A Kickstarter space sim with random elements. We’ve heard that one before. But even in this early access preview version, Everspace demonstrates the potential to be at the very least, a solid game that shouldn’t disappoint its supporters.
Unlike other games in the increasingly crowded space genre, such as No Man’s Sky, Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen, Everspace focuses almost exclusively on the combat and its roguelike gameplay loop. There’s no sprawling economic system, planet exploration or wobbly randomly-generated animals, but that doesn’t mean the game is shallow.
It’s obviously unfinished, but what’s there right now is still enough to provoke intrigue. So far, there’s huge corporate ships mining asteroids, swarming enemy fighters, deadly interceptors, a crafting system, an upgrade system and a good foundation for what could be an addictive experience.
Key to what makes Everspace tick is that roguelike structure (click the link for a diagram). Basically, when you die, that’s it and you have to start again. But every run makes you a little bit better and earns you upgrades that will make future runs easier, helping you jump from system to system as you try to reach your goal. In this regard, Everspace has more in common with the magnificent FTL than the games mentioned earlier.
To keep things from getting repetitive or too easy, each run is unique, with the order and contents of star systems randomly chosen within a set of principles. When the game is complete, each run will also reveal a little more of the story, but that’s never the main focus in a roguelike.
The real fun is how you deal with the new challenges presented in each run. Everspace excels here, with lots of different ways to play. Going in guns-a-blazin’ is awesome but potentially deadly, so using a cloaking device to sneak through difficult sectors is a smart move.
Progressing isn’t a simple matter of flying in a straight line, however. Firstly, you need fuel to jump, which can lead to some intense scenarios. Trying to sneak past a fleet to steal fuel from their space station is nerve-wracking, especially when an interceptor jumps into the system and suddenly you’re forced into a desperate escape; performing evasive manoeuvres as dozens of laser beams narrowly miss your fragile hull, knowing that just one would be enough to end it all.
Along with fuel there are also resources that can be used to buy new weapons and upgrades. Every system has at least something of use; sometimes obvious, like a huge nebula with plasma to store, or hidden, like crystals on the inside of a massive asteroid that’s surrounded by hostile drones. There are even wormholes that can lead to mysterious new places. Hopefully, you’ll run into a trade ship or service station and get some much needed help.
All of that stuff is coming along nicely. It’s exciting to jump into a new system and see something totally new, or encounter the kind of enemies that killed you last time and come up with a plan to defeat them. In order to really work though, the action has to be as tight as possible, but it’s not quite there yet.
The ship controls are functional and allow for very precise movements, which come in handy when exploring the interior of a planetary body or hiding in a debris field. Unfortunately something about the controls doesn’t feel right when in combat. They’re super responsive, but flying around feels a bit slow and while the ballet of near-instant direction changes makes sense, it doesn’t tick that “I’m in a space dogfight just like Star Wars” box.
The UI and HUD also leave something to be desired. It’s hopefully just a work in progress like most of the game, but at the moment it’s too small with not enough feedback, which makes things confusing. It’s especially tough to know what’s happening in a dogfight, when everything is shaking and the screen is cluttered with flashing beams and explosions.
Some more information would be really helpful, like a display of the enemy that’s currently targeted, with a readout of its shield status and maybe some strategic hints. Admittedly this might just be an upgrade later in the game.
So the combat isn’t totally perfect, but the absolute worst aspect of the game at the moment is the audio. Again, it’s early in production and audio is usually one of the things that gets finished last, so criticism should be heard but not taken too heavily.
Still, it must be said that the music is mostly not so great. It doesn’t have any style or character to it and isn’t obviously integrated in a clever way. The aforementioned FTL had unique music for each type of system, that seamlessly transitioned into a more intense version of the same track when combat started.
More awful than that is the voice-acting, which is hopefully just a placeholder that they recorded in the office during a lunch break. The robot voice isn’t too bad, but the player character sounds like an English drama student doing a bad Nathan Fillion impression. The script doesn’t help, with frankly terrible attempts at witty banter that cause the eyes to roll more than a demonic possession.
The positive aspects of the game always more than make up for it, though. All the little things and hints of what’s to come when it’s complete tip the balance firmly in its favour. Like how upgrades actually change how the ship looks, or how damage doesn’t just deplete a health bar but rather impacts the performance of specific systems, forcing you to choose which to repair with scarce resources.
Other things that make it cool are the fact that when it’s done, each system won’t just be blue space with asteroids and orange space with asteroids (although it is a bit like this at the moment). There are plans for both live and derelict ships, hazards like space storms and a variety of enemies with different strategies, such as kamikaze fighters.
Everspace combines the best elements of space combat games and roguelikes in one awesome package. Or at least it has the potential to when it’s complete. There are some flaws, like the voice acting, but the crafting systems and selection of different gameplay styles comfortably make up for that. It looks pretty, plays well and has lots of smart decisions that keep things interesting a hundred deaths later. If you liked FTL or other space flight games, this is definitely one that’s worth checking up on when it’s finished.
Dean was a regular ICXM contributor between 2015–2017, publishing 39 articles across game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @SpookyWomble.