Review: Is Eco Worth Playing?

Game Overview.

Eco: A Brilliant Idea That Isn’t For Everyone

I first played Eco shortly after it came out back on 6 February 2018, when I was provided with a review key by the developers.

I must admit, it wasn’t all I expected.

Now, I’m someone who actually enjoys bureaucracy and politics in video games. Not so much in real life, but in video games, I love it.

And the concept of Eco is exactly what I wanted.

Players have to work together to build a civilisation that’s large enough and advanced enough to stop a meteor from destroying their world. It gives everyone a common goal and a genuine reason to work together.

But people are still people.

People can be selfish. People want to do things their own way. Some simply don’t want to play with strangers.

And that’s also where the problem begins.

Players can come from radically different time zones. Maybe they already have their own friends they’re working with.

For solo players, especially those who are not particularly social, Eco can feel rather lonely, almost like an extension of their own real-life loneliness.

Visually, Eco Just Isn’t It

Visually, Eco is very dated, and  when I first saw the character creator again for the purpose of this review, I must admit  it’s actually even worse than I remembered.

The characters look dangerous and wild-eyed, like they’re ready and willing to do terrible things.

Now, beautiful characters are not necessary for every single game, and certainly not for a game like this.

But hideous characters? Terrible art design? Dated visuals? Is all that really required? I don’t think so.

Joining A Server Can Be Overwhelming

My next issue is actually finding a server to play on.

A lot of servers are welcoming to new people, which is great.

But a lot of them are also deeply ingrained with rules upon rules upon rules, and new players can unintentionally cause a lot of harm, or at least create a lot of unintentional bad will.

When I hopped onto a server and started cutting down trees, I immediately started getting pop-ups about things I had absolutely no idea about.

Something to do with debris policies, taxes and payments (rewards).

Apparently I was already part of a local town I’d never even heard of, and my homestead was being adopted by the nearest city, and much more.

It was an overwhelming amount of information all at once.

Now, as someone who loves games like this, I actually found myself thinking, “Wow! I’m part of a community,. I wonder if I can get involved with the players nearby.”

But I know a lot of other people would have simply logged off and gone to play something a whole lot easier.

And honestly, I think that’s one of the reasons Eco has never really grown.

Admittedly ,it’s retained its small community fairly for many years, and while less people play today tan previous years, the fact it has a community at all, in light of its dated visuals and complex gameplay is a testament to its developers and the fans who appreciate their work.

Its Been In Early Access Too Long.

While the Eco has improved mechanically during its eight years of Early Access, at first glance it isn’t immediately obvious what exactly has changed, especially for someone who hasn’t been following Eco closely for the better part of a decade.

Coming back to Eco for the purposes of this review, I didn’t look at it and think, “Wow, I can really see the difference.” Rather, my reaction was more akin to, “What have they been doing all these years?”

Now, that’s probably a little uncharitable, and I don’t want to be uncharitable.

Jesus said we should treat others how we’d want to be treated.

And I try to live by that.

So this isn’t me trying to be cruel.

But I also have to be fair to the people who might be interested in purchasing Eco and who may later feel regret if they purchased it at full price.

It’s a great game for those who are looking for a game like Eco and all that entails, but as someone who has played an excessive amount of survival games, I can assure you that, for better or worse, it is like nothing else on the market, with perhaps the exception of certain highly-modded Minecraft server communities that place an inordinate amount of importance on player governance.

Eco FAQ

Eco is a early access simulation game developed and published by Strange Loop Games, it released on 6 February 2018, and is available exclusively on PC.

Is There Group Finding/Matchmaking Support?

Eco offers the following matchmaking options:

• ☑ Server Browser

What Peripherals Are Supported?

Eco supports the following peripherals:

• ☑ PC - Mouse and Keyboard

Is There Any Mature Content?

Eco is unrated and contains no offensive content.

Final Verdict.

Eco is and always has been an incredibly niche product.

The closest comparison I can think of is EVE Online.

People often joke that EVE Online is basically a spreadsheet manager with spaceships.

Similarly,  Eco feels a bit like a community council meeting with mediocre visuals.

Some people are going to absolutely love that, but many won’t.

For that reason, I can only fully recommend Eco to someone looking for a game built around working together with strangers, or even better, with friends. Friends definitely make the experience better.

However, for people looking for a modern survival game, or a survival game that doesn’t require an immense amount of cooperation with an entire server full of people, I’d suggest they look elsewhere.

Is Eco Worth Playing?

We found Eco to be a mediocre game, meaning that while it has some redeeming qualities, it's held back by noticeable flaws that prevent it from being truly enjoyable.