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video game reviews

Underspace Might Just Be the Space Sim You’re Looking for

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I was sent a free copy of Underspace to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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What is Underspace?

Underspace is an arcade style flight sim for PC via Steam and GoG. It claims to be the spiritual successor to Freelancer. I have never played Freelancer and can’t confirm or deny this claim, a lot of people seem to agree.

You are now one of the galaxy’s star chasers, one of the crazy few who chase storms, fight against eldritch horrors, and take on any job that comes your way. Your goal is to make money and stay alive. Navigate the cold dark vastness of space, upgrade your ship, and become the best star chaser the world has ever known. Do you have what it takes?

Gameplay

Underspace is a space-themed sandbox RPG. Players take on quests and fly their ships through space to complete them. There is a main story that is said to take about 15 hours to complete, and countless side quests and exploration hundreds more.

If you’re looking for a realistic space simulator, you’ll need Elite Dangerous or hope Star Citizen isn’t a scam. Underspace has more of an arcade feel in its flight and combat system. That said, Underspace is still a valid space game experience. Combat and flight in this game are fine for the casual who doesn’t worry about the physics of space travel, but they are still challenging enough to keep things engaging.

What makes this game a unique space game is its storms. Occasionally, a storm will break out that raises the price of goods and releases eldritch horrors into the universe. A player can fight these horrors and attempt to close the rifts that cause these storms. Doing so earns the player valuable resources for trade and reputation amongst the Galaxy’s citizens. It is a hard job, but someone has to do it.

Review

This game looks dated when compared to other games in the genre, but that shouldn’t be discouraging. The game runs smoothly, it has a solid story, and the gameplay loop is a lot of fun. I was blown away by how creative the game gets with its horrors, and I found myself rushing towards every storm just to see the type of creature I would encounter. Although I am not the best pilot, I did well enough to have fun. Most importantly, there is so much to do in this game that you will definitely get your money’s worth.

Keep in mind that the game is still in early access, so there are bound to be problems. Some people have pointed out that the game drops too many frames or straight up doesn’t work. Aside from a few hiccups here and there, the game never became unplayable. There is still some roughness, but there seems to be continued support. I feel confident that there will be fixes in future updates. I think the roughness gave it its charm, and it made it feel like a retro space game without ever feeling like a slog.

If you’re looking for a new space sim, Underspace is a solid casual one with a decent story, great flavor, and fun gameplay. If you are a Freelancer fan, this might be worth looking into. If you’ve never played a space sim, this is a great place to start. I loved it, and recommend it, even if its only early access.

You can grab your copy of Underspace on Steam or GOG for $19.99. There is a Steam demo available if you need a bit more convincing.

video game reviews

Game Review: Everspace 2

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I was sent Everspace 2 as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions.

Everspace 2 is a space-themed looter shooter available now for the Xbox and PC. You play as a clone pilot looking for his place in the universe. Explore the universe as you take on odd jobs, evade capture, and fight for survival. If you are looking for a sci-fi game with a large open world and lots of content, get Everspace 2. 

The biggest draw for Everspace 2 is its streamlined flight mechanics. While there is enough skill and challenge involved to keep flight and combat engaging, there isn’t the high skill ceiling you would get from a flight simulator like Elite Dangerous. Everspace 2 gives you the feeling of being an ace pilot without much of the commitment. The combat in this game is incredibly satisfying. While there may be a grind, it won’t feel like it. 

I love the RPG flavor this game has. You have an expansive skill tree, loot drops, a leveling system, and an open world full of quests. If you like RPGs, you will enjoy the refreshing take this game brings to the genre.

As you progress through the game, you will unlock new ships and weapons. I was pleased by how unique each ship and weapon loadout made combat. I never felt like this game grew stale because there was always something new to try. I enjoyed the bulky ships the best, but I recommend you try every flavor till you find something that fits your playstyle best. There is some RNG when it comes to the loot, but I felt it was very fair. 

This game has so much to do that I found myself constantly sidetracked. The story is interesting, and the cut scenes are very well done. I am a huge fan of how the cut scenes are drawn, and I love that they play like comic book pages. This game has some fantastic voice acting, so sitting through the story became a real treat. I haven’t played the first game, but I didn’t feel it was necessary. The story is pretty self-contained, and I never felt lost by what was going on..

If you are looking for a unique RPG, you need to give Everspace 2 a try. This game looks great, performs well, and is a lot of fun. I’d say it is worth buying at full price. You can pick up Everspace 2 for $49.99 on Xbox and Steam. You can play it free if you have game pass. Everspace 2 will be coming to the PlayStation 5 this summer.

video game reviews

Game Review: Lightracer Spark

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I was sent Lightracer Spark as a review code. I am very grateful for the opportunity, but I will keep my review honest.

Lightracer Spark is a sci-fi visual novel with light RTS elements. You play as an amender from an advanced alien cavillation on a mission to save the universe from collapsing. To do so, you must travel to developing planets and help with their evolution. You manipulate governments, stabilize economies, or eliminate anything stunting the growth of a civilization. But be wary of your choices. A single mistake could be the difference between the birth of an advanced civilization and the destruction of another. Can you bring enough planets into the modern era before it is too late?

If you like sci-fi novels, Lightracer Spark has an interesting narrative that is worth looking into. Only the first chapter of the story is playable, but there are two more chapters planned as free DLC for future releases. This game has some fantastic flavor. I love the idea of playing this god-like creature with the power to control the flow of a civilization, but the story has a few grammatical issues that are hard to overlook. Not enough to ruin the experience, but they are noticeable. 

At each planet, you are given a set of issues you need to fix. It can be anything from bringing peace to a war-torn country to helping discover new technology. How you approach solutions to these problems are limited by resources gained or gather in the game. You can use your resources for things like raising armies or on buildings that grant bonuses. I felt this part of the game was a bit too slow. There is a way to speed things up, but I was never confident enough to mess with it. If you are good at RTS games, you will enjoy the pacing and gameplay a lot better.

As far as RTS games go, Lightracer Spark is fairly manageable. The tutorial does a fantastic job of slowly introducing players to the game’s mechanics without it feeling like a tutorial. The tutorial felt like an immersive conversation with an AI, and I appreciated the touch. My only complaint is that I felt like I was taught mechanics that never came up again, but that could be due to user error.

So is it worth it? Lightracer Spark is a niche game, but that isn’t a bad thing. If you like sci-fi and don’t mind the light RTS elements, you should at least look into it. The story is solid, and the flavor is well-designed. It isn’t a bad game, but you do need to enjoy this type of gameplay loop. It’s a lot of reading and waiting on timers. For those interested, you can grab your copy on Steam for 12.99. It’s not a bad price for what you get. 

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