EVERSPACE

Developer: ROCKFISH Games  | Publisher: ROCKFISH Games  | Release Date: 2017 | Genre: Action / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Everspace opens with your character cruising through space without knowing who he is and where he came from. He only has vague memories of being employed by the Colonial Fleet and leaving on less-than-friendly terms, but the rest is a blank. The Human Interface Virtual Entity installed in his craft can’t shed much light on the situation either, but at least the AI makes for an interesting companion in the cold depths of space. As you make your way through one sector of space after the other, memories start flooding back and you discover who you are and what might await you at your destination. The problem is that your odds of surviving your mission are practically zero. It is a good thing, then, that death doesn’t have to be the end, and each failure actually brings you closer to success.

Everspace is a single-player space shooter with a firm emphasis on action and gameplay steeped in roguelike elements. Taking a genre that is traditionally tied to dingy dungeons and letting it loose in space works surprisingly well, and it doesn’t take long to become caught up in an addictive cycle of shooting, looting, and crafting before repeating it all when you inevitably bit off more than you can chew during a dogfight. Dying means losing all your resources and having to restart from the very first sector, which could have been very frustrating if it wasn’t for the fact that you are allowed to keep your credits. These credits can then be spent on perks, making the next run a bit easier. This persistent progression kept us coming back to the game repeatedly and what took the sting out of every failure.

The game starts you off with access to a single ship, but there are two additional ones available once you are able to scrape together the credits needed to purchase them. All credits must be spent before you start a new run, or they are lost, meaning you need to gather enough in one run to buy a new ship. Initially, this seems daunting as the ships cost 10,000 credits each, but after boosting some of your other stats, it becomes more doable. There are also three difficulty levels available, and if you really struggle, you can try an “Easy” run, but in exchange for this, the game will also reduce the amount of credits you’ll earn. On the other hand, you can play the game on “Hard” if you want to earn more credits, but you had better go in prepared as the enemies will be numerous and relentless. Finally, for players who really want to test their skills, there is a “Hardcore” mode with permadeath available, which feels like a whole new game.

The gameplay in Everspace is relatively straightforward and sees you flying through space and collecting resources while terminating any enemies that stand in your way. You simply need to travel through the warp points on each level until you reach the jump gate at the end of the sector and move on to the next. After each warp, you are free to choose which path you’ll take through the sector, with some zones being more challenging than others or home to natural hazards like black holes. While using a warp point is as easy as pointing your ship at it and waiting for your engines to charge a hundred percent, you might want to take your time and explore your surroundings first. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on all the resources, such as ore, gas, junk, plasma, and crystals that might be dotted around. Collecting or mining these resources is essential not only to repair your ship and systems but also for crafting new equipment or upgrading your existing stuff. In addition, warping to each new sector takes fuel, and if you run out, the consequences can be dire. While fuel can sometimes be mined, grabbing it from the smoldering wreckage of defeated enemies is usually quicker. Enemies also tend to drop currency, resources, and other loot, so it is not a good idea to shy away from combat. You can risk jumping to another sector if you don’t have enough fuel and there is nothing to be found around you, but doing so comes with the risk of damaging essential ship systems or blowing up outright.

Games set in space tend to look quite spectacular, but Everspace takes it to a whole new level. The visuals are incredibly detailed, and anyone who thinks space looks dark and dull is in for a surprise. Each new zone offers new visual treats like solar storms, nebulae, asteroid fields, massive planets, black holes, ship wreckage, and much more. There were times when we warped into a new sector and just sat silently, staring at our surroundings in amazement while savoring the calm before the next dogfight. The game can be viewed in the third person or from the cockpit, and both look great. Viewing the game in the third person reveals more of your surroundings and enables you to savor the details of your ship and how it shows visible damage when you take a beating. On the other hand, the cockpit view is more immersive and brings you closer to the action. Each zone has invisible boundaries, so you can’t go off exploring the galaxy, but there are usually enough interesting things around you to gawk at while scavenging for resources.

Your primary opposition in Everspace comes in the form of outlaws and an alien race called the Okkar. Initially, your enemies are merely a nuisance, but the further you progress, the more numerous they become, and it’s not long before larger ships start making an appearance as well. In addition to the generic foes, you’ll occasionally run into characters tied to the story and who will put up a bigger fight. In addition to friends and foes, most sectors are also filled with G&B Corp ships guarded by their mercenaries. While they are neutral and content to continue with their mining operations, they do make for tempting targets when you are low on fuel or resources. If you do decide to loot them, you can expect violent retaliation, so you had better make sure it is worth the risk before making new enemies.

Everspace doesn’t just look and play great but it also sounds fantastic. While you cannot talk to common enemies, the story scenes are fully voiced, as are the central characters. Likewise, the game features plenty of atmospheric sound effects, and once the lasers and missiles start flying all over the place, you’ll feel like you are in your own action movie. The audio is further complemented by a great soundtrack with tunes ranging from mellow and moody to music that will get your adrenaline pumping during combat. In an unusual twist for a space game, Everspace works great with keyboard and mouse controls. Despite the 6DOF controls, anyone who has ever played a first-person shooter will feel right at home with Everspace. It can feel a little overwhelming at first, as you have access to primary and secondary weapons, drones, turrets, and various other goodies, but after a few runs, it all clicks into place.

There is a lot more than can be said about Everspace, but suffice it to say that it is one hell of a game. Even after uncovering the whole story, there are still plenty of reasons to return to the game, and upgrading your ships is highly addictive. Some players might be annoyed by the fact that you have to restart from sector one each time, but the persistent progression lessens the sting a little bit. Due to the roguelike nature of the game and the procedurally generated levels, Everspace can also feel like a bit of a grind at times, but this is par for the course when it comes to the genre. No matter how far you get only to bite the dust, this is the type of game where you’ll be rushing back in for another go once you’ve spent all your credits on perks. It is a game that kept us engrossed for hours, and it is definitely a title that belongs in the library of any self-respecting fan of space games or the roguelike genre.