Everspace: Stellar Edition

While I might have aimed a little high with my expectations for Everspace, as a fan of the space combat genre, it ultimately is enjoyable. I don't think it's for everyone but that's the beauty of niche games like this, they don't have to appeal to everyone.

While reminding us just how much we'd love to see FTL on Switch, Everspace manages to carve out an impressive identity for itself. With gratifying space combat, an addictive ‘rogue-lite' core loop and even some light, entertaining writing along the way, it performs admirably – if not flawlessly – on Nintendo's console. Overall, we had a hell of a time with it and this port does a cracking job of preserving the full experience on a handheld. If any of this sounds remotely enticing, we'd heartily recommend investigation.

Everspace: Stellar Edition isn't the best 3D space shooter or roguelike available, but it's a relatively unique and successful fusion of the two genres. Repetitiveness aside, you may just find yourself hooked by the game's tight combat controls and satisfying progression loop. Unfortunately, the Switch isn't the best way to play the game, unless portability is your top concern. Everspace for Switch isn't for everybody, but if you fall into the game's relatively narrow niche, a galaxy of die and retry fun awaits.

A roguelike with fast action, perfect for short games and which fits like a glove to the portable version of the switch.

The map of this game is split up into different areas and warping to these areas is done by making sure you have enough fuel to warp and by aiming at the direction of that area clearly marked on your HUD and each area is quite a decent size enough for dogfights, exploration and mining for resources. One of the things that I really like with this game is when fighting enemies, if the fight is won but not the cleanest, the capabilities of your ship can become damaged, so if you have laser cannons and homing missiles and your cannons become damaged you can be taking on fighters with nothing but homing missiles, not the best tactical option for survival.

The Switch's catalogue of quality indie games adds yet another one to its remarkable line-up. Even better, it's something original - something to stand out against its peers. The combat and exploration elements are smooth and entertaining, the rogue-like elements dig addictive hooks deep, the presentation is surprisingly sharp, and the story is a pleasant surprise. Everspace deserves to be on more players' radars. Another hidden gem, and this one shines more than most.

Overall, Everspace: Stellar Edition is a fantastic addition to any Switch library.

Since space combat games are few and far between on Switch there’s no question that Everspace does a great job of scratching that itch. You can tone down the challenge a bit for a slightly reduced reward but in general there’s not that much variance in difficulty on the whole so Normal mode is probably your best bet once you get the hang of things. Though the specific scenarios and details will change the solid combat action can start to feel repetitive after a while. Just be sure to explore your upgrades and change up your ship’s configuration as you acquire new gear and it should continue to remain fresh and challenging for quite a while.

Everspace is a fun, challenging and involving roguelike game set in a space environment that features a very strict difficulty curve and an enormous amount of content to explore. While the difficulty level might seem too unforgiving at moments, this is a game that certainly feels rewarding for its players and those brave enough to venture into its depths will come out scathed but satisfied.

"Roguelike mixed with Rogue One works surprisingly well."