Echo Point Nova Review

The Need For Speed

HIGH Speed. High body count.

LOW No real story. It’s a one trick pony… but it’s a good trick.

WTF My adrenaline and focus levels.

One of the first games I ever sat down to write a full review on was Severed Steel. It’s a first-person shooter from solo developer Greylock Studios, where the player controls the titular Steele — a one-armed woman with a penchant for parkour and over-elaborate gunplay. Sure, there was a SUPERHOT-esque story presentation, but frankly I was too busy having a blast slow-mo diving through window frames and throwing empty guns at foes to be concerned with it. Three years later we see the release of Greylock Studios’ next project, Echo Point Nova, which asks one simple but tantalizing question:

“That great stuff again, but what if we added a hoverboard?”

Ok, that’s not the only change, but Echo Point Nova is very much doubling down on the DNA of its predecessor. While the more cramped cyberpunk superstructure of Severed Steel has been changed to a vast open-world, the overall goal remains the same — go fast and kill everything.

Upon starting, I wake up in some sort of crash pod and am swiftly informed that my mission is to “investigate the planet” and “kill bad guys. Thousands of bad guys”. Any narrative foundation is almost instantly forgotten as I step forward and grab my revolver. Echo Point Nova is not something to be played for the story, as what little story and lore is present mainly serves as a vehicle for the developer to bring the player up to speed and point them in the right direction. From there the map is revealed to be a sprawling setting of floating islands that almost all contain some sort of battle and reward.

Now when the player is presented with a big map, minimal story and a whole lot of combat, the combat and movement need to be great to compensate for the lack of other traditional features, and I’m happy to report Echo Point Nova succeeds on both fronts. The hoverboard’s overly slick movement can take a bit of getting used to, but as the player unlocks more jumps and grapples they will find that riding along the ground begins to feel more like an optional extra rather than a given as they maintain momentum by slingshotting around loose bits of rock and riding along walls. 

Movement doesn’t just serve as a way to carry the player between fights and hunt down collectibles, though — it’s also their main means of defense. Anytime I found myself stuck in a corner without a plan, a flurry of bullets would quickly deplete my health bar. It’s an effective system to keep the player moving and maintain adrenaline levels, as slowing down is frequently punished. 

Onto the combat. Does firing an RPG, grappling the rocket into the sky, flipping upside down in slow motion, pulling out a sniper rifle and popping goons sound like a good time? If not then we clearly have very different ideas of entertainment. The combat is the meat of the experience, feeling heavily inspired by the frantic speed-based style of shooting inspired by works like Quake or Tribes: Ascend, and I adore it. 

As someone who usually enjoys a slow-paced tactical shooter, I was concerned I might have trouble adjusting to the constant movement required for success, but found myself adapting quickly. For anyone in the same camp, Echo Point Nova comes with a boatload of accessibility options, so the difficulty can be adjusted to suit the player. The masochists can crank it up to maximum with minimal health, while players who want to feel like a god can drop the difficulty down and play with unlimited slow motion.

Game environments are fully destructible, so when in doubt the player can make their own entrance or exit through terrain to find cover. However, I found this element to be a bit underutilized compared to Severed Steel, as any wall that takes more than one swing to break through would bring my momentum to a screeching halt.

The enemy and weapon variety are also both strong, with bosses being a particular standout. One of my favorite moments in Echo Point Nova was fighting one of the initial bosses,  gliding over sand dunes to launch a high speed assault against a mechanical worm, swinging through its interior to target weak points before shooting out the other side. I didn’t know that I wanted a crossover between Dune and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, but I’m not complaining in the slightest. Every fight ending with a gun or perk unlock to continually mix things up is just the cherry on top. 

Combat arenas opt for a minimalist look, with different islands on the map being sparsely populated by ruins or trees. This seems an intentional design choice, though, as it can already be a challenge to keep track of enemies on relatively open levels. The dynamic soundtrack has a fantastic mixture of chill, almost ethereal electronic tunes to accompany the player as they grapple through the clouds before shifting to slightly more animated and heavier tones for combat and boss encounters. It’s certainly more subtle than one might expect, but it always feels appropriate and punctuates the player’s actions nicely.

Echo Point Nova is a representation of what I love to see from an indie game. Take one key mechanic, polish it to a mirror sheen, and leave the player with a fantastic gameplay experience. It’s a worthy follow-up to an already adrenaline-filled experience, and it’s been getting continuous post-launch support including a whole new map with developer commentary.

If the idea of gunning down bad guys while kickflipping through the sky doesn’t appeal, then there’s nothing in Echo Point Nova that’s going to convert someone. For me, though, Echo Point Nova does exactly what it says on the tin and excels at it — and honestly, that’s enough to keep me coming back with each update to maintain my 100% completion.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

— Adam Sharman

Disclosures: This game is developed by Greylock Studio and is self-published. It is currently available only on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via paid download and reviewed on the PC.  Approximately 19 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was finished with 100% completion including post-launch content. 0 hours of play were spent in multiplayer mode. Up to 4 player co-op is available as a scaled version of the single player mode.

Parents: The game is not currently not rated by the ESRB. According to the developer it contains “stylized first person gun and melee combat, with blood splashes and blood wound decals on enemy character bodies.” There is a reduced blood option for those who are concerned but given the speed of the combat the blood is certainly not a focal point Echo Point Nova is still very focused around gun violence so parents should be advised.

Colorblind Modes: There is no dedicated colorblind mode although some colors can be manually changed.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game does not offer subtitles but there is no audible dialogue beyond enemy noises which do not impact combat. Minor story and lore dialogue are communicated via text. While these boxes can’t be traditionally scaled, they are static in the world so the player can get closer to them for a larger view.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls on both keyboard and controller. There is no diagram. Controls follow familiar first-person shooter norms. WASD controls movement with the mouse being used to aim and shoot. The number keys and mouse wheel can both be used to swap between weapons while familiar ancillary keys like F, Q and G are used for melee, grapples and ‘grenades’ respectively

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