Starfield meets Bloodborne in stunning new open-world sci-fi horror

Underspace, at first, feels like a generic space shooter, until you see the giant space monsters you'll have to destroy. It's got a bit of Starfield in there, a dash of Bloodborne, as well as a dollop of Lovecraft. I went from 'I don't care' to 'pump it into my veins' in one minute and 31 seconds, coincidentally the same length as the trailer.

The space-faring RPG is due to land on Steam 'early access' in 2024 and is already boasting a plethora of exciting features. The game's description makes the game sound like a Saturday morning adventure cartoon saying, players will "face thunderous monsters, join up with devious pirates, loot ancient star cities, and make your mark on a galaxy of storms and secrets." Sign me up!

Diving a little deeper into Underspace, it seems players will be able to fly, paint and customise over 60 different ships. These can then be kitted out with over 150 different pieces of equipment. There's mention of trying not to be eaten by a ghost train, which sounds delightfully bonkers.

I'd love to say the trailer starts off unassuming, but it jumps straight into space combat, gunning down other spacecraft, dodging mines, speeding through a trench imitating obvious inspiration from Star Wars, all before approaching some kind of space snake that gobbles down the player's ship.

From here the trailer gets more and more ridiculous, showing lots of gorgeous scenes of space - supernovae, gas giant mists, flaming asteroids - all piloted in a tiny craft making use of its nimble movement. Shadows make way to enormous alien monsters akin to stumbling through a mist gate in Bloodborne and facing off against a city-size creature.

It's an awe-inspiring 90 second showcase that, even if it only delivers 50% of this energy upon release, will be a special little game. You can wishlist Underspace on Steam right now.