Faisal Ghaffar 
Colorful, explosive and punchy, you will find Everspace 2 an interesting combo of arcade space dogfights and looter-shooter RPG, which boasts a diversity in how you play it. On the outside, the game may look like a space sim and it does have things related to that genre like mining asteroids, fighting pirates and building reputation, but Everspace 2 is actually a looting-shooting game. It keeps you interested and engaged with flashy fights and is quite different from its prequel.
The difference
The first Everspacewas a roguelite, as every mission that you came across was procedurally generated, but the sequel is actually a more traditional action RPG that has a main story quest and also side missions. You will be blowing through contracts and solving open-world puzzles for about 50 hours because that’s how long it takes for you to finish the main story. It can take you twice as much to play the whole of it.
In terms of story, Everspace 2 is undoubtedly a sequel, but it is quite different from the original when it comes to how you play it. As in the last one, you take the role of a clone pilot, but the story itself is not very interesting. The characters and writing come off as disposable and stiff, but you do get some good gags and some great characters. This can be a bit disappointing, given that you spend time in this world. But, since you are playing the game for the spaceships blowing up rather than the dialogue, it does not make much of a difference in the long haul.
The enemies and combat
You are able to fly around rather smoothly and there are no technical glitches and slowdowns to worry about. The game takes you through short-range dogfights and there are numerous enemies to deal with. But, you have to be careful, or else the difficulties will become overwhelming. Approach and position is of the utmost importance here, as you need to choose priority targets early on and take down enemies, such as snipers, or deal with web drones before they expose you.
The good thing is that combat has not gotten old in Everspace 2 and this is the primary element that keeps you hooked to the game. Most of the missions either involve you going somewhere and fighting, or you have to get something from people after fighting them. The remaining time is spent moving between ports, fetching, docking and listening to dialogue. There are also environmental puzzles that you figure out.
There are hidden hatches in most locations that you blow open and discover, along with various hunts to getting a battery, generator core or something else. In the initial hours, these are very interesting and keep you entertained, but they eventually become repetitive later on.
The Verdict
Everspace 2 is undoubtedly off to an excellent start, as it has enough polished content that allows you to enjoy more than a dozen hours of fun blasting, looting and puzzle-solving, all of which you do in space.
