Echoes of the Unread is a blast to the past—and in the best way possible. The nostalgic adventure is a platformer that pays homage to titles that came before it while harnessing a creativity that is all it’s own.
What began as a ROM hack quickly evolved into something more, and Mega Cat Studios has made good on the promise of more as they celebrate the title finally coming to Kickstarter in May.
XDA spoke with the game’s creator, Matt Tuttle, about the new milestone when the game will be headed to the crowdsourcing platform, what inspired the game, and what fans can look forward to in the coming month.
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It’s almost time
Echoes of the Unread is a love letter to the fans
Echoes of the Unread is headed to Kickstarter on May 19th, 2025, and celebrated the new achievement with an imaginative new trailer showing off the wonders of the game. Players assume the role of Rhapsody, a girl in the throes of the marvels of a storybook-esque world.
The game blends Tuttle’s background and love for music with the universal themes of friendship and builds upon the foundations of classics like Super Mario. Mega Cat Studios’ latest trailer for the video game shows off the main character traveling and traversing through the magical world, interacting with various NPCs, and defeating bosses such as a grumpy octopus—all of which appears to be paying homage to a title like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
In talking about the game, Matt Tuttle detailed what directly inspired the aesthetic and design language of Echoes, telling XDA, “It started from a ROM hack of Super Mario for my sister’s birthday. I replaced the fireballs with music notes and set it in a library, but the rest of the game morphed over time after rebuilding everything twice.”
“Developing for the [NES] was a fun challenge, but I’ll probably develop for modern systems in the future.”
Echoes of the Unread is releasing for the original NES
And if you’re wondering whether this NES-esque game would’ve done wonders on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, you’re in luck. Tuttle explained that the whole purpose of Kickstarter is to crowdsource for the project that will, in fact, be released for the original NES. However, games after Echoes will “probably” be developed for more modern systems.
“The original version of the game was created for the NES almost a decade ago, but looked nothing like the final game. Developing for the system was a fun challenge, but I’ll probably develop for modern systems in the future,” Tuttle explained about the upcoming title.
As for word on a possible Nintendo Switch 2 release for Echoes of the Unread, Mega Cat Studios declined to comment at this time.
Key Features:
- Explore the realms of Horror, Sci-Fi, Western, Romance, and more as you work to gather pages and free yourself from Odele’s clutches
- Use the power of song to defeat enemies and solve puzzles
- Choose your own adventure with multiple endings to uncover
- Test your skills against a variety of bosses ranging from giant squid to fearsome phantoms
Echoes of the Unread heads to Kickstarter on May 19th, 2025.
