Explore the Stars: Everspace 2 Comes to Xbox Game Pass This August

Our story in Everspace 2 begins with Adam, an escaped clone pilot seeking his way in a cold and dangerous universe. What he’ll soon discover is that the events of his past self are on a collision course with the ambitions of many of the region’s corporate bosses and outlaw overlords. To survive and buy his way free of the demilitarized zone of Cluster 34, he’ll need to team up with a new crew while exploring relatively uncharted star systems.

As a studio, we wanted to write a love letter to the games that inspired us — the gameplay of space shooters like Freelancer and Wing Commander can very much be seen in the DNA of our games, but with modern conveniences and game features meant to bring something new to players. Fans of the first game in the series will have a deeper understanding of the world and characters of Everspace 2, but we’ve crafted this story so that newcomers will have little difficulty getting up to speed.

Cluster 34 is a hostile place for a lone pilot. Though there are pockets of civilization where traders make port and settlers call home, Outlaw attacks are common and it takes skills to survive. The arcade-style combat of Everspace 2 is fast-paced, but easy to pick up so pilots new to the game can take off and destroy their first enemy drone within minutes. When a challenge becomes too great, escape, explore, level up, gear up, and try again.

Adam isn’t in this entirely alone though! Over the course of the story, players will gather together a rag-tag group of mercenaries, aliens, outcasts, and adventurers who will help out by providing ship upgrades, navigation support, and other perks at Home Base. A few companions will even help out in battle, showing up to distract and destroy enemies when the going gets tough.

The first Everspace made gravitational waves in the roguelike community for its fast-paced combat and innovative use combining die-and-repeat gameplay with storytelling. In Everspace 2, we hop genres, taking space game fans into the realm of semi-open world RPGs where exploration, leveling up, crafting and managing equipment, buying new ships, and upgrading perks become nearly as important as a player’s piloting skill. With this new focus on RPG mechanics comes a wide range of options for pilots as combinations of new gear, ships, and perks unlock all kinds of ways to create and accommodate different play styles.

Everspace 2 is huge. The team here at Rockfish has created more than one hundred handcrafted areas in space and on planets to explore spread across six star systems. Each star system has its own distinct personality and while you may explore a variety of asteroids and debris fields over the course of your adventure, each is packed with secrets to find and enemies bent on hunting you down. From ruined space stations orbiting decaying stars, to space storms surrounding ancient structures, to space jellyfish haunting the bones of a starfaring Leviathan, there are so many sights to discover.

With nine different ship types, each with different available perks, there are all kinds of ways to destroy attacking outlaws. Want to play a sneaky sniper? The stealth cloak of the Scout and a long-distance charged coil gun makes for a powerful combo. Players who prefer to be able to take and throw big punches may enjoy the Gunship with its auto turret ultimate attack, multiple weapon hardpoints, and high armor value. Others may prefer the Vindicator, a heavy fighter that reanimates battlefield wreckage to repair or replace its fleet of drones. The “unlimited power”-style lightning special attack of the Sentinel that strikes multiple nearby enemies is a fan favorite.

As with many RPGs, equipment is central to a player’s survival and with all the weapon types and gear modifiers in Everspace 2, you can tune your build to your preferred playstyle. Primary weapons such as the Autocannon, Pulse Laser, and shotgun-like Flak Cannon deal kinetic and energy damage while a myriad of secondary missile and mine secondary weapons can inflict status effects or simply hammer in to deal massive damage. More defensive equipment like plating, generators, thrusters, sensors, and storage increase survivability by providing more energy, speed, armor, item detection range, and more. And don’t forget one-time use items — the healing, damage amplification, and other effects they can provide are frequently handy for getting out of a tight spot. 

Xbox space pilots can prep their engines for departure on August 15 when Everspace 2 launches on Xbox Series X|S with Xbox Game Pass. Can’t wait? Everspace 2 is already available for Windows with PC Game Pass with support for Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing you to start your adventure on PC today and continue it on console later. Game Pass members can also make Everspace 2 their own today with a 20% discount.

EVERSPACE™ 2

ROCKFISH Games

☆☆☆☆☆
6

★★★★★

PC Game Pass

EVERSPACE™ 2 is a fast-paced single-player spaceship shooter with worthwhile exploration in space and on planets, tons of loot, RPG elements, mining, and crafting. Experience a thoughtful sci-fi story, set in a vivid, handcrafted open world full of secrets, puzzles, and perils.

In the campaign, you will make some friends with their own story to tell. They will join you on side missions and provide certain benefits in the endgame, where vicious encounters and brutal challenges will stand between you and that next epic loot drop.

EMBARK ON AN EXCITING JOURNEY
Discover alien species, unveil mysteries, find hidden treasures, and defend your valuables against outlaw gangs. But don’t get cocky: there will be some high-risk/high-reward areas waiting for you where grabbing that ultra-special gear and getting out alive will require some serious piloting skills and all your talent for improvisation.

LET THE LASERS DO THE TALKING
Annihilate your foes the EVERSPACE™ way: Dodge, dash, roll, and boost guns blazing into frantic dogfights, leaving only a trail of space scrap behind. Use a wide range of weaponry and abilities to defeat a large variety of opponents like drones, fighters, heavy bombers, and powerful gunships all the way to massive capital vessels. Always look around and use your environment to your advantage, and gain the upper hand even if you are outnumbered.

MAKE THE WORLD YOUR OWN
Enter the world of EVERSPACE and explore it at your leisure. Cluster 34 is brimming with main and side missions, activities, events and secrets to be uncovered. So fire up your hyperdrive and shape your legacy among the stars.

HAVE IT YOUR OWN WAY
Expand your private ship collection from a virtually endless supply of ships, composed of various unique ship classes and optimize your build to perfection. Cleverly combine modules, weapons, devices, and perks to fit your individual playstyle and the current objective.

EPIC LOOT AWAITS
Hunt for the next better gear and be ready to constantly re-evaluate your current setup. Look for loot that fits your playstyle but be willing to leave your comfort zone and try something new. Be ready to find and exploit synergistic effects between equipment, perks, devices, and ships to fully maximize their potential.

FROM RAGS TO RICHES
Roam the world looking for the best deals on certain commodities, becoming the part-time trader you always wanted to be. However, prices will vary based on supply and demand, so you better check about the latest offerings before you set course to the next trading station. Always be on the look-out against ambushes during interstellar travel.