We were born too early to explore the stars and born too late to explore the uncharted lands of the world. Fortunately, games give us the opportunity to chart the vast horizons of space with video games. One of the more notable upcoming ones is Everspace 2, the successor to the highly-touted Everspace.

Created by ROCKFISH Games, this space-themed loot-shooter recently released an action-packed demo that we got our hands on. So far, we’ve enjoyed every moment of it and managed to get the following key takeaways:

An open-world space adventure

Though advertised as an action-packed loot shooter, Everspace 2 feels more like an open-world space adventure where you almost do anything you want. However, instead of an open-ended, “do whatever you want” type of game, the full release is a linear title with a 20-30 hour campaign.

Regardless, the game has outstanding potential and is great for anyone who wants to go on a free-flowing space adventure. There are numerous planetary systems to explore and planets, each with unique designs, to sightsee. Plus, you’ll get to encounter a variety of factions that may or may not be hostile.

Jumping from one planetary system to another doesn’t take much effort. You only have to activate your jump drive and go on cruise control to get there. This speeds up exploration and is in line with the fast-paced gameplay the title is known for.

Numerous characters, factions, and in-universe elements

The demo barely had any content, although it showed a good amount of depth by giving you a couple of surprise quests. In my case, while I was exploring a planetary system that was being managed by Grady & Brunt Prospects, I triggered a quest wherein I had to find an object wandering aimlessly. Plus, there were also NPCs talking with one another on the radio, giving you a good look at the overall lore and situation. Even outlaws are fully-fledged characters. They interact and even plead with you to stop attacking their base.

The conversation I eavesdropped in talked about refugees trying to evacuate. Although I wasn’t able to trigger or find anything that indicated it’s a quest that can be triggered, we can assume that it will be in the full game. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising that we’ll receive a lot of these kinds of sudden side quests in the full release.

Lasers, missiles, destruction, and loot

Now on to the main event: the space battles.

Battles are as action-packed as advertised. The moment you leave the starting space station, you’ll immediately encounter enemy drones which make it their mission to make your journey as terrible as possible. Thankfully, you’ll be able to fight back since your ship is also stacked with a wide selection of weapons. These range from rapid-fire autocannons, pulse lasers, and missiles. To further aid you in combat, you’ll have access to a range of tools - or ship abilities - like cloaking and even an EMP that can disable enemies for a certain amount of time.

Piloting takes some serious skill. Doing so via a mouse and keyboard is tedious, and we recommend playing the game on a controller. Though the controls are easy to learn and master, there will be occasions wherein you’ll find it hard to evade enemy fire, especially when you’re up against a number of drones or are dealing with an enemy base stocked with a lot of defense systems. With that said, it’s very important to not just approach every objective with guns blazing and hope your ship’s defenses will hold up. Sure, it’s an action-packed game, but you need to also approach things from a tactical standpoint. At the same time, it’s also a must to use the full array of skills and abilities you have on your arsenal.

Once you’ve managed to win your battles you’ll have access to loot which is a huge part of the game. Basically, you’ll need to pick these since you’ll need to use them to craft gear and other necessities. By doing so, you may end up upgrading your ship and adding new ones into your ever-growing collection.

Be the interstellar traveler you’ve always wanted to be

We look at Everspace 2 in two ways. One is an action-packed space fighter, and the other is an RPG that lets you become whoever you want to be. You could opt to attack various factions or become a peaceful trader who is only hostile against outlaws. With its large sprawling universe and numerous gameplay mechanics, it feels as if Everspace 2 has the potential to give you the freedom you both want and need in a space game.

With that said, give the demo a shot today and see if Everspace 2 is something you’d want to have on your backlog!