Everspace 2: Wrath of the Ancients DLC review

I absolutely LOVED Everspace 2, and said as much in my review.  When the team launched their first paid DLC (there were a lot of little improvements along the way) entitled "Titans," we saw a lot of gear and endgame rebalances.  The game was better for it, and it also introduced a number of new activities, threats, and tools to combat them — another solid entry.  The second DLC, far bigger than Titans despite the name, was entitled "Wrath of the Ancients".  Despite my love of Everspace 2, I was just too busy to tackle this one at the time of launch.   I recently got the itch to head back out into the inky blackness and thought what better way to do that than to jump back into a game I know I love to see what's new.  I'm very glad I did because developer Rockfish Games has once again struck gold.  Let's prepare for launch and check out Everspace 2: Wrath of the Ancients.  

Like Titans, Wrath of the Ancients integrates directly into the base game.  When you're ready, you'll head out to a specific area which kicks off the story in an epic fashion — you come face to face with your very first Ancient!  

One thing to note, especially if you're a returning player, is that the Okkar revere the Ancients, deifying them.  They also fear them, believing them to be powerful and dangerous if provoked — and they're right.  Once slaves to the Ancients, the Okkar also understand them as the power that could rise and enslave them once more.  There are factions within the Okkar, extremists called the Okkar Prime, that are actively seeking the resurrection of these Ancients, believing them to be a source of untold power that will allow them to transcend their physical bodies and become some sort of higher form.  Their attempts to harness this unassailable power awaken them, prompting the subsequent attacks on all nearby human settlements around Cluster 34.  

As you might expect, this newest expansion not only extends the lore of the game, but also adds new enemies, bosses, weapons, equipment, consumables, locations, challenges, and much more.  You handle all that, you'll also find the chance to pick up new ships like the stylish and deadly Wraith.  The Wraith is a unique ship and one you'll need to build up like any other.  It has a forward shield that can absorb quite a bit of damage, and a variety of forward-facing gun options can dish it out as well.  The real power, however, is in the ultimate abilities.

Every kill you make while piloting the Wraith drops Echo Fragments.  These Fragments create stacks of Ethereal Resonance.  Ethereal Resonance causes damage over time to anyone foolish enough to fly near you, while also amping up the ships speed as your stack builds.  Locking onto a target suddenly doubles the damage received by said target, making it possible to roar in at extremely high speed, dropping the shields of most ships almost instantly and then tearing into the hull for a quick takedown.  

Earning enough Etherium also unlocks your ship's ultimate ability.  The Ult is called ""Spectral Form", and it immediately renders the ship semi-opaque and highly damage resistant.  The hitch?  It's at the cost of your hull.  Over time, the hull will become damaged and degrade, but why would you want such a thing?  There's an inverse relationship between your hull's health and your damage output.  In true risk reward, the more your hull is broken down, the more damage you do!  That's not all this mode has to offer.

The first time you enter into Spectral Form, you'll immediately notice that your powers have been replaced by new ones.  The first is called "Siphon Pulse" and it does what the name suggests.  Targeting enemies nearby, it immediately pulses and causes damage, returning Hull back to the Wraith itself.  The second skill is called "Pulse" and it uses that same tech to slingshot the Wraith forward in a straight line.  If the craft flies through smaller ships, they become damaged, releasing the aforementioned Echo Fragments.  The third skill, "Vanish", also indicates what it does.  Picking up Echo Fragments extends the direction of the invisibility. Finally, the last skill is called "Resurgence" and it's job is to siphon any and all Echo Fragments in the area, but not for the reason you might think.  Instead of just being a resource to collect and use, these fragments transform and are reborn as allies!  Called out a "Disciple", they are temporary allies, capable of fighting on your behalf, similar to the Okkar drone ships you've probably destroyed by the hundred.

The commodity ships you can find at various ship hangars around the various parts of the galaxy.  These are split by their weight class (light, medium, and heavy fighters) with the key differentiators being their collection of bits and pieces. Each of these has three craft variants to match your play style and ability preferences. For example, the Banshee-C5-1 Scout carries you into battle with a focus on maneuverability and better weapon range, making it a long-range strike craft. On the flip side, the Harbinger C6-1 is a Vanguard class with an emphasis on speed and shield regeneration for hit and run tactics.  None of these new ships feel like pallet swaps of one another, even if they might be in the same class.  They fold in nicely and should fill any holes in your hangar's capabilities.  There are even a few I've not talked about here, but you'll have to uncover the triple-powered gun for yourself!

There are a handful of quality of life improvements to things like inventory and equipment search filters.  This comes alongside a whole new array of fresh devices, split into two categories — support and warfare.   As before, these can be leveled up through use.  For example, the Hard Reset EMP Generator will release a pulse wave blast for shield damage that hits multiple ships for damage over time. One mode will base send out a short circuit to nearby targets, or reduce the cooldown by two seconds for every target hit the blast with a minimum of 5 seconds regardless.  Shield surge restores 10% shields for every target hit by the blast.  These weapons and tools are now easier to find, and when you have this many to choose from, it's nice that the team is making them easier to find.

Adam does get a handful of new friends with Perks to unlock, as well as some expansion to his own for level 20. These are in service of expanding the game with skills for Level 20 that further reinforce and differentiate the ships to match each pilot's preferred play style.  Since these are directly linked to the story, I'm going to skip talking about them — they're yours to discover.

There's a whole lot to love about this newest expansion.  The team had time to really stretch their space legs and get under the hood of what makes Everspace 2 special.  To be transparent, I played the previous game for a bit and enjoyed it well enough, but I can't say I ever felt the need to fire it back up once I put it down.  Everspace 2, on the other hand, gets turns on my song playlist, and like a siren, calls me back every so often when I want some tense and satisfying high-speed skill-based combat.  The first expansion was fun, but admittedly light on story.  Here, we have a full-blown adventure that folds beautifully into the main game without a single seam.  It's well written, well balanced, and provides a massive threat that remains dangerous as they also kept a lid on the overall power envelope.  You aren't gaining any more levels than the cap of 30 that the base game had, so you'll need fancy flying and great gear to get the job done instead.  I appreciate that as it keeps you on your toes while you uncover mysterious monoliths, crack puzzles, and battle behemoth battleships.  

Another thing to note, unlike almost any other DLC you can name, is that the Wrath of the Ancients DLC takes place mid-game.  It's not tacked onto the end, instead tucking in nicely into the story at large.  The new systems (there are four) could have just as easily been there all along, and the weapons and skills are well balanced within the existing power envelope.  The only exception to this balanced approach is the Wraith, which can be a murder machine on its own, though it doesn't fill all roles and is very high risk/high reward, so it's not as unbalanced as it could be.  

Ultimately, I can easily recommend Wrath of the Ancients for the same reason I can recommend the base game.  It's an absolute blast to play, the combat remains tight and satisfying, and the storyline is solid enough to keep the whole thing flying. If you enjoyed what Everspace 2 has to offer, then Wrath of the Ancients makes it even better.  For my money, playing the freelancer, despite dozens of hours, doesn't get old, and keeps calling me back.  Here's hoping that Rockfish is hard at work on Everspace 3!