Eco

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a game by	Strange Loop Games
Platform:	PC (2018)
Editor Rating:	8/10, based on 2 reviews, 1 review is shown
User Rating:	9.0/10 - 4 votes
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See also:	Sandbox Games, Open World Games, Building Games, Crafting Games, Environmental Games, Voxel Games, Games Like The Forest, Games Like Raft

Eco is an early access game available on Steam, that involves trying to save your society from a meteor crash that is going to happen in 30 real time days. The game plays on whether you are working on it or not, and if you’re not ready when the meteor hits your world is destroyed.

While this might sound like a lot of pressure, the game can be what you make of it. Think of it a little bit like Minecraft, but instead of an intense focus on immediate survival, the survival threat is distant and the focus on community is stronger. While you can play it solo if you like, the game pushes a community feel and there are servers with huge numbers of people all working together to try and resolve the threat.

Small changes add up

Eco is all about balance. Every small change you make in the world is a drop in the bucket, but as more people do the same thing, it can have larger implications. The game notices every time you mine for rare earth metals, cut down a tree, or do some other environmental change.

One tree doesn’t make enough of a difference, but a whole colony of people mining for rare earth metals by a lake will poison your drinking source.

The game is a very well thought out reminder of our real life world, and how things can be managed more sustainably. A governor of the world can help balance these environmental issues by paying people to come and remove old dead tree stumps to promote new growth, or punish those who have polluted with fines.

Still in early access

Eco is in early access, which means that many of the things we are reviewing now may be gone later. The game is in the process of fine-tuning the game to try and keep it fun, while threading real life issues into it to try and make people think about environmental issues in a new way.

The problem with this is that while it is obvious what the game is trying to do, that messaging gets lost in every day survival—the same way it does in real life too. In the end, survival is hard and no one is actually contemplating the long term ramifications of cutting down a tree when they badly need a fire right now. In the end, the game has a lot of real life ties, including the apathy we experience about serious ongoing issues happening in the real world right now.

Eco is one of those games you really need to try to see if you like it. The game has many different layers, and a powerful message that sometimes gets lost in gameplay. If you’re a fan of community based efforts, love survival gameplay, or simply want to experiment with environmental issues on a game level, this is right for you.

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