Underspace Early Access preview: A Lovecraftian take on classic "Freelancer" gameplay

Underspace recently entered its Early Access phase, and I was among those chosen to don a spacesuit and travel among the stars. The game is still considerably young and has plenty of development left to do; despite that, I really enjoyed what I took in, as I aimlessly flew around, or took part in missions to build up a reputation and supply of cash. However, there were some hurdles for me, but thankfully that won’t be the case for everyone.

My time with Underspace wasn’t as long as I’d like, but as of this writing, I’m still taking treks out into space to see what lurks among the powerful space storms. This game reminds me of some of the games I played in my youth, only much prettier and more active.

Underspace is, at its core, a spiritual successor to the classic PC game Freelancer, released back in 2000 for PC. It wasn’t easy, but it was an incredibly satisfying game to play. However, games like that, while I think are fun, exciting experiences, something holds me back from enjoying them, and this one was no exception.

Space shooters like Underspace have movement that triggers my motion sickness in a pretty powerful way. I can only play in small bursts, without starting to feel dizzy or nauseous. A lot of it comes from the constant wobbling and swaying of the ship, or from the intense, rolling and dodging that comes from combat.

I wanted to get that out of the way early because although it disappointed me that the game was physically uncomfortable to play, it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. In Underspace, players are one of several bold pilots who take to the stars and take on challenging missions and even hunt monsters. That’s right, there are monsters in space.

Gigantic Lovecraftian horrors that swim across the stars,