German game studio Rockfish announced that the Hardcore mode for Everspace is currently live and available as a free update for Windows 10 and Xbox One gamers.

The new mode offers gamers an all new challenge themed around fixed pilot perks, ship upgrades being limited to the end of each sector, and you only have one life to live, so use it wisely.

One of the more extreme conditions of the Hardcore mode is that when entering into a new sector you’ll have to select one handicap modifier that has an adverse effect on your experience. It’s all themed around turning the game into a ridiculously difficult rogue-like for space sim fans that feel as if they just haven’t been given proper simulators that thoroughly test their mettle.

A brief trailer covering the features of the mode was released, which you can check out below.

The game looks gorgeous, as usual, and you’ll have to face off against enemies in a variety of conditions and star fields that offer their own unique skill-based challenges.

When they say play like it’s 1999 I don’t know if that’s the best impression to give gamers when in reality the space sim genre was really rocking when games like X-Wing and Tie Fighter were dominating the sales charts.

Anyway, as a means of helping out newbies and getting gamers started on the right path, Microsoft unveiled a cheat sheet of sorts over on the Xbox News Wire, covering some of the basics and gameplay mechanics to help you along the way.

A lot of the advice is common sense stuff, like swapping out ships if you’re not comfortable in the hunk of metal keeping your hide from being turned into plasma pancakes, or switching up your tactics when those weaponized solar flares start firing your way and it seems like your ship has become a magnet for being turned into space scrap.

Anyway, the Hardcore mode for Everspace is available right now for those of you interested in diving in.