All the titles feature a protagonist called Richard pursuing a magical artifact and interacting with ghosts.
The original Echo Night began as an experimental title based on the realistic graphics created for King's Field III.
While the Echo Night trilogy share common elements, each game takes place in its own timeline.
[11][12] The gameplay is generally the same across all entries, focusing on exploration of isolated locations and environments from a first-person perspective.
[17][22][23] Speaking in 2018, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki cited Echo Night as a direct inspiration for Déraciné, a 2018 virtual reality game.
[24] USGamer's Bob Mackey noted that the game was ahead of its time in its tone and gameplay, comparing it to later independent titles Gone Home and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, citing it as an important precursor to such exploration-driven projects.