# Echo Weaver Beginner Guide [Guías de juegos](/es/guides/) / [Echo Weaver](/es/guides/echo-weaver/) Written for the launch build (October 8, 2026). The game is knowledge-gated, so mechanics described here are core systems, not patch-dependent numbers. Echo Weaver is a 2D time-loop metroidvania from Moonlight Kids, the studio behind The Wild at Heart, published by Akupara Games. You are the last Weaver, trapped in a repeating time loop in the collapsing ruins of Provenance. The twist the developers call metroidbrainia: there are no upgrades and no unlocks, just secrets. Every movement ability and every tool is available from the start. Progress depends entirely on what you learn about routes, shortcuts, and the rules of the world, then executing a better loop. Platforms: PC via Steam, GOG, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store, plus PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Day-one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. It has 39 Steam achievements and sits at 96 percent positive on Steam from early reviews. ## How the time loop works Every loop starts the same way: you wake in a pool of water with a countdown timer running. You start with just one minute on the clock. That sounds brutal, and the first few loops will feel that way, but the timer is a resource you manage, not a fail state to fear. - **Crystals extend the loop.** Pickups scattered around the environment add time, up to a maximum loop of 13 minutes, according to reviewers. Follow the given platforming routes early and crystals are plentiful. A few distant regions have fewer crystals, so stock up before an expedition there. - **Death or timeout resets the world.** Run out of time, take fatal damage, or fall somewhere fatal, and the loop restarts. The screen slows to black and you are back at the pool. - **Knowledge persists.** What you learned stays learned. Shortcuts you found stay found, and your map data carries over. Every loop makes the next one faster, because you already know the route. - **Timed events run on the loop clock.** Automated doors seal shut and boulders fall on schedules tied to the loop. Learning when things happen is part of the puzzle: being in the right place at the right time matters as much as being able to reach it. The mindset shift: you are not trying to survive one long run. You are rehearsing a route. Restarts are frequent by design, and each one should teach you something or get you somewhere new. ## Your first loops, step by step ### 1. Learn to move before you worry about anything else You start with double jumps, wall jumps, and slide jumps. Practice them immediately, because platforming is the core skill and some sections are demanding. No gear gate will ever make a jump easier. You either know the route and the timing, or you do not yet. ### 2. Follow the cat Early on you will stumble into a room with a hologram of a talking cat holding a pizza. This is your self-appointed guide. Follow it. It leads you toward your main tool: the glaive. ### 3. Recover the glaive in Advanced Research The alien glaive is your weapon, your puzzle tool, and your fast travel system in one. Echo Rifts scattered through the world teach you how it works and feed you lore about Project Glaive, the research program that created the Weavers. Read them. The lore is the tutorial. ### 4. Buy maps from Z Z sells regional maps, and buying one costs minutes of cycle time. Early on, that trade is usually worth it: a map turns blind wandering into planned routing, and planned routing saves more time than the map costs. ### 5. Grab crystals along every route Crystals are the difference between a 3-minute loop and a 13-minute one. Scoop them up with glaive throws as you travel. Reviewers note you are most at risk of running short when you get carried away with the glaive, so spend time on movement, not on stunts. ## The glaive: throw, recall, teleport The glaive is the whole game. Learn it properly: Glaive techniques TechniqueWhat it doesUse it for ThrowThrow horizontally or verticallyHitting distant switches, killing enemies, smashing detritus, scooping up crystals Boomerang tossToss and catch like a boomerangGrabbing things at range and returning safely Full-force lobFlies straight until it lodges in something or reaches the top of the playable area, then tumbles back downLong-range placement for teleports RecallHold a button to call the glaive back to your handRecovering it after any throw TeleportWarp to the glaive's positionBypassing barriers, crossing gaps, sequence breaks The teleport is where the game opens up. Throw the glaive past a timed obstacle, then warp to it. Chuck it down a pipe to slip behind a laser barrier. The classic early example from reviews: toss the glaive through a gap, then teleport past a door that would have sealed shut before you could walk there. Two warnings from reviewers. First, much of the world is open air under a purple sky, and the temptation to throw the glaive up at random and see what you find is real. Sometimes you land in an endgame section, skipping tutorials and lore. Sequence breaking is possible and even encouraged, but skipping the Echo Rift that teaches a technique can leave you confused later. Second, very high altitude sections have instadeath barriers that slide under you rather than letting you fall all the way back. Teleporting blindly upward can kill you. ## Time as currency: healing, doors, and trades Time is spendable, not just losable: - **Healing costs time.