Behold an FPS Breath of the Wild with a hoverboard

If you’re looking for restraint, you will not find it in Echo Point Nova. Within the first 30 minutes of the game, you’ll find yourself equipped with a hoverboard capable of climbing any vertical surface, a grappling hook that can latch onto clouds, and a triple jump. This game does not hold back the goods.

Echo Point Nova is an open-world FPS that offers nearly total freedom. Once you’ve got your basic loadout, you’re free to explore the enormous map of hundreds of floating islands and enemy bases. There is a story, delivered via in-world text popups, but you’ll likely miss much of it as you’re soaring over an ice mountain trying to dive-bomb a giant robot. It is an untethered power fantasy.

The freedom to explore calls to mind Breath of the Wild – really, you’ll be astonished at what this game allows you to do – though don’t expect to be totally bowled over by the presentation or art design here. Stylistically it has more in common with arena shooters of the early 2000s, with definite Unreal Tournament vibes. But unlike those multiplayer-centric shooters, Echo Point Nova is more interested in providing a satisfying journey that quickly turns you into a god. 

The game’s singleplayer campaign has you bounding from one island to the next, clearing out nests of enemies. For each one cleared, you might unlock a new weapon — expect standard fare like SMGs, grenade launchers, and sniper rifles — or a new perk, like one that allows you to butt-slam enemies in a large explosion. There are dozens of these challenges, enough to keep you busy for several hours, and completing each one makes you even more impossibly powerful. I found myself strapped with around 15 different weapons and 10 perks to pick from after just five hours. I was drowning in resources with which to dish out punishment.

The enemy bases do ramp up to meet your capabilities, though. Deeper into the game I started facing off against 50-foot mechs and hover tanks. There are even Shadow of the Colossus-style boss fights, where you swing yourself onto a giant, moving monstrosity and attempt to take out weak points while dodging an unending rain of enemy fire. 

All of this worked surprisingly well on a relatively underpowered device (in this case, a Steam Deck), which ran the game at a blazingly smooth framerate. When playing on the Deck or with a controller, the game offered some generous target lock-on, allowing me to pull off some sick mid-wall-grind headshots that made me appear far more talented than I am.

Heck, you can even bring a buddy along to witness your splendor, thanks to online co-op through the whole campaign. I found this feature also performed without a single hitch, despite the game’s speed and several thousand miles between me and my compatriot. It’s easy to see why some people may have missed the boat on Echo Point Nova when it first dropped back in September. For one thing, the title is awful. But for another, there isn’t really an analog for this game. It kinda stands alone as a bizarre mash-up of some of the best games ever made, one that gives you so many toys to play with that you would think the end result is simply chaos. But then you start wondering to yourself: Yeah, why can’t I grapple onto clouds in Breath of the Wild?

Echo Point Nova was released Sep. 24 on Windows PC. The game was played on PC using a copy of the game purchased by the author. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.