Over 100 Ships And The Meaning Of Life In ‘EVERSPACE 2’
3 min read
After three weeks, the Kickstarter campaign for EVERSPACE™ 2, the new open-world space shooter from independent developer ROCKFISH Games, reached more than 60% of its EUR 450,000 (~USD 500,000) funding goal: https://www.kickstarter.com/
In addition to significantly improved graphics, a much larger game world and persistent player progression, the Hamburg-based studio continues to have an open ear for community suggestions by placing a high emphasis on extended storytelling and a vast selection of player ships as indicated by the recent announcements on the background story and modular design of player ships in EVERSPACE™ 2.
Building off the change from the predecessor’s roguelike game mechanics to open-world gameplay with classic RPG elements, the story of the campaign with around 20 hours of playing time is also moving into focus. The hero’s journey will continue as a clone pilot from the previous game, and fans can also look forward to meeting a few familiar faces. The circumstances, however, are completely new: the hero’s motivation is not just to save the entire galaxy, but to search for the purpose of life and his own place in society. The creative team took inspiration from sci-fi film classics like Blade Runner, The Sixth Day and video games like Detroit: Become Human, which all deal with the subject of what it means to be human.
The entire game world of EVERSPACE™ 2 will also be more lively and differentiated. Outlaws will organize themselves into individual clans, which will differ from each other both visually and in their technological development. Assisting in the design of one of these outlaw clans, including a portrait of the boss, is one of the top Kickstarter rewards with only two left. Fiction will also play an important role in the EVERSPACE™ 2 space opera: all kinds of fantastic creatures will cross the player’s paths. Some of them even so gigantic that they could devour entire spaceships whole.
ROCKFISH Games is also adhering to wishes from the community with a multitude of new player ships. In addition to an open game world, space game enthusiasts can look forward to a larger selection of spaceships with extensive possibilities for individualization. Featuring primary, secondary and tertiary colours as well as the vessels’ insignia, various ship hulls, wings, engines and extentitions can be unlocked and interchanged in a multitude of combinations. The medium fighter class will be supplemented with a light and a heavy class, which will differ considerably in their abilities. Well over 100 different player ships will be available in the final game. Naming and designing one of these ships is another Kickstarter reward. 13 fans have already fulfilled their dream of becoming a spaceship designer, which leaves seven rewards available as the campaign is halfway over.
“In developing the campaign, it was particularly important for us to not only pick up the story from the acclaimed first part of the series, but also that our characters gain more emotional depth and multi-faceted motivation. We put a lot of time and effort into the storytelling and also have support from top storywriter Joshua Rubin to ensure the narrative quality of the 20-hour campaign to reflect our increased ambitions,” said Michael Schade, CEO and co-founder of ROCKFISH Games. “In addition to the much more extensive story in an open-world, the role-playing elements and the loot system, one of the biggest features in EVERSPACE™ 2 is the modular system for an almost infinite number of different player ships that still don’t look arbitrary and also offer different playing styles and extensive customization options.“
Early access of EVERSPACE™ 2 on Steam is currently scheduled for September 2020, with the full version for PC, PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One scheduled for release in the second half of 2021. Backers of the Kickstarter campaign will receive the demo version of EVERSPACE™ 2 via Steam later this year.
