Browser BLAST – Echo Bazaar

Echo Bazaar – A game filled with trickery, persuasion, and all around sneakiness.

Hey everyone, and welcome to the next edition of Browser BLAST. This week, I’ll be showing you all a pretty interesting browser game known as Echo Bazaar.

It’s a text-based browser game with a ton of intriguing story and plenty of fun to be had.

Gameplay in Echo Bazaar revolves around 4 main stats (Watchful, Dangerous, Shadowy, and Persuasive). Players can take up to 40 actions each day, of which each action allows the player to perform one ‘storylet’, which are the basis of the game.  Each storylet lets the player make a choice of what to do within said storylet, typically testing a single one of the players stats. The game contains two types of these ‘storylets’, the normal ones which are always available, and ‘Opportunities’ , drawn from a deck of cards and kept until used or discarded. As the player participates in each storylet, their stats improve, and they become immersed even further into the story.

The story of the game is definitely one of the main reasons to play it. As you participate in more and more storylets, you begin to discover more of the secrets of the world. There is a ‘mysteries’ page in the game, where you can answer trivia questions about the world for small rewards, which is even more reason to read the in-game text. The world isn’t all you learn about, though. As you play the game, you earn different ‘Qualities’ that define you as a character. You become connected with certain groups, and call on them for favors, or perhaps you become more inspired by the arts, opening up more opportunities.  There is only a limited amount of content in the game, but enough that it will take you a very long time to exhaust it all, and more is being added regualarly.

The Echo Bazaar, the namesake of the game, is also an interesting part of the game. Players can only earn the currency in game, ‘Echos’, by selling items they find in the Bazaar, forming a barter type of market. You never know when you’ll need that item you’re about to sell, so you’re forced to make tradeoffs to do other tasks. There is no trading with other players, although the game’s market works well with the setting.

The game does integrate with Twitter and Facebook, and an account with either is required to play. The game also attempts to get you to invite friends to play the game, as without other people playing that you know, some tasks get much more difficult to complete, as well as requiring friends in order to help ease your Nightmares, Wounds, and other negative effects. The game is pretty playable without help, however. Feel free to follow ‘ROFLHead’ on Twitter, and I’ll try to help you out if I can! The game can be accessed here, and must be logged in with a Twitter or Facebook account.