Echo Point Nova

2025-04-21

I played this a while back, even before i wrote my review on [GTFO], but, the game had left a .. very solid impression on me. I only now realized that I have thoughts that could be written down on it though.

Echo Point Nova is a first person shooter that manages to actually hit a niche. It is one of the few games that I could safely place into the 'fruitiger aero' cluster of aesthetics. The game consists of blue skies, abstract terrain and fast-paced soundtracks.

That's the overall idea behind it, at least. I'll start off with the story, which is loose and sidelined. I don't have a better way of describing it. There are some forgettable characters presented in a forgettable format (completely ignorable text messages), that have a forgettable storyline. Evidently they are not the point of the game. The story intentionally serves as but a framework to put you into the game's world, provide antagonists and to setup enemy characters. And within the context of the entire game, it works.

The game's world is beautiful to me. As I have mentioned before, Echo Point Nova gives off a fruitiger aero vibe. That is thanks to the fact that the game's world consists mainly of clear blue skies and scattered islands. The 'openness' of it is what drives the aesthetic home for me. I don't have a better way of putting it, beyond that.

The entire game is built on a voxel system, leaving every single area in the game fully destructable. Apart from being technically impressive, the game also takes effective advantage of it as well. That is to say, the game as a whole is enhanced in nearly every way by it's unorthodox environment.

In the end, what made this game worth writing a review for was the gameplay. This is.. about as solid as an FPS can get. That is to say:

• The game had ZERO technical issues, even when playing on proton, and ran well on what is now considred to be a semi-old gaming rig. (Nvidia 2070 SUPER + Ryzen 3090)
• The game had an incredibly fluid and enjoyable movement system, Which had a beautifully crafted progression system within as well, slowly giving the player every single tool to get them used to the game's overall movement, turning them into professionals by the end.
• The game had an awesome difficulty curve. That is to say, the fine line between overwhelment and boredom was struck as if with a robotic precision. I never felt bored and I never felt overwhelmed or frustrated.
• The game had a good selection of satifsying weaponry, with a well rounded ammunition system to boot, which encouraged diverse use of tools.
• The game also had a good roster of hostiles. There was a well planned progression of enemies that always required me to rethink how I approached a level of the game.

All in all, it's not a single mechanic or a single choice that made this game work. To me, this game is made enjoyable by a solid combination of quality throughout. Taken alone, an aspect of this game is not much to write home about, but when put together, all of these elements build up to a game that is overall a truly enjoyable experience.

That being said, this is not a "play this game no matter what kind of person you are" type of recommendation. This is a game meant for someone who is already familiar with first person shooters. The movement system especially can feel overwhelming to a game illiterate person. I would reccomend this for someone who has beaten half-life 2, or DOOM 2016 (Or a similarly difficult FPS).