Everspace 2 Early Access Launch Trailer Shows Stellar Visuals & Combat

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Cosmos-spanning action RPG Everspace 2 blasts off into Early Access today, and the developers at Rockfish Games have released a new trailer to mark the occasion. The game was originally scheduled to head into Early Access sooner, but the developer delayed its launch in order to make room for the delayed Cyberpunk 2077. Unlike the many delays with that AAA behemoth, it seems that the delay with Everspace was just a case of convenience, as the version launching today bears a striking resemblance to the Closed Beta that many crowdfunding backers have been playing for months.

A direct continuation of Rockfish's first release, Everspace 2 launches from a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised well over its goal by bringing in $600,000. Both games are driven by their sharp graphics and repeatable gameplay, and Everspace 2 promises to go even deeper than the original with new weapons and mechanics to discover. These include a grappling hook that can deflect incoming missiles and hurl space junk wherever it can deal the most damage. Players can also fly into the lower atmosphere of planets for the first time in the new game, bringing it excitingly closer to an arcade version of No Man's Sky.

Everspace 2 will launch into Early Access, as evidenced in the new trailer released today by Rockfish Games. Just like the original Everspace before it, this process is done in order to get community feedback and tweak the game to the perfect specifications. It won't be a lengthy ordeal, as Rockfish has promised to get the full version out the door by the end of 2021. In Screen Rant's preview of the initial Early Access release, Dylan Warman states that the game has enormous potential.

With an expansive universe to explore, challenging enemies, countless loot, a plethora of missions, and a story whose cutscenes are told in a narrated comic book fashion, the game’s early state is solid enough to warrant praise for an independent studio that funded the project through Kickstarter.
 

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The Early Access trailer hints at that comic book flavored story, which features a former clone setting out to strike it rich across the galaxy. Despite the game having a full single-player campaign, players are encouraged to jet around wherever they please. The procedural nature of the content and the loot drops ensures that there's entertainment to be had no matter what a pilot ends up doing during any given session.

Perhaps it's because of its less than realistic gameplay or its indie scope, but Everspace 2 is the kind of game that seemingly floats under the radar without any indication as to why. The game is an iteration of the popular cockpit games of decades past, a dream game for players of Freelancer and TIE Fighter in the 90s. It also has a gorgeous art style for an "indie" production, the type of graphics that might make someone question their definition of the word. In any case, considering the enormous success of the game's Kickstarter and the buzz on the game's Steam forums, it probably has found its niche audience. They are the people that can hopefully guide the game to even greater success upon its final release.

Everspace 2 is available now in Early Access on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.