Actual space is pitch-black with only the steady pinpoint light of stars to provide a bit of illumination. There’s an endless amount of beauty and wonder out there but, on the whole, it’s generally seen anywhere from millions of miles away to distances so large they can only be practically measured by the speed light travels in a full year. Videogame space, on the other hand, gets to play with the fantasy of what a properly-designed universe should look like, and nobody does it better than Everspace. Granted, sightseeing frequently needs to wait due to frequent lightning-fast battles taking place in asteroid fields, nebulas, around space stations and massive ships, and the wreckage of old battles, but the views are amazing when you’re not desperately circling around dodging laser fire while drawing a bead on the enemy. Everspace 2’s battlefields are beautiful and dangerous, but filled with rewards for pilots daring enough to tackle them.
It’s been over two years since Everspace 2 launched into Early Access, upgrading the content to a ridiculous degree. New chapters to the story, more missions, several ships, more activities, constant tweaking of leveling and crafting systems, and even a throwback mode to the original randomized nature of Everspace with the Ancient Rifts feature. The 1.0 upgrade is coming to PC on April 6, adding a pile of new features (including a new star system) and finishing off the story, and with it a few notable changes and other notes on the future of the game. First up, the price is changing from $39.99 to $49.99 on February 20, so if you’ve been waiting then it’s probably worth jumping in soon. With the 1.0 PC version wrapping up that leaves the consoles as mid-2023’s goal, which will be PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, leaving the previous generation behind rather than engage in the struggle of a downgrade to make the game fit. The console launch will also come with PC optimizations for the Steam Deck, somehow making the game fully portable. For today, though, there’s a nice new story trailer showing off the characters and world of Everspace 2. It’s a big beautiful universe out there, and about to be made even prettier thanks to all the lasers and explosions lighting up the place.
