Echoes of Elysium: Crafting, Combat, and Co-op Above the Clouds

Echoes of Elysium Preview
Survival, crafting, and building games are incredibly popular, with settings and variations ranging from high fantasy to exacting realism. Any developer entering a game into this crowded field needs a strong hook. Loric Games is a studio staffed by veterans of the industry, and their idea for Echoes of Elysium is a interesting one: take the elements of resource collection, building, and warfare to the sky.

Based on ancient Greek mythology and history, Echoes of Elysium sends the player on a journey through the once-idyllic land. You are an unwelcome stranger and there are dangerous forces trying to stop your progress, led by the demigod Heron. With the goddess Lethe guiding your way, you build an airship and sail through a sky filled with islands and enemies.

Flying Fortress
The core of Echoes of Elysium is the always satisfying loop of collect, build, and upgrade. At first, most of your crafting materials come from floating piles of junk that you reach by glider. Eventually, you can pillage other airships and collect resources from the sky-islands.

At first, you have almost nothing but a barely functional sky raft. You add sails which allow you to actually move, and you start to build out your ship. You can add additional decks, dedicated rooms, and various types of weapons. Over time you can prioritize well-armored might or travel fast and light with multiple sails, allowing you to outrun an enemy ship. It’s a lot like naval warfare, with the added bonus of the Y axis to play with.

As you sail the skies you find both friendly docks — safe spaces with unique crafting stations — and hostile islands. Enemies have a bit of ancient Greek mixed with steampunk character, coming in the form of both organic humans, monsters, and machines. Your ship grows in power and complexity, and your character also has an upgrade progression path.

Many Hands Make Light Work
Echoes of Elysium was conceived as a PvE co-op game for up to six players. Though it’s technically playable solo, ship life in the sky really demands a crew. Someone has to steer the ship, man the guns, and make repairs. It’s way more efficient to have some members of the team collecting resources while others build. It’s hard to build a fleet of specialized airships with one person.

Echoes of Elysium uses an evergreen, stylized art style that’s bright, colorful, and appealing. I really liked the easy way pieces and design elements snap together and the possibility of building detailed, labyrinthine flying fortresses. Where the game needs a little attention right now is in its interface and fairly hands-off approach to onboarding new players. I like games that let the player figure things out, but Echoes of Elysium could direct its opening hours a bit more.

At least in the playtest, there is no support for controllers. Moving through three-dimensional space with mouse and keyboard felt imprecise. There are a few other little frustrations, like the glider initially being on a timer before you fall to the earth. I guess the limited time to gather is not unlike the start of Subnautica or No Man’s Sky, but it’s kind of a bummer to start the game with an injury almost immediately. Currently, the game’s menu options are pretty limited. Hopefully, this will expand closer to launch.

Sky-high Potential
Although it sails through some of the same airspace as the recent Lost Skies, Echoes of Elysium stands out with its creative ancient Greek setting and the intricacies of its build system, which allows for some impressive ships. Best played with a crew, Echoes of Elysium comes from a team with a clear understanding of what makes a multiplayer game fun. Echoes of Elysium sails into Early Access on December 4, 2025.