10 Incredible Recent RPGs That Surprised EVERYONE

Chained Echoes is a gem for JRPG fans, masterfully recreating the aesthetic and feel of turn-based title from the 1990s.

Inspired by Chrono Trigger, the Kickstarter-funded indie boasts a fast-paced combat system that never feels grind-heavy. The narrative weaves political intrigue, personal struggle, and high-stakes drama into a surprisingly mature and cohesive whole. There is an array of playable characters, each with their own fleshed out backstories, which creates a lot of interesting dynamics and conflicts.

However, the most impressive thing about Chained Echoes has to be the development team... or lack of. As hard as it is to believe, the project was almost entirely made by a single person, Matthias Linda. The former fan-game creator spent seven years crafting nearly every element of his passion project, including the pixelated art, the intricate mechanics, the dense dialogue, the countless NPCs, and the overarching narrative. (One of the few aspects Linda didn't tackle was the soundtrack.) 

Considering we live in a world where big time gaming studios regularly churn out soulless slop, it's astonishing how magnificent Chained Echoes turned out despite the minimal resources or manpower.