The underrated, open world, hoverboard FPS gem of 2024 just got a free update with new guns and islands for its cloud archipelago

Open-world, co-op, hoverboard FPS Echo Point Nova has just received a surprise free update that adds two new weapons to the game, rebalances an existing one, and expands the shooter's stunning world of floating islands.

Last October, PC Gamer staff writer Morgan Park declared Echo Point Nova "the best FPS of 2024 so far," with the overall crown snatched away a month later by STRAFTAT, the superb (and free) 1v1 arena shooter throwback. Echo Point Nova is still one of 2024's finest, though, and even with all the indie FPSes vying for our attention these days, Echo Point Nova really sets itself apart.

Movement is very much back in vogue with the FPS, but Echo Point Nova goes the extra mile, equipping players with a rad hoverboard that opens up ludicrous top speeds⁠—this gameplay video from Scout Trooper on YouTuber is almost more persuasive than the official trailer.

For me, it calls to mind Source Engine surf maps or the eternal movement shooter guy fixation, Tribes, but it's in the context of a one to four-player FPS campaign, rather than freeform PvP. Contributor Dominic Tarason likened it to "diving through someone's dreams after they played far too much Titanfall, Tribes, and Minecraft adventure maps."

Echo Point Nova's latest update adds your classic sawn-off double-barreled shotgun, as well as a new bolt-action sniper. The game's previous scoped rifle has been tweaked to turn it into more of a DMR-battle rifle type-deal. The weapons can be found in two new islands added to Echo Point Nova's floating world. One centers a sort of squat pyramid, while the other consists of an imposing fortress over a lava lake.

Echo Point Nova is the exact sort of game that makes me so excited to be an FPS fan right now. Things are pretty fallow in the triple-A space⁠—with the notable exceptions of id and MachineGames⁠—but the indie and double-A scenes are thriving. Echo Point Nova is currently on sale on Steam for just 17 bucks, but it usually goes for a similarly reasonable $25.