Exclusive: EVE Vanguard First Strike Test Hands-On Preview: Boots On The Ground In New Eden
Running around the battlefield, ashes blowing in the wind across an utterly devastated landscape, the world of EVE Vanguard felt desolate, cold, and, at times, full of tension. As I moved through the ashen wasteland, picking my way carefully around the wreckage of the giant spaceship, that tension heightened every time I saw enemies on the horizon, unsure if they were a pack of NPCs or fellow Vanguards surveying the destruction up close as well.
It felt very EVE in a way — that tense feeling you get when a ship warps into the grid, and you aren't exactly equipped for a fight, or the feeling I sometimes get when flying through Nullsec space, assuming at any moment I could be webbed and podded simply for being there.
EVE Vanguard reminded me of how I feel when I play EVE , and that's important for a team that is trying to create something that feels like it not only belongs in the grander fabric of New Eden but can thrive on its own.
One thing that became clear right away is that EVE Vanguard is, by and large, a competent shooter. Built using Unreal Engine 5, movement feels fluid yet still weighty enough that it doesn't feel like I'm floating along the burning embers around me.
The gunplay is responsive, snappy, and impactful, though the fact that there is only one weapon to test during the event did start to feel a bit one-note after a while. This decision, as EVE Online Creative Director Bergur “CCP Burger” Finnbogason told me in an interview last week, was designed to strengthen the core with this test, and then they will be expanding the arsenal in future Vanguard tests.
The gun model looks incredible, especially the holo-sight that activates when you aim down where your iron sights normally would be. Seeing
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