Everspace is one of those games that delivers thrills and excitement around every corner. Whether you're taking down outlaws, exploring the carcass of a ruined ship, or searching an asteroid field for mineable resources, the moment-to-moment gameplay is always interesting. Gameplay-wise, Everspace consists of flying through procedurally-generated sectors in a starfighter, blasting enemies, finding resources, looting ruined ships, and repairing and upgrading your ship. Each location is different, and there are no persistent space stations or anything of that sort. If you die on a run, you start over at Sector 1, but you do get to spend any credits you collected on upgrades to your ship. These roguelike elements require some caution when dogfighting, as often it is wiser to jump to the next sector rather than try and fight it out. Some may find restarting annoying, but I like the air of danger it adds to every encounter. The sectors get harder as you go, but there are also powerful weapons and upgrades to be optained, and this makes it easier to stay alive. Everspace does have a story. It unfolds little by little via cutscenes triggered at certain times, and story progress carries over from run to run. If you die all the time and just keep returning to Sector 1, there will be very little storyline, but the story ramps up the farther you get without dying and adds extra incentive for continuing on. Everspace stuns in the graphics department. Every location is absolutely beautiful, and every object in the game is highly detailed. Lighting and explosions in particular blow me away every time. There's also a great soundtrack that adds to the presentation. One thing I found myself occasionally missing was space stations or bases to dock at Galaxy-on-Fire-style. This is a different type of game, though, and that would probably just bog down the action. If you can't stand the thought of starting over at death, Everspace isn't for you, but overall I love it. 5/5
