Echo Zero

Echo Zero casts the player as an expendable clone working for a corporation called DOME in a collapsing underground facility overrun by a fast-mutating species, Organism K-23.77XY, usually shortened to K2. The player must scavenge, build and fight to stop the creatures reaching the surface. When the player dies, their mind transfers to a new, randomly generated clone. An AI overseer named JUNO acts as the link to DOME and provides upgrades, privileges and rewards as the mission progresses.

The game combines combat with tower defence. The player protects a base powered by a central generator by building barricades, upgrading turrets and deploying droids against waves of enemies. Each run generates a new version of the underground, with randomised rewards, upgrades, resources and wildlife growth patterns that influence both combat and construction choices. An area called the Violet Bloom, where Organism K2 fully blossoms, causes its offspring to become more aggressive.

The different offspring of K2 behave in different ways, which calls for careful movement, timed reloads and compatible build choices. Ammunition is scarce. Wargear and mutations provide passive effects and abilities, and the player is joined by a growing group of robot companions. Randomised equipment and a range of upgrade combinations are intended to make each run play differently.