EVERSPACE 2 is a fast paced single player spaceship shooter with deep space and planetary exploration.
Lots of loot, RPG elements, mining and crafting. Enjoy a thoughtful story in a colorful, hand-crafted open world full of secrets, mysteries and dangers.
- Raemployer: ROCKFISH Games
- Genres: action, adventure, open world
- Number of players online: no online play
Even in Early Access, Everspace 2 is polished and fun. This is an open world space shooter where adventure awaits behind every asteroid. I love space and I love games that put me in space. Older games like Freelancer and X3: Terran Conflict were some of the first games that got me hooked, dissolving the world around me as I fought, explored, traded and built my space empires.
Then Everspace came out in 2016 and it just blew my mind. I've spent over 100 hours exploring Everspace and loved every second of it. I then reviewed it after its full release and once again it proved to be a defining experience. So when I heard that Rockfish Games was releasing a sequel, I knew I had to play it.
Everspace 2 is currently in Early Access on Steam. As with every other EA game, this one isn't finished yet. At the time of this writing, there is no exact release date for the game. However, here's what the game looks like two weeks after release.
In Everspace 2, you play as Adam, a skilled fighter pilot guarding a mining company operating in the outskirts. How did you learn to fight? Well, you died a lot. You see, Adam is a clone and that puts a big colonial-military target on his back.
After a criminal ambush takes you by surprise, you form a tempestuous alliance with a former soldier to save the life of your wounded comrade and only friend. Of course, there is an opportunity to earn a lot of credits in a not entirely legitimate way.
While the story is a bit clichéd and a bit predictable at times, it's still interesting. I found myself wanting to see how this unfolds, which is a bit short at the current time of writing this EA review, taking about 3-5 hours. However, this is early access, so I have no doubt that it will become much more extensive as development continues.
Speaking of dimensions, Everspace 2 has a significantly larger playing space than its predecessor. Not only is there a lot of space to explore, but there are also huge stations and planetary surfaces to discover. If Everspace 2 already does one thing well, it provides massive scope for its worlds and areas, giving you ample space to explore.
Even simple asteroid fields tell a story; some are littered with wrecked ships and the wreckage of mining outposts, while some have barely functioning automated systems. When you get to the jump gate port and see the ships scanning their cargo, or the various drones whistling about welding, transporting it, there is a sense of hustle and bustle.
The game world seems alive and inhabited, which only adds to the depth of immersion in the vast universe.
Everspace 2 differs from the first game in that it is not a roguelike, but rather an open-world shooter with RPG elements. It's not bad. Dying is no longer a progress reset, and instead you'll respawn at the last autosave point - with your gear and credits intact - and ready to try again.
While I miss the fun of Everspace's roguelike walks, I feel that Everspace 2 is moving in the direction of greater accessibility. It feels like Rockfish is trying to tell more of a story here, and to be honest, I don't think the roguelike game loop will fit the open world gameplay and storytelling they're trying to achieve.
There are currently five different ships to choose from - which I covered in my ships guide - and currently 10 main weapons, three secondary weapons, ship modules, and numerous consumables to choose from to make for all sorts of combinations and combinations. match your playstyle.
Playing Everspace 2 with a keyboard and mouse is just as comfortable as playing with a controller, and I even prefer it because there seems to be more control with weapons like the railgun; It doesn't feel like shooting drones from as far away as possible with the precision that only a mouse can give.
Dogfight is natural and intuitive on ships designed for dogfight like the interceptor and striker, while the much heavier warship functions naturally - like a brick loaded with heavy ammunition.
Enemies come in many varieties; you will fight with reconnaissance ships, fighters, bombers and many others, sometimes in small groups, and sometimes supported by all sorts of drones. The battles are challenging and rewarding, especially when you manage to survive wave after wave of attacks, culminating in a mini-boss fight on the destroyer ship.
Aside from these combat aspects of Everspace 2, there's a lot of exploration and a few puzzle-solving pieces that act as nice pace changes to keep the gameplay fresh. While the puzzles aren't particularly difficult, they usually reward you with strong weapons, a ship module, or much-needed credits early in the game.
Like its predecessor, Everspace 2 also includes crafting, although not currently to the same extent, allowing you to create different levels of weapons and modules with RNG bonus effects, making no two identical items the same. I would like crafting to be expanded to include consumable items as currently the only way to get them is to find or buy them.
Everspace 2 is everything I could think of and more, especially in its current Early Access state. The graphics are great, the gameplay is top notch, and the story is fun so far, with plenty of room for development. There are few mistakes; the game loads a bit slowly and there are subtle issues such as intermittent lag between menu screens. Nothing to complain about.
If you're a fan of space shooters, RPGs, and open world exploration, then Everspace 2 is the game for you. The high level of refinement and a good 15-20 hours of playtime under your belt gives you a lot of fun as the game continues to evolve. Stay tuned throughout the game at EA as we will check on how things are going.
