EVERSPACE™ 2 Diablo with lasers

Combat here is about movement. You dodge, dash, roll and boost through fights against drones, fighters, heavy bombers and gunships, and the good runs end with a trail of space scrap behind you. Bigger targets, massive capital vessels and ancient guardians, punish pilots who just hold the trigger: you use the environment, break line of sight and pick your moments against greater numbers. The controls stay simple, sit down and fly, but the build underneath, weapons, devices, perks and your ship's active ability, decides how each fight plays. The dogfights are the part people keep coming back to, and it shows.

Cluster 34 is split into seven star systems with more than 100 handcrafted locations, and each one is its own map with its own idea: an asteroid field to crack open, a wreck to salvage, a ruin to restore, a stretch of water to fly under. Between fights you search structures, reroute energy, move debris and hunt outlaw caches for hidden treasure. Some of these hunts can turn into needle-in-a-haystack moments with little to go on, so come for the flying and the loot more than the scavenger hunts. When a puzzle lands, though, it is a welcome break from shooting.

You play Adam, a clone pilot trying to buy his way out of the Demilitarized Zone, and the story follows him through clashing warlords, cultists and aliens across a roughly 30-hour campaign, closer to 90 if you chase every secret. Allies join your missions and grant upgradable perks and abilities. The loot side runs deep: fighters in several classes, modules, weapons and set bonuses you combine, reforge and trade between systems for profit if you'd rather earn without fighting. The story divides people: some find it gripping, others find the dialogue thin. The campaign's end is not the end either, with High-Risk Areas and Ancient Rifts offering legendary gear for pilots who push their luck.