Tanner Stokes - StokdTV
4 May 2023
Everspace 2
Pilots start your engines and prepare for take-off because Everspace 2 is bringing the heat. Brought to you by ROCKFISH Games who not only developed, but also published this out-of-this-world, single player shooter looter space adventure RPG. Released on the 6th of April 2023 and labeled as a simulator, this not only shows you one possibility of how flight through space might occur, but it also shows you what a life for a clone pilot trying to make it in the universe would look like.
Judging by the number “2” in the title you would guess that it is a sequel, and you would be right. Even though the gameplay may differ from the original one, the storyline continues. You play as Adam, the clone pilot who is trying to find his worth amongst the stars.
As good as the storyline has been so far, you need some REAL time on your hands to complete. The main story will take you about 50 hours while completing the game 100% as the kids would say could take up to nearly 100 hours of free time. In saying that, the story you follow with Adam has its ups and downs, but (without spoiling the game) it has a great way of throwing you back into your seat. You discover along the way why Adam is on the run and why he is trying to find himself throughout the universe. It’s thrilling, it’s sci-fi, it’s my cup of tea and if you are into flight games, or games that are based beyond our clouds, then this is something you will enjoy.
Now, I’m not one of those people that goes out and spends thousands on a whole cockpit for perfect flight controls, but I am someone who enjoys great - but easy-to-use flight controls and ROCKFISH have delivered. You can use keyboard and mouse, controller, or even flight sticks which propelled me further into liking this game as I have been looking for a reason to justify to my wife why I spent $500 on flight controls. But for the professional pilots out there, you will notice a slight lack in the controls of the game, that is, a lack of evasive maneuvers, yes you do have your basics, but you won’t be pulling any Tom Cruise in an F14 Top Gun style maneuvers. For someone who is more about the adventure, this game will keep you invested.
When I first started flying around, I was so glad I had on my expensive headset and volume high up, because the sound you experience is breathtaking. You feel as if you are in and amongst the fight, from the roar of the ship's burners to the sound of the weaponry, you experience it all.
Even though I’m the type of person who questions the possibility of sound traveling through the vacuum of space, what I felt about piloting this spacecraft made me believe that this was all possible. I feel as if they have made the sound of this game resemble what live fire would sound like, with the futuristic laser blasts and missiles you launch, you feel a sense of dogfighting you’d get if you were part of Red Squad and shooting from an X-Wing. The slight audio score playing in the background ties in very well with the sounds of your ship, it makes your hairs stand up as you are in the middle of a fight, as well as makes you feel like you are the only person traveling in space. They have done a great job on this part of the game and it really keeps your focus as you are playing.
One thing I will always rave about with games being made in 2023 is the graphics, the possibilities developers have nowadays is endless, and even though the graphics to this game are great, I do feel they could have been just that little bit better with it being an outer space sci-fi game. Don’t get me wrong, the graphics still make this game worth it, and they are still great, but what’s a review without a little criticism, and so far this is the only thing I can say, ROCKFISH has done very well, but the likes of Adam could have been more realistic in my opinion. It seems they have mainly focused on the actual flight and dogfight aspect and just did what they could with the character. These cut scenes seem like the graphic artists have only drawn and rendered single frames at a time which really lets the game down.
The overall gameplay of Everspace 2 seems like it is captured straight from a comic book standpoint. When you are flying around doing your missions it slightly seems like the creators have gone for an outer space, FORTNITE-style game, but without spending too much time on the cut scenes. Being an FPS RPG-style game, you have the ability to steal parts from ships you have blown up, all in the interest of building a bigger and badder ship. If the creators had used more time on the cutscenes graphics this game would have been so much more realistic. It still pulls you in and leaves you wanting more, but for a game in 2023, the realism just doesn’t quite hit the peak. Playing through the game is still so much fun, the shooting and flying made me want to play for hours. Mixed with the great audio they have used still had me hooked, even with the minor downfalls.
At the end of the day, Everspace 2 is a very good game, if you can see past the comic book cutscenes and focus mainly on the gameplay you will very much enjoy this game. To me, the good heavily outweighs the bad, it is a game that will hook you in and make you want more, from the flying and dogfighting to the overall storyline, this game is one of the good ones. I found myself really enjoying the story of Adam and where it leads and you will too, especially when the roar of those engines hit you for the first time like they had hit me. Everspace 2 will be a game that many people will love and is a game that a lot of people already do.
8
10
The Bad
- The overall gameplay
- The Story Time
- Piloting graphics
- The Overall audio.
- The cutscene graphics