Early Access: Everspace starts with a strong foundation
One minute I’m minding my own business, merrily scavenging scrap from space debris and the next I’m bombarded with alien missile fire, prompting me to boost full throttle through an asteroid field. Okkar fighters close in as I weave through the drifting space rocks, their beam weapons slicing through my paper-thin shields. I kill the boost thrusters and effortlessly flip 180 degrees and bring my pulse laser to bear on the advancing fighters; a few blasts shred the shields of the first fighter and a light missile barrage finishes it off. By now the security ships of a nearby mining operation have come to my aid and I waste no time in lining up my ship to jump to the next system. A few pot-shots from the surviving Okkar strike me before I can make the jump, and I arrive in a new location with red warning lights flashing on my HUD. I check my damage report: hull 10%; primary weapons and sensors: offline. My ship is toothless, blind, and my hull is compromised, but at least I got a few pieces of scrap for my trouble. Welcome to Everspace!
Everspace is a sci-fi roguelike that sees you traversing the demilitarised zone between two warring factions. For each run you’ll jump from system to system FTL-style, ever moving forward and pressing on into more dangerous regions of space. Early sectors will be filled with relatively peaceful mining outposts and trade stations, but they soon give way to outlaw hideouts encased in electro-magnetic storms or capital ship graveyards dangerously close to black holes. Everspace may be in early access, but there is a wide variety of space playgrounds for you to fly around.
The comparisons with FTL end with the level structure however, as Everspace is all about the accessible, arcade space combat. The Colonial Interceptor you pilot (more ships are in development) is fast and incredibly agile. It can fly through the wreckage of a giant capital ship, poke around tight clusters of asteroids and hold its own in the frenetic dog fights that will take up a lot of your time. Pulling off tight turns, boosting away from an enemy to evade their missile fire only to bring your weapons to bear and annihilate them is incredibly satisfying.
Outlaws and aliens (and neutral ships, if you’re brave enough) can be destroyed to collect credits, resources and loot. Resources and loot can also be harvested from asteroids and wreckage found throughout each system. A significant number of weapons, equipment and subsystems can be equipped, modified and crafted providing you have the necessary blueprints and resources, and these drastically change the way you approach an encounter. For example, on one run I found a fusion cannon that allowed me to snipe the shields from ships at a distance before closing in and using my scatter guns to tear through their hull. On another run I found stash of plasma mines, so it paid for me to feign a retreat and then drop the powerful explosives as the poor sods gave chase.
Taking a cue from Rogue Legacy, Everspace has a permanent upgrade system. Using the credits you gather from each run you can purchase upgrades to speed, hull and shield strength as you would expect. More interestingly though, you can upgrade your scanner to reveal environmental hazards in nearby sectors or unlock the ability to choose from a random suite of starting equipment and resources. Each unlock gives access to more and more ship upgrades and gradually enhances your experience from each run. And of course, you’ll want to have just one more run. Then just one more. And then another.
There are a couple of missteps here and there, most evident early on is the voice acting. It’s painful to listen to and thankfully is limited after the tutorial. Another is the scanner probe, a consumable device that automatically tags every resource in the system. Although this allows you to hoover everything up efficiently, it turns Everspace into an icon janitor game. I recommend shying away from these devices and exploring each system you come to. I found flying off and investigating wreckage and collecting the goodies therein a lot more rewarding than having them automatically marked on my map.
More meat is needed on the bones, but a compelling progression system and hectic, fun combat provide a strong foundation for ROCKFISH Games’ roguelike. Everspace certainly has that “just one more run factor” and is definitely worth sticking on your Steam wishlist.
