EVERSPACE™

[h1]Lotsa 6DOF fun![/h1] [h2]Thoughtfully made, drenched in eye candy visuals and competent in scratching the right space combat fantasy and rogue-adjacent itches.[/h2]        [b]C[/b]reated with passion for this concept, accessible and easy to pick up and play, Everspace skillfully balances the line between challenging and overwhelming, even if it’s probably better to start your adventures on the lower difficulty level, to deliver a very enjoyable and inviting gameplay that's sure of itself, doesn't overpromise anything, and maintains an even level of quality from start to finish. Even with extra content from the 'Encounters' expansion, game certainly doesn't overstay its welcome providing, for most of the players, ~25-50hrs of spacefaring adventures, depending on their dedicaiton to progression and achievement completionism and enjoyment derived from space combat- a core, foundational mechanic in Everspace, supported by light, undemanding exploration and problem solving, basic in-game economy, similarly modest and engaging-enough background story and writing in general, wrapped around a run-based roguelite system, with basic progession mechanics in the background for both the entire player profile and specific ships (4 in total, including Sentinel-class medium fighter from the DLC expansion).    [b]F[/b]rom top to bottom- it is quite an impressive debut from Rockfish Games, elevated to a whole other level in the sequel, with both punching above their budgetary levels. This game certianly wouldn't win any awards for its content depth, width and innovation in the genre, but really wasn't trying to risk trying to do that, and instead opted to focus on a proved, familiar formula, polishing and rounding up the most important aspect of the gameplay loop (combat design, movement mechanics, ship loadout cusotmization, pacing of the run) to provide an even, clean, polished and enjoyable experience that doesn't leave you underwhlemed, even as the list of non-repeatable story missions, undiscovered weapons, routines, ship colours or blueprints gets smaller with every run.    [b]I[/b]n the end, this little well-polished gem should remain highly enjoyable for the duration of a lot of those, even for veterans of the genre. And for better or worse, thanks to devs distancing themselves from the roguelite mechanics (probably because oversaturation of this design direction in the gaming industry atm), the sequel doesn't overshadow this game or makes it not worth chekcing out- both provide different experiences and exist next to each other in the world of sci-fi space combat action games, without stepping on eachother's toes. It would be interesting to see this dev studio handle the task of making a licensed Star Wars spin on this concept, but that's a 'what if' speculation for a different, better timeline. [h3]Thumbs up![/h3]