Releasing a space themed game in the period around the launch of Bethesda’s Starfield is either a mark of complete confidence in the product, or unfortunate timing. EVERSPACE 2 from developers and publishers Rockfish Games is such a game.
Running as a sequel to the original game, EVERSPACE 2 looks to build on the bones of its predecessor and bring its charms to a whole new audience. The marketing blurb that surrounds it describes things as an ARPG, set in space. So, is such a thing possible, and if so, does it work? Strap on your helmet, we’re blasting off!
The first thing to say about the presentation of EVERSPACE 2 is that this is most definitely a spaceship based game. Any time you are out of the ship, it is only for some story points to be addressed in cutscenes. Don’t go expecting a No Man’s Sky kind of game – you are in your cockpit for the long haul.
Apart from this, the graphics look lovely, with massive spacescapes stretching off into the distance, with numerous things to either find, fight or both. The game is divided into a series of arenas, if you like, with travel between the zones available at any time by engaging the jump drive; a device that enables us to almost warp to new places. While we are jumping, there are new locations that pop up that can be explored, ranging from distress calls where we may need to assist in fighting outlaws or help someone repair their ship, right through to mysterious shipwrecks. Or you might be ambushed, who knows?
The different locations are varied, and the way that planets look, and asteroid belts behave, is all very nice indeed. The sound is also good, with ship engine and laser pew pew noises working perfectly. The fully voiced conversations and cutscenes are also quite well acted, and further to that is some pleasant music. All in all, presentation is very pleasing, and dropping out of a jump drive to find a new location is always thrilling.
But what about a story, I hear you ask, surely there must be one of those? Well, there is.
We are Adam, a clone, who makes his living flying spaceships and looking after miners. After an ambush, we are captured, just about managing to escape with a badly injured friend, Ben. Dax also comes along for the ride, and it just so happens they have a disused base that we can move right into. From then on, we are working towards a grand scheme; one we don’t quite understand.
EVERSPACE 2 then turns into a series of missions, both story and side, free to complete in any order we fancy. Doing side missions brings new gear, which in turn makes our ship stronger, so if you treat things almost like Diablo IV, you won’t go far wrong. Fewer skeletons here, however!
Gameplay in EVERSPACE 2 is very Diablo-esque as well. As we fight the outlaws, and anyone else who looks at us funny, we can earn not only money, but EXP as well, which goes towards being able to level up the ship’s abilities.
As an example, most of my points and levels have gone into the creation of an ultimate attack, an EMP, much more powerful. Add to this the insane amount of new parts that you can acquire for your ship, from weapons right down to boosters, and this is a game where your ideal ship build is never more than a dive into the menu and crafting system away.
As you blow up enemy ships, looting containers and wrecked starships, you find new gear. As we all know in an ARPG, new gear isn’t just for looking at. Equip it, take it for a test drive, and if you don’t like it, you can break it down or sell it on. I’ve been very impressed by the RPG style elements of the game, even going as far as getting new perks from the crew members that you can recruit. These new perks, the very ship that you fly and the weapons you select can come together to deliver some outstanding damage and some great moments – where you survive by the skin of your teeth against overwhelming odds.
Combat is almost the default setting of any flight through space, and usually before you can bimble about and collect space loot, you’ll have to evict the resident ne’er do-wells, applying weapons to their puny spacecraft.
There are two types of damage in EVERSPACE 2, kinetic and energy, and each weapon that you select will do both to a certain extent. Lasers do more energy damage, while the trusty autocannon works more kinetic. Energy damage strips the shields from your targets, then kinetic will destroy their unshielded craft. Switching between the two on the fly is very straightforward, and makes fighting a lot more efficient.
Secondary weapons are usually missiles of some kind; the likes of homing missiles and corrosive ones that damage ships over time. A word to the wise – don’t fire your missiles when you are within gun range, as explosions can also damage you; even your own missiles can end up spelling the end of a fight.
The missions are where things start to go awry a little in EVERSPACE 2. The problem is that they start to get quite samey after a while – jump here, defeat these, grab that and rinse and repeat. Even the main missions, while a little more varied, boil down to fetch quests at the end of the day. I get that the types of missions are probably limited by having a main character who cannot set foot outside their ship, but it says something when the best part of the game is just wandering around, poking into corners and trying to find things to explore.
Actually, my favourite part of EVERSPACE 2 is reconfiguring the loadout in order to try out the dazzling array of new parts that change the way the ship handles and fights. It is, in times like this, where EVERSPACE 2 really comes alive.
All in all, EVERSPACE 2 will hold your interest well. It’s likely to be a game that you go back to, time and time again, working with new loot and trying a variety of different approaches. Flying around is great, and getting the view of the ship right is fun, with the third person view being the pick of the bunch. Modifying and even painting your ship is decent too and it must be said that the combat is never dull. It is only the similar nature of the missions that is the fly in the ointment here.
If you like flying about in space then EVERSPACE 2 is an easy sell, but bear in mind, it is much more an ARPG than an Elite clone.
