The task of the players is to research and improve the level of technology available to them in order to destroy the Asteroid before it strikes without harming the game world too much by resource exploitation or pollution.

It also features different biomes like forests, plains, and rivers, as well as several kinds of plants to harvest and animals to hunt.

Players have to care about a balanced nutrition and need to control the gathering of natural resources, otherwise negatively harming or destroying the environment.

[4] Eco was originally an educational tool designed purely for middle school students.

German computer game magazine GameStar called Eco an "ambitious survival game″ with an "innovative approach″.