In a post-apocalyptic world where mankind has brought about its own destruction through greed and neglect for the environment, survivors have been forced to live in subterranean colonies; shielded from a deadly sun, and even deadlier: the energy-hungry machines.  These machines, once created by man, have taken on the characteristics learned from their gluttonous masters and consume without inhibition. They alone reign over the surface, waiting to devour any resources that cross their path.  But all is not lost. With the potential to use technology responsibly, the Colony has developed a vehicle that can safely return to the surface, and is fitted with technology capable of reestablishing the Earth’s environment. You, the player, are the pilot of this ship and the fate of the world rests squarely in your hands. Acting alone against a host of ravenous machines, you must carefully balance the small but growing environment with your need for energy to survive and successfully defend your colony, thus ensuring the survival of humanity. The ultimate goal is to expand your new ecosystem as needed without being incapable of renewing natural resources.

Ecocism is a never before seen hybrid of real-time strategy and classic arcade shooter. The marrying of the mayhem of an arcade style "shoot-em-up" to the careful planning and decision making of real-time strategy forces players to truly think fast. Players must be able to keep their wits during massive onslaughts of enemy attackers while still making conscious decisions to make the Earth inhabitable again - and keep it that way.  The player controls a hovercraft, starting near an existing command center with a barren environment. The player's goal is to make the Earth's surface inhabitable again, while fending off waves of enemies that are trying to destroy the player's hovercraft, command center, and suck the lifeforce from your new land.  Create trees to expand livable area. Once livable land has been developed the player can build buildings on it to strengthen and defend your base and land from enemies. As the player defeats enemy machines, they are able to recycle the resulting scrap metal and other resources to build more trees and structures or upgrade their ship's components.