** You can actively burn time, disintegrating a bar of the timer, to restore health. Enemies are relatively scarce, so reviewers say this is seldom necessary, but it is there when a run is going well and you want to keep it going. - **Taking damage costs time too.** Getting hit eats into your remaining loop, so sloppy platforming has a real price beyond health. - **Doors and maps cost time.** Some routes and purchases draw from the same pool. Before spending minutes, ask whether the route or the map earns them back. - **Dive into blue inth flames to warp.** Community guide notes describe diving into blue inth flames as a way to warp across thresholds before doors lock shut. Watch for the blue flames near timed obstacles. ## What persists after a reset, and what does not What survives a loop reset SurvivesDoes not survive Everything you learned, including glaive techniques and Echo Rift knowledgeYour position: every loop starts back at the pool Shortcuts you discovered and routes you mappedYour remaining loop time: the timer restarts Map dataTemporary pickups spent during the loop This is why the game never feels like a roguelite grind. You are not re-earning power. You are re-running a route with better information, which is exactly how speedrunners practice. ## Tips from reviews and the community - **Plan loops around one goal.** One loop to scout a region, one loop to grab its crystals, one loop to execute the route. Trying to do everything in one loop wastes the loop. - **Treat secrets as upgrades.** When a door will not open, the answer is usually a rule you have not learned yet, not a key you have not found. Check Echo Rifts and re-read the lore. - **Route before you rush.** The developer says the game favors rhythm and routing over raw reflexes. Memorizing hazard timing and finding a clean flow beats frantic platforming. - **Do not fear the reset.** Reviewers stress that restarts are the core loop, not failure. If a loop goes badly, let it end and start the next one with a clearer plan. - **Talk to the survivors.** The loop contains odd survivors, including the pizza cat, a leader guarding refugees, and a dark cleric. They hold clues, and the story asks you to work out who to trust. Sources: Rock Paper Shotgun review (glaive mechanics, time-as-currency, instadeath barriers), SoManyGames review (1-minute start, 13-minute maximum, pizza cat guide, Project Glaive story), Echo Weaver community wiki beginner guide (movement abilities, Z maps, blue inth flames, glaive recovery in Advanced Research), BossRush demo analysis (Echo Rifts, damage and healing consuming time), Pixel Twelve launch coverage (no upgrades, no unlocks, just secrets), Notebookcheck launch report (platforms, Game Pass). Written for the October 8, 2026 launch build. ## Otras guías de Echo Weaver - [**Beginner Guide**Your first loops: the countdown timer, crystals, the glaive, healing, and what persists after a reset.](/es/guides/echo-weaver/beginner-guide/) [Echo Weaver centro de guías](/es/guides/echo-weaver/) · [todas las guías](/es/guides/) ## Frequently asked questions ### How does the time loop work in Echo Weaver? Every loop starts in a pool of water with a countdown timer. You begin with one minute, and crystals extend the loop up to 13 minutes. Death or timeout restarts the world, but your knowledge, shortcuts, and map data persist, so each loop starts smarter than the last. ### How do I get more time in a loop? Collect crystals scattered around the environment. They extend your remaining time up to a 13-minute maximum. Follow platforming routes to find them reliably, and stock up before heading to distant regions where crystals are scarcer. ### How do I heal in Echo Weaver? Burn time: disintegrate a bar of your loop timer to restore health. Getting hit also costs time, so clean platforming matters twice over. Enemies are relatively scarce, so healing is seldom necessary. ### How do I teleport with the glaive? Throw or lob the glaive to a spot, then warp to its position. Throw it past timed obstacles, down pipes, or through gaps, then teleport past barriers that would block walking. Recall it to your hand by holding the recall button. ### What do I keep when a loop resets? Everything you learned, every shortcut you found, and your map data. You lose your position (every loop starts at the pool), your remaining time, and pickups spent during the loop. There are no stat upgrades to lose, because progression is knowledge. ### What platforms is Echo Weaver on, and is it on Game Pass? PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. It launched day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 8, 2026. ### Do I need to play The Wild at Heart first? No. Echo Weaver is a separate game from the same studio, Moonlight Kids. The Wild at Heart is a charming adventure with similar art sensibilities, but Echo Weaver's story and systems stand alone.