This demilitarized zone is off-limits to Colonials, with the exception of the single human corporation that secured mining rights. To enforce the truce, a demilitarized zone was established between Human and Okkar space. The Colonials and the Okkar had found themselves evenly matched, and fought an extremely destructive war over the resource-rich Cluster 34. In the distant future, the Colonials (consisting of mankind and a few other species) entered an uneasy truce with an alien race called the Okkar. The two games in fact have incredibly similar mechanics roguelike elements, a sector map that you jump from point to point through to get to the gate at the end, pursuing enemies that dog you if you linger too long and a sense of progression and reward. It's essentially if FTL: Faster Than Light was in 3D and you could actually control your ship. Which again isn’t unexpected or bad, just unexciting.Just another day chillin' with the Okkar.ĮVERSPACE is an arcade 3D spaceship simulator/roguelike game with procedural environments developed by Rockfish Games (creators of the Galaxy on Fire series).

You end up doing basically the same things with basically the same weapons. Ships do come in different classes, but ultimately a ship is a ship. Unique interesting upgrades do exist, but are far apart and drowned out by the trash. Instead of substantial upgrades and unique affixes to compare and contrast, you get tons of percentage affixes and boring lateral upgrades. That’s how to do it right.Įverspace 2 takes the other path. Unique substantial upgrades, alongside multiple distinct build paths. But far too many games are adding systems like this without understanding what makes a loot system great. I’m a huge fan of the looter genre, Diablo being one of my favorite games ever. Other then being a space sim, the other thing Everspace 2 takes from its predecessor was a loot system. Starlinkdid something similar, but its more arcadey physics made for a much better fit. The controls are tight, no complaints there, but some of the puzzles require extremely tight piloting that doesn’t seem to take the game’s physics into account. I found these annoying at best and downright frustrating at worst. First are puzzles, most of which are essentially pseudo space platforming. Everspace 2 does try to change things up in two ways, but both are problematic at best. A fluctuating market across the game’s seven systems, roving pirate bands, resource gathering, and tons of flying straight towards an objective marker. It’s an open-world space sim, and has all the usual bells and whistles. This extends to the basic gameplay loop as well. I love taking on freighters with my snubfighter in space sims, especially when you can actually win. Age of Wonders: Planetfall set its sci-fi setting apart by going full pulp fiction, for instance. The quality and delivery is undeniable, but the problem is that it oozes a “been there done that” feeling. The story is perfectly serviceable, with beautiful cinematics delivering on the non-space story segments. And there’s tons of backstory and flavor written for the world that make it feel rich and lived in. Great voice-acting makes the characters really stand out. The story, characters, and world-building aren’t bad by any means. You play as a generic human pilot in a generic war-torn sector of space against the backdrop of a generic sci-fi plot. It doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out from others in the genre. The biggest issue I have with Everspace 2 is that it doesn’t do anything exceptionally well. As you advance through the main plot, you unlock more systems to explore, functionality for your home base, and gear to unlock and use. Ship customization is the same kind of system as any other arpg, just equipping rockets instead of swords and bows. You have a home base you use said resources to upgrade, in order to unlock new functionality and ship customization. You explore open space, flying between planets (no landing of any kind sadly), fighting pirates, and collecting loot and resources. Everspace 2 is an incredibly stunning game.Įverspace 2 is a open world space simulator.

Everspace game