EVERSPACE™

I've played through a few times now. Died every time. The game is interesting and plays very smoothly. After lucking out on my second run, I came away with a few hundred credits, with which I upgraded my ship for the third playthrough. The perks I bought were significant and I earned more credits that time to buy even more perks, which made it possible for me to actually survive a few dogfights. Perks are not lost on death, although your upgrades are. There's a perk that lets you salvage your wreck that's unlocked through the progression as well. It's one of the nicer early access games I've played in recent months. I'm looking forward to seeing where the developers go with it.

After the disappointment that was No Man's Sky (and Star Citizen long ways off) I was looking for a good space game to scratch that itch, I found it. Pro : - Fun combat : Layered weapons systems with shield / hull damage interplay - Good controls : works great both with keyboard and 360 controller - Both 3d and 1st person view - Replayability : It's rouge-like meaning you will die and die and each "level" is different enough to not be too samey - New objectives and missions throught each run : sometimes they'll jam your sensors, sometimes prevent you from countiuning forward and something they'll ask for your assistance - Didn't encouter any bugs (knock on wood) Con : - Poorly explained mechanics : especially the crafting and the fact that you should not try and be mister-space-hero right off the bat, also about who's friendly(Green) / enemy(Red) / neutral(Yellow/Orange) - Lack sense of progression sometimes : There is a sense of overarching story but it isn't fleshed out yet - Can't keep my faviourite weapons and loadouts Things that can go either way : - RNG elements - No centeral motivation aside from keep moving forward - Rouge-light / Rouge-like Summary : It's a good game but unfinished and not expertly explained. If you are still not sure watch ACG review on youtube, it's a great (and updated) example of gameplay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m4AiHUB1IA

I can see the appeal of the game. It is beautiful, in every aspect. But this isn't a space simulation, not even an arcady-one: *If you thought playing X-Wing, or Wing Commander, or a space version of Ace Combat, you can certainly pass this game.* I made that mistake, and I'm now uninstalling the game, never to touch it again. Let me explain: When you play X-Wing, Wing Commander, or Ace Combat, everything is moving around. The speed of the enemy is similar to yours. So you have to use your skills to lure your enemy in the right position for attack, all the while avoiding doing the same. X-Wing was slower, and Ace Combat was quite faster in this. Combat was dynamic, and you needed to use spacial perception to know which movement of yours would result in which position for every ship. Everspace doesn't give you the same speed: Enemies are faster, more maneuverable, and come in waves and surround you, overwhelming you. They don't make mistakes, they are not lured in any weaker position. They just fire at you, constantly, and it feels like they never miss. YOU CANNOT DODGE. The "combat GUI" is overwhelmed by the actual FX of the games, be them explosions, missiles, whatever. So I found it difficult to know which enemy I had locked. Or not. If you believe "your skills" matter, don't delude yourself: You soak damage, and you punch enemies by putting the cross-hair in the right place, and hope the enemy dies before you do. *All this made combat a confusing exercise in soaking damage, which is boring and frustrating. * Add to it the fact the game is unforgiving: For me, mistakes were fatal, and sent you right back at the beginning. So experimenting in alternative tactics was very costly. So I did not experiment. I guess this game has its public, and can certainly imagine it being successful, and players enjoying it. It's just not a space combat sim in any way you can imagine.

As someone who loved the hell out of Freelancer despite it's simplified controls and economy, this game hits the sweet spot for me. While I love games like Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous too, arcade space sims skip right to the best parts of flying a spaceship - the combat - and this game is no exception. As others have commented, when you're first thrust into Everspace you do feel really weak, but as you build up more perks (and more experience navigating the universe) your ability to survive steadily improves. Meanwhile, the rogue-like elements force you to change your approach on every run. I found this combination of progression and randomness to be very addictive! If you explore every nook and cranny of every system you come across, you can expect later runs to last 90-120 minutes, but because the game autosaves after every system you explore you can quit and come back at any time. I've already sunk more hours than I care to admit into the Beta and not planning on stopping now :)