tank controls (the way the developers say it is meant to be played), puzzles, a small inventory, backtracking and save rooms with item storage. The difference is the look: fully 3D environments with current-gen graphics instead of pre-rendered backgrounds.

The story begins in 1996. A mysterious fog rises one clear night over a quiet town in Europe, people fall ill, and within hours the dead walk the streets. There are two leads. Liam Oakwood, a former Special Forces soldier, has just arrived to start a new life with his fiancee Octavia Blade and has to find her. Laurel Reaves, a police officer, is looking for what happened to her father with the help of Marcus Wallace. Each has a campaign with its own point of view.

The game came out in Early Access on 31 October 2025 with Liam's story, which the developers count at more than 12 hours, with multiple endings, unlockables and a harder Survivor difficulty after you finish. Laurel's campaign is due before the full release. You walk dark, bloody streets and buildings such as the hospital, the art gallery, the city hall and the theatre, against zombies, mutated animals and other creatures, with weapons and gear you can upgrade.

It suits players who liked the original Resident Evil games or recent fixed-camera revivals such as Tormented Souls and The Hotel and want the same structure with modern graphics. The store warns of explicit violence and gore.

How to play Echoes of the Living

Buy Echoes of the Living on Steam; it runs on Windows and is in Early Access with Liam's campaign.
Start Liam's story and learn the tank controls: up moves you forward in the direction you face, left and right turn you, and you aim before you fire.
Explore the town room by room as the fixed camera changes, picking up ammunition, healing items, keys and documents.
Keep your small inventory free for what matters and leave the rest in the item storage in save rooms.
Solve the puzzles and use the keys you find to open new areas, backtracking when a locked door finally has an answer.
Upgrade your weapons and equipment as you go, and save in safe rooms before pushing into a new area.

Screenshots

Liam runs down a dark wet alley past a body on the ground, under the awning of a sweet shop

A bloodstained basement corridor with a storage room door and an emergency exit sign, seen from a fixed camera

Liam shoots a zombie at close range in a narrow scaffolded alley, blood spraying

Laurel walks a dark overgrown park path lit by old street lamps

Close-up of Liam Oakwood in a dim shop with the blinds drawn

Tips

The developers say tank controls are the experience the game was designed for; give them an hour before switching.
Not every zombie needs to be killed; walking around one can save ammunition for the creatures that block your way.
Read the documents you find: they point to codes and the order of places to visit.
Note locked doors and odd objects on the map so backtracking is quicker.
Finishing Liam's campaign unlocks Survivor difficulty, so save the hardest challenge for a second run.