Be a kick-ass space pilot in this space combat arcade game | First Impressions - Everspace 2

Everspace 2 is an arcade spaceship action game developed and published by ROCKFISH Games. It is the sequel to the original Everspace game released in 2016. The game is available on PC, and modern consoles, and was released last April 6, 2023 after going on an Early Access phase for over a year.

As opposed to other space-sim games like Star Citizen or Elite Dangerous. Everspace 2 takes on a more casual and arcadey approach to the game while still giving an option for those sim-enthusiasts. The spaceship is easier to control overall and the combat favors style and flashiness over realism.

The game takes place in a vast, open-world space environment. Players take on the role of a clone pilot — the “same” pilot from the first game — who must explore different star systems, battle hostile forces, take on missions, and uncover the mysteries of the universe via a story campaign. The game's campaign is a mission based setup overlaid on an open world map, kind of similar to Grand Theft Auto, but in space. In addition, there are also side quests and missions that players can partake into. The game now abandons the rogue-lite nature of the first game, with the main character not being able to canonically die and respawn anymore as part of the story. He now only has one life.

Everspace 2’s main source of enjoyment isn’t the spaceflight simulation, nor even the story, but the spaceship dogfights themselves, and they have been done quite well. It is an incredibly fun and immersive experience, especially when you play in first person cockpit mode. The visuals, from the lasers to the explosion are all solidly done — over the top fun — and the sound design packs a punch. It kind of felt like I was an X-Wing pilot fighting in Star Wars battles. The power fantasy experience of being a kick-ass space pilot is highly addictive, especially when playing in normal and lower difficulties.

Everspace 2's graphics are absolutely gorgeous, with detailed spacecraft, colorful, vibrant explosions, and breathtakingly beautiful environments not only in space, but also with the different planet surfaces. Yes, you can land on planets but only in a limited manner and on selected regions only.  The game's sound design is equally impressive, with solid sound effects that create an immersive atmosphere.

To move the story, it features graphic novel-like panels to show character interactions and dialogue, while in-space sequences are powered by the in-game 3D graphics. The story overall is not the strongest point --- it being the combat instead --- but it's still a huge improvement over the first game and a decent experience nonetheless.

I’ve only played a few hours and despite some steps backwards, I already love the overall direction Everspace 2 has taken so far. The graphics are better than ever, and the combat has been refined and made more fun. The narrative experience has also been improved, but at the expense of losing the rogue-lite nature of its predecessor.