Screenshot: Everspace 2
I love open world games with deep exploration. Even better, I love space and spaceships. That’s why I was thrilled when I got the chance to play the
Everspace 2 prototype. Since all in-person events have been canceled, developers have had to get clever with their reveals. Developer Rockfish games gave journalists and other media types the opportunity to try out the prototype for their upcoming
Everspace 2—and it’s pretty damn impressive.
Everspace 2’s prototype is exactly what is sounds like: it’s an early build that isn’t feature complete. It’s also only a small portion of
Everspace 2’s open world. Even though space, if you hadn’t noticed, is extremely big—and even the prototype had lots of it to fly around and explore, despite there being only a few locations to visit within one star system, so there was only a few things to do and see to give me a taste of what’s to come in the full game.
Screenshot: Everspace 2
Everspace 2, like its predecessor, takes all of the beauty and excitement of space, and puts it in a package that’s easy to pick up. It is absolutely NOT a simulator, but an arcade-like experience that allows you to enjoy flying a spaceship—for trade, combat, etc.—without having to learn much to get going. I don’t want to knock sims and sim-like games, but there’s something cathartic about being about to just jump in from the start, and focus on exploring the vast, gorgeous
space that
Everspace 2 gives you.
And damn, does
Everspace 2 look good. From the particles of a laser hit to the explosion of rockets,
Everspace 2 is graphical splendor. Travelling the vast distances between stellar bodies is skippable, but I found myself staring at the sights—impressed with the planets, stations, and then ships come into view. The potential for the exploration in the full release is astronomical.
Screenshot: Everspace 2
The prototype only had a few mission types, and a few ships to choose from-- but it’s only a hint at what’s to come when
Everspace 2 enters Early Access in December. Not only will
Everspace 2 bring back the loot system and roleplaying game elements of
Everspace, there will be a vast amount of ships to fly and optimize to your preference. And, those wanting the VR experience that the original
Everspace gave will be happy to know that there are full cockpits with VR in mind being designed for the eventual full release.
Everspace 2 looks great—even from the small chunk we were generously allowed to play. I can’t wait to see how the game progresses through Early Access. If the prototype is any indication,
Everspace 2 will be hitting Early Access in a pretty polished state.
Everspace 2 will be available in Early Access on Steam in December
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