Played first game, heard this one might be more RPG/open-world, would love that

[clarkeveritas]

Title. I flat forgot about this game for a while- before I did I remember seeing it might have exploration and an almost rpg-ness to it, I was curious how it turned out. I liked the actual combat and whatnot of the first game but the idea of that game but I could go whereever I wanted, maybe have some RPG stuff involved, to me would be amazing. Just wanted some thoughts. I've been out of the loop for a long, long time about this game.

[Suzaku]

I had my reservations about when I first heard it was taking a different route from the first game, but I think Rockfish absolutely nailed it. The combat is great, the increased ship and weapon variety is great, the story, side missions, characters, and banter are all great, the graphics and locations are beautiful.

It's not true open-world, as your access to other systems is gated by story progression, but you can freely explore any locations you've unlocked.

Check out the demo for now. If you like it, you can purchase the game and continue from that save file.

[The Kraken]

I did not enjoy ES1, but love ES2. ES2 is absolutely not a rogue-like game, it's a semi-open world story-driven game with a lot of end-game content and an insane amount of optional side-content.

That said, there is heavy RNG involved in drops, and it is RPG lite, emphasis on the lite. The only real RPG mechanics are the ships in the sense of ship class (having different abilities and manoeuvrability), allocation of some points to things like crit hit or defence (though it's mostly provided by the gear you have equipped) and the type of gear you install (type of weapons, shields with different effects, radars, etc), the level perks you can pick from, etc. There are a lot of options to create a unique build and fly a ship the way you most enjoy, but that's about as far as "RPG" goes, it's not so much playing the character you want as you are most decidedly the main character in a very specific story crafted for that character.

I highly recommend the game if you love exploration as the side-quests are fantastic and bring you to every nook and cranny of the insane number of hand-crafted areas you can visit, but also keep in mind if you DO want to find all the blueprints for gear, ship upgrade points, and some other stuff, you're also going to be doing a lot of physical puzzle solving (I personally love these, but many people don't because it does take up a lot of time and can be frustrating at times).

Also the story and dialogue are very much the "feel good" sci-fi of the 90s with bombastic and ridiculousness (think The Fifth Element film) rather than serious gritty or hard-core. It's goofy but heart-felt and personally I find the characters awesome and the story really cool with lots of twists, etc, but it's very much more C3PO and R2D2 level of comedy and goof and much less Andor, if that makes sense?

[clarkeveritas]

RPG-lite loses me entirely. RPG-heavy and might have been in. I'll pick it up when it's cheaper. Honestly have too many games now anyways. Thanks for the info.

[The Kraken]

Yeah, if you're not convinced, definitely wait for a sale. That said, there IS a demo available at all times you can try to see how it hooks you.

I took a look through your most played games on steam and here's a bit more context for you:

• Thinking X games (X4, etc) or NMS, the game is all flight in the cockpit either 3rd person or inside a detailed cockpit. There are systems readout's you can use directly on a built-in ship displays and/or you can use a HUD with the same info. Basically the same as ES1 but a more refined.
  
• The characters and story are like Deathloop or Fallout characters, in that they're all larger than life and over the top a lot of the times. Not in a cringey way (at least for me) just in a playful lighter-hearted way. Honestly with all the hyper-realistic space games out there, this is a very refreshing sense of going back to the good old stays of Star Trek TOS/TNG/DS9 + some Strange New Worlds.
  
• Exploration is very unique in this game, but it's almost like NMS but only in specific areas and has incredible detail and well-thought out environments. Really the same as ES1 but much more detailed and varied. You're inside a "zone" you can't leave without being forcibly u-turned, but most of these zones are so vast you will barely every reach the edge, plus all the interesting stuff is right in the zone. There's like a million secrets around every asteroid and inside that strange broken pipe and through that crack in the planets ice sheet (yes you also fly above surfaces, not just in space). The best way I can put a sense to all of this is watching The Expanse TV show. You just can't WAIT to find out what the next system looks like, what uniqueness is there (and EVERYWHERE is completely unique) and what might lie in wait for you.
  
• The game is basically Path of Exile in space when it comes to loot and customising your "character" (which is really just your ship).

Sorry if I am sorta repeating what I already said but just wanted to provide more context with respect to games you've had a lot of time in.

My biggest thing, is if you're not into a deep story-line and not into the wonders of exploration, it's probably not the top of the list game for you. If you expect POE or Diablo level of controlling your drops and the RNG in the end-game, that won't happen. There's more RNG in this game than any other loot game I have played, which can make it super frustrating to find the exact gear or sets you want. There ARE some ways around it - in-game QOL features - but yeah.

For me, it's definitely one of the top games I've ever played, but take a look at my games library to see the games I play (very single-player story-focused and exploration for me).

[clarkeveritas]

Thanks for the breakdown there- now I’m leaning more towards the “buy it now” side (even though I still have way too many stupid games). I dunno I really loved the feel of the first one and the second one really does seem to add all stuff I love.
Thanks for the research there- I try not to look too deeply into my gameplay history because even with the afk hours it’s a horrifying amount or hours.

[Entropy]

Originally posted by The Kraken:

I did not enjoy ES1, but love ES2. ES2 is absolutely not a rogue-like game,

Then you are probably not a guy to ask about this game. It is very rare that first game is not loved but loving this one. Your taste is weird and problematic.

[clarkeveritas]

Well, I kinda liked the first but after beating it once or twice I never went back too much, always thought “what if the second one was more rpg-ish and less linear?”- so I don’t think that would seem like an odd opinion. It’s all good, just relax.