Considering this was originally a mobile, game my expectations were rock-bottom, but it's actually really good. Redout 2 is not an F-Zero-style hover car racer like the previous game, it's a Starfox-style rail shooter. The game is made for a twin-stick pad with left stick controlling movement, right stick controlling boost, break, and dodge rolls, and the triggers controlling guns and missiles. There are fully remappable keyboard controls, but I wouldn't recommend them. Strangely there are no mouse controls. Gameplay handles crisp and zippy. The campaign has many stages, and they're all very short, finished in 5 minutes or less. The game operates in four modes: 1) straight-up rail shooting where the screen scrolls down a predetermined path while you attempt to shoot down as many enemies as possible while avoiding projectiles and collisions. 2) Escape mode which is the same as the rail shooting parts except you aren't trying to shoot anything, just dodge while moving at max speed through boost rings. 3) Free-roam where you can freely rotate and explore. 4) Boss mode where you lock onto a boss enemy and freely pivot around it, dodging projectiles while zapping weak points. Stages can switch freely between the four modes, and sometimes the switch can be disorienting the first try. Aesthetics are great. This developer has a really distinct crisp and glowy style, though the visuals are more cartoony in this title than the stained-glass look of Redout 1. Music is peppy symphonic techno. Sadly the voice acting is pretty phoned in. The main downside of this game and the worst holdover from its mobile roots is all the stat unlocking. You've got to do a lot of grinding just to increase your max missile lock by one shot. Also I haven't beaten the game yet so no idea if it has a new game+ for your fully upgraded ship. For a game this cheap and this pretty, I'm happy. It's not Freespace 2, Everspace, or even Redout 1, but it's definitely a fun rollercoaster ride.
NOTE: This review is of the initial Early Access build. This Early Access was delayed by five months due to not wanting to overlap with the various Cyberpunk 2077 release dates, so it's way more polished than you would expect. Still just about the prettiest space game I've yet played, but the overall look is brighter and boxier than Everspace 1. Some of the textures are obviously still placeholders. In order to simulate contiguous space in Unreal Engine 4, space is broken into sectors that are like oversized hand-crafted levels from ES1, with Hyperspace as its own level. It runs about the same on my system as the original, albeit a little choppier in indoor environments. My two biggest complaints from ES1 are addressed. Weapons and Afterburner burn separate energy stores, and I have yet to run into any music that uses a wah pedal. Unlike the Rogue-Legacy unlock model of the first game, this functions more like an RPG with XP, character stats, equipment mods, and a party of support characters who unlock abilities and services as you solve their relationship quests. It's pretty much more Everspace, just a little bit better so far, and that's all I could ask for. Positive!
