Everspace 2 recently shadow dropped onto the Switch 2, always a bold move. It comes a few years after release on other systems and includes both the Titan and Wrath of the Ancients DLC. So, you are certainly getting a ton of content for your money. The first game in the series was a space combat-based Roguelike where you repeatedly followed the loop of launching, finding resources, lasting as long as you could, then repeating. This second game is a more linear story-based adventure.
The story follows a clone pilot who is hiding out among the
various salvage and mining crews in the galaxy. As the action RPG unfolds your
character gets discovered (of course), and a pretty sizable adventure ensues.
These sorts of space combat games always live or die by
their controls. We are happy to report that this builds on the already solid
model of the first game to provide an intuitive and responsive interface. You
will quickly be able to dog fight with the best of them, while the
customisation options in terms of what you can do with your ships gives players
a good level of flexibility to play the game how they want to.
The space combat is excellent as well. The various ships are
manoeuvrable, and you are quickly thrown into the thick of battle right from
the off. We had very little trouble tracking targets for instance. There’s a
good weight to guns and missiles as well and the feedback you get on screen
gives a solid account of how much damage you are taking on. The controls are also
good enough to cope with the numerous narrow sections of structures you’ll have
to navigate through as well. It does take a little getting used to, but you’ll
soon be zipping around comfortably.
Though the story is somewhat linear you do have a lot of
freedom to zoom around the various systems. There are a host of side missions
to follow and things to salvage. The game very much stays in the ship though with
interactions on space stations kept to menus and dialogue boxes. There is a
fair bit of zipping across the surface of planets though to keep the visuals
interesting.
If there is a criticism its that the characters aren’t the
most developed. The setting is also pretty much ‘generic space’ as well. It’s
easy to overlook when the combat is so slick, but some may want more in terms of
the narrative elements of an action RPG.
Overall, Everspace 2 is a comprehensive and enjoyable
package. The move to the Switch 2 has worked well and the game still looks
great. It can be played for long periods or in short bursts which works well
with the portable nature of the device and you are getting around 50+ hours of
game here for those that want to see everything. The Switch 2 also doesn’t have
much else like this aside from Rebel Galaxy, but that doesn’t go as deep with
its RPG elements. Despite the shadow drop, this is well worth playing.
Overall 8/10
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