Space simulation games, while liberating and thrilling, often feel somewhat intimidating to approach.

They’re usually backed up with a ridiculous amount of controls, have vast maps which defy possibility and can feel a bit directionless when you don’t know where you’re going or what you should be doing.

So Everspace 2 feels like a complete outlier, as it’s one of the most approachable, satisfying, fulfilling star cruising shuttlers I’ve played or laid eyes on.

Falling somewhere between an RPG, No Man’s Sky and Galaxy on Fire, Everspace 2 takes you on a weaving campaign filled with cutscenes, side missions, levelling up and ship customisation.

Everspace 2 is a very smartly presented, well implemented, easy-going cruiser where you shoot at enemy ships, gather resources from floating asteroids and floating debris, fix broken parts and solve puzzles while building up your weapons and gear.

I am incredibly impressed by its sense of scale, the ease in which you can dive in, feel comfortable and just enjoy yourself. But equally how quickly you can zip around, moving freely between enclosed areas and by zooming across the far stretches of the galaxy.

That said, the content does start to feel very familiar and similar after spending a good chunk of time with it, objectives fall into similar patterns, missions play out in a similar way and well, if you’re wandering through the regions of space, it’s going to start to look quite familiar.

The story also isn’t one to really write home about or one that’s particularly memorable, but the core loop of the game is enough to keep you coming back and powering through, even when the beats aren’t capturing your interest.

Everspace 2’s visuals are also right up there, pushing the quality barrier on PS5. The stars twinkle, the motion is smooth and free-flowing, the planetary surface is beautifully textured and the colored lighting dazzles and sparkles as you traverse through the campaign. Honestly, this is as good looking as any PS5 game this year.

It’s a healthy size too, with around a 30 hour story, padded out with around another 60 hours worth of side quests and things to find. Level scaling rises to match the action, though, ensuring you’re never kept too far behind or will find yourself getting played out of the game’s action.

With such freedom of movement, weapon variety and quick turns, tilts and flips, shootouts are the best part of the game, whether you’re cutting through craft with lasers or blasting them to smithereens with a missile. And when battles go on for a while, they can feel incredibly epic as you battle tooth and nail, fighting to survive.

It all feels great on DualSense as well with haptic feedback on every hit and appropriate lighting at key moments. It furthers the immersion and draws you closer to the action.

Frankly, there are few space exploration games as entertaining and enjoyable as this one. Though perhaps Starfield will have a little something to say about that in a few weeks.

This is a game that shatters the ceiling for other space exploration adventures and opens doors for a genre that has been notoriously niche for many years. But on top of that, Everspace 2 also just happens to be a delight to play.

Verdict

Everspace 2 does have some repetitive content and the story is a tad underwhelming, but the content loop is about as enjoyable as you’ll find anywhere with satisfying combat, thrilling exploration and discovery, and some intriguing puzzles to solve. It looks incredible, sounds wonderful and there are few space exploration games that are as approachable and engaging as this one, with even fewer able to cross genres so successfully. 

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Pros

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Everspace 2 is out now on PC, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation

Code Kindly Provided by ROCKFISH Games for review purposes

Played on PlayStation 5