Trying to describe Echo Point Nova, a newly released PC shooter, is a tricky thing. I could describe it as a game that mixes Titanfall’s movement, modern Doom’s gunplay, Minecraft’s destructibility, Skyward Sword’s floating islands, and wicked rad hoverboarding into one oddball package—though that probably just makes it sound like a horrible mess. But trust me, Echo Point Nova isn’t a mess. Instead, it’s one of the best shooters I’ve played in years.
Here’s the setup for Echo Point Nova: You’re a cool soldier with a sweet hoverboard and grapple hook. You crash on a planet that is nothing more than hundreds of floating islands. The place has been invaded by a large group of asshole mercenaries looking to exploit the ancient technology that likely led to the planet’s destruction in the first place. To stop them, you’ll need to travel around the various islands using your aforementioned hoverboard and grapple hook while you unlock new guns, upgrades, and perks to take on bigger fights and giant bosses.
On paper, I’ll admit that Echo Point Nova doesn’t sound like much. But once you start playing this new FPS, you’ll quickly discover a shooter that offers a ton of freedom and options, all of which are fun and awesome-looking.
I lost track of how many times I zipped up a wall using my hoverboard, spun around, killed some enemies with my assault rifle, grappled toward a different wall, triple-jumped to an enemy mech, and then killed it with a grenade launcher before slowing down time and sniping some flying baddies from afar while upside down. It sounds complicated, it looks impressive, but Echo Point Nova’s controls and gunplay are silky smooth, super responsive, and easy to master.
This is a game that is more fun to play if you have someone behind you watching you do wild acrobatics as you fight off waves of enemies to unlock new upgrades or weapons. And because it’s an open world, you control how hard or easy you want things to be. You can focus on easier outposts first or target challenging missions to get better gear. It’s up to you! You see that giant floating desert in the sky, you can go there.
But it’s not just Echo Point Nova’s combat and movement that won me over. The game has eerie and strange vibes. You’ll be hoverboarding across tiny little islands floating in the sky and then reach a half-buried temple. You can explore it, using your pick axe to mine out a tunnel ala Minecraft, or just keep moving on to your next objective. Other times I encountered massive valleys, hidden underground bases, abandoned military outposts, or strange architecture that seemed almost medieval. And outside of the big fights, unless you play in co-op, you are all alone in this giant open world of floating islands and forgotten places.
It’s a strange combo, Doom-like FPS action with empty and lonely alien vistas, but it works really well in Echo Point Nova— especially because exploring these places happens at 200 MPH while on a sweet hoverboard.
Echo Point Nova has a few rough edges, like the first big boss fight being a pain in the ass and the health system feeling a bit too punishing for players who might not be down with flying around like maniacs all the time during major fights. Still, I think Echo Point Nova is worth playing as it’s one of the weirdest shooters I’ve ever played, but also some of the most fun I’ve had in a video game in 2024.
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