Have you ever been inside a whale? Most people would probably say no unless it’s Pinocchio or part of a biblical fable. But I do it. Not literally, of course, but I’ve been delving into the new expansion for Everspace 2 called Titans. I loved the main game and was really excited to see if this expansion lived up to my expectations. So let’s dive in and see if Everspace 2: Titans has anything to offer.
Everspace 2 is an action-packed space shooter where you pilot a ship through intense and exciting battles in space. I really liked the main game, as it captures exactly the feeling that I missed from Freelancer, another cosmic shooter that is very similar in both structure and design. However, after completing Everspace 2, I was left somewhat empty-handed. Aside from getting cool gear and making your ship more deadly, there wasn’t much content left, especially story-wise.
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After the main game, the focus was on collecting “big loot”, which was also the focus in the free expansion Incursions, which introduced Space Rifts. Here you could fly into a rift and fight hordes of enemies to get even more loot. While it was great at first, it quickly lost its luster for me. Once you’ve completed the challenges, you’ll have plenty of materials available to potentially upgrade your ship. But for me it wasn’t enough. Once you reach level 30, there isn’t much left to research or develop. The ship’s capabilities peak and then you get caught in a loop of team hunting.
That’s why I was happy that the Titans expansion finally brought something new: a renewed story. The extension is divided into two parts. In the first part you meet a scientist who asks you to scan giant skeletons in various star systems. It quickly turns out that these skeletons are from giant whale-like aliens, which you then have to investigate further. That’s why the expansion is called Titans. You end up being swallowed by one of these giant whales and have to move through the inside of its body, fighting its “immune system” and performing various tasks along the way.
This is where things start to get exciting until suddenly everything stops. Yes, you heard that right. After exploring the whale and fighting inside, you will find a pearl to take back to the scientist. She clears it so you can access even more loot, and then the story ends. It seems incomplete, like something is missing. Everything focuses on finding loot again, which I personally find a bit tiring.
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Fortunately, there is another part of the expansion that offers a bit more depth. Here you will be contacted by a mysterious agent who needs your help in investigating a gigantic spaceship that has been hijacked by a group of villains. Your job is to protect the ship’s cargo and prevent it from wreaking havoc on neighboring planets. Together with a fleet of other spaceships, you must ensure that the ship does not run away. This part of the story seems more exciting and is very reminiscent of the epic stories in the main game.
But here too the expansion stumbles over itself. After several battles against the big ship, you still come across the same scenarios in which you have to solve two or three tasks and are rewarded with loot. And just when you think the story is about to take a turn or reach a climax, it all ends abruptly with no real conclusion. It leaves an empty feeling, like the game doesn’t really know where it’s going. If the player has already reached level 30 and has seen most of what Everspace 2 has to offer, the lack of completion is even more frustrating.
What remains is to repeat the same scenarios to get more loot, but honestly it seems like a waste of time. Rockfish Games The game’s developers could have at least added a few additional levels or new progressions for players who have reached level 30. There is currently very little new for experienced captains, so the expansion is rather poor. Another disappointment is the lack of new game mechanics. The only thing new in Titans are some legendary weapons and gear, which are admittedly pretty cool. But there’s a problem: you can only equip your ship with two legendary weapons at a time, meaning that once you find something you really like, you’ll rarely be tempted to replace it. This makes collecting new gear a little less exciting as I kept the same weapons throughout the expansion.
It’s a shame that Everspace 2: Titans doesn’t offer more to experienced players. I understand that Rockfish Games is a smaller studio, but I was hoping this expansion would give us something different to play with. Personally, I feel that Titans should have been free and a really rich expansion should have offered players something more substantial.
I completed Titans in about four or five hours, and after that there wasn’t much to do except collect loot, and 99% of it wasn’t useful anyway. It’s a bit sad and I really hope that future expansions provide more content for those of us who want to take our powerful starships to the next level. I want to be able to upgrade my ship in ways that go beyond just collecting new gear, which the game already offers in abundance.
On a positive note, however, the graphics of Everspace 2: Titans are just as pretty and atmospheric as the main game. The expansion includes a few new planets and new music that fits well with the game’s already strong atmosphere. The dubbing is also good and the short story is developed with conviction and quality. But overall, “Titans” isn’t a gigantic victory. If you are thinking about purchasing the expansion, I recommend that you wait until it goes on sale. There just isn’t enough content to justify the price, and that’s a shame. As a fan of the main game, I’m disappointed and think others who have played Everspace 2 for many hours will feel the same way. Let’s hope future expansions have more to offer.
