Portal VS Echochrome

[esperandote]

First of all, I know I'm way past the games releases. I played Echochrome a little a couple of years ago and I played portal a few of weeks ago and I didn't relate one to the other until I retook Echochrome yesterday.


I realized that they have a lot in common, both of them are Puzzle games with physics mechanics, one uses teletransportation and the other one uses perspective. Both of them even have an artificial female voice guiding you (at least in the tutorial). They got similar ratings (Portal aroun 9.0 and Echochrome around 8.5). Even though the similarities, one of them as a vastly bigger fan base (Guess wich one).

I remember someone on the escapist posting how interesting Portal was programmatically speaking, how you created another roow every time you created a portal (or something like that), but can say the say that echocrhome is as interesting programatically speaking.

And when I thought physics puzzlers couldn't get better, while researching for this post, I watched Echochrome 2 trailer (Again very late).

That made me want to have a PS3 and Move.

Why do you think Portal has as greater fan base when both games have so much in common?.

I know most people have played Portal and I know what they think about it but, have you played Echochrome and what do you think about it individually and compared to Portal?

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

Hm... I don't know but when I saw Echocrome in action I started to think about Intelligent Qube for the PS1.

 

[Rabish Bini]

Why do you think Portal has as greater fan base when both games have so much in common?.

Because Portal came from Valve.

 

[RandallJohn]

I'd say because Echochrome:

1) Wasn't part of a bundle with an intensely hyped game
2) Was on the PSP, which wasn't as popular of a system
3) Wasn't made by Valve.
4) Didn't have Portal's sense of humour.

Shame, because it was a sweet game with cool music and an underused, if not completely original, central mechanic

 

[ResonanceSD]

Echochrome didn't have as exciting a premise, as good as environment, and came on the PSP. That system had two good games in any case, and neither of them were EC.

 

[Mystify]

While echocrome has an interesting mechanic, its not as fun at a basic level. Being flung around the room is fun in a way that twisting perspective doesn't match up to. When I saw the trailer for portal with all the flinging and manuevering, I walked into the other room and pre-ordered it. When I saw echocrome, I thought it was an interesting concept, and put it on my to-get list. Portal is also faster-paced at implementing the solutions. In ecochrome, you have to wait for the person to walk from place to place, sop even if you know the solution, you have to sit there waiting for a while. In portal, you can generally portal through a level extremely quickly, and are active during all of it. They even have challenges based on that, and people create speed-runs.
So you have some action-based fun, some clever puzzles to figure out, brilliant writing, creating a great game. This game is now put in absolutely ideal condition for exposure, and is supported by one of the most popular game developers around.
Sure, echocrome was a great game, but its not really a mystery why portal fared better.

 

[Zhukov]

Well, one has a great sense of humour and some cool characters alongside the puzzles.

Guess which.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well Portal had a much larger marketing with Valve and all, but it also isn't just a sterile level by level puzzle game.
If you remove GlaDOS, talking turrets, transition sections, all behind the scenes stuff and atmospheric music then people would probably remember it just as much as other puzzle games (only very vaguely), but because they brought that unique atmosphere it's reputation went far above any puzzle game.