The Binding of Isaac and FTL has shown it is possible to thrive, but the a space sim like EV Nova would be to dated because of modern gamers expectations from a space sim given what we are seeing with Eve and No Man's Sky.ĮV Nova always felt like a game that more people played than you'd expect but no one seemed to be talking about it. Top down approach does have it's uses in todays market. Plus today we have Eve which seems to be the best successor to the series (I always looked at Eve as Escape Velocity on steroids). But now that I think about it the game would lose it's odd charm. I kept on hoping that one day Ambrosia would eventually release a modern game, multiplayer game, or even an MMO. I think the top down perspective is something that could've only worked in the time it was released. The first time I played through the game it felt seemless but upon other play throughs it began to feel forced. ![]() My one little complaint is that it seems like after a certain amount of play time you are kind of forced into going down a specific story line. While there was an expanded galaxy, more races/federations/alliances to join or go against, the core of the game still felt like the original. I can say basically the same thing for EV Nova. ![]() This was the first and one of the few games where I sought out mods to experiment with and the mods were surprisingly in depth (creating your own missions and galaxies along with creating ships). ![]() The experience was something I had never experienced in my gaming life. Also the fact that every planet had at least a paragraph or two that described the world and a piece of art depicting the world made the universe felt very alive. At the time I felt like I had a real sense in progression between building my money, getting a new ship, doing missions and eventually siding with specific federations. It's one of my favourite games ever and I'm chuffed to see anyone else even mention it!Įscape Velocity as a whole was the first time I felt gravitated toward playing a game perpetually over the course of months. Although this does expose some weaknesses in the gameplay, it makes for an absolutely enthralling narrative and a world that begs to be investigated. Overall EV Nova is a fundamentally good but flawed game that pursues story without compromise. It's very unnerving and rewarding and creepy, and that'll all before you get attacked. When you finally get there its this low visibility, murky system with a mechanically ringed planet at its centre. It's loads of engine-hops away so you have to equip your ship specially just to complete the mission. I remember one mission recovering a science team (I think?) from a very creepy world far out in the corners of the galaxy called Kant. You can't but certain things or enter certain systems until you meet various requirements and it does make it feel like a world you need to take part in. The factions are also sufficiently engaging and varied that you always are driven to explore. You certainly gain a lot of familiarity with certain systems through your travels and it makes the game feel very alive. Combat is entertaining and planning routes through systems is complex enough to be rewarding. ![]() However the core loop of the game is fun enough that you can work past it. There is little by way of balance (the strongest race in the game has a fighter which can single handedly take on federation capital vessels.) and figuring out where your next mission update will come from can be unbelievably arbitrary. The game does suffer from some poor design. Whether you become a universe controlling omnipresence or lead the pirates to glory or fight for the rebels or free the federations slaves, its all SO cool and enthralling. There are something like 6 possible storylines depending on the route you choose through the game and every one is so incredibly cool. I didn't think anyone else liked this game! I have an entire YouTube series playing it.įirst thing's first, the writing in this bad boy is some of the best I've ever seen, it reads like a novel.
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