Spaceship shooter with RPG and puzzle elements

Feb 2, 2021 15:36 GMT  ·  By

Quickly fire to rockets to take out drones, followed by some evasive action to avoid incoming fire. Then drop some nanobots to boost hull integrity before activating my EMP to disable attackers who foolishly didn’t keep their distance. Take down their shields, shift to autocannon to kill their hulls fast. Spend around 5 minutes mopping up stragglers and getting all the loot they drop.

Everspace2 gives players plenty of adrenaline-filled space battles like the one described above. The game also features quite a bit of exploration, some puzzle solving, core missions, and side-quests to engage with. The story seems a bit basic at first but it gives plenty of reasons to go out and enjoy some space adventures.

Developers Rockfish do not aim for complex, deep simulation. The player-controlled ship is easy to guide using a mix of keyboard and mouse (the controller can be used but is a little more awkward) but no one needs to take into account orbital mechanics or gravity wells. Just point towards the ship you want to take out or the objective you need to reach.

Everspace 2
Everspace 2
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Combat is fast and can quickly become deadly. Players need to combine ship weapons and special abilities to overcome the always numerous enemies. There’s always a new piece of loot to equip, trade, or dismantle to get more resources.

Everspace2 is a good looking game that features some impressive space landscapes. The ships are sleek and well-designed, the weapons feel like they have power, the user interface is helpful but does not intrude on the action. This is not a classic gray looking and grim experience. Color and brightness are omnipresent, making it a pleasure to move around the world and find new things. The sound effects and soundtrack are similarly solid, even if some of the voice acting does not rise to the standards set by the rest of the presentation.

Conclusion

Everspace2 does a lot of things right and might just be the next big space-based action shooter to lay a claim as the successor to Freespace and other classics. Fans of the positively ancient Descent will also find plenty to love. The combat is solid, the exploration even better, there’s a lot of role-playing to keep gamers engaged.

The game is at the moment in Early Access, welcoming feedback from those playing and adding more new content. The team at Rockfish Games says it plans to work on it for at least 12 to 18 months and already has a clearly laid out road-map for new additions, making it a good idea for fans of the genre to start playing right now.

Everspace 2 screenshots (21 Images)

Everspace 2
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