Beyond Good And Evil 2 Shows Off First Combat Gameplay Footage

Ubisoft has provided fans with another look at Beyond Good & Evil 2. During a special "Space Monkey Report" livestream, the developers shared more details about the game's world and showcased some new--albeit brief--gameplay footage.

Unlike the first title, Beyond Good & Evil 2 places players in the role of their own custom space pirate, who can be any race, gender, or even species--be it a human or animal hybrid. As a pirate, players will be able to navigate from planet to planet in a ship and can freely drop out at any moment to fly around in a jetpack or board enemy ships.

The gameplay clip, which you can watch below, provides our first look at Beyond Good & Evil 2's combat system. Like other aspects of the game, combat is flexible and varied. Players can choose to engage enemies in aerial dogfights or hop out of their ship and battle them on foot using a staff. Ubisoft also offers a brief look at how players will be able to keep track of their friends when playing together online.

In addition to the gameplay, Ubisoft shared some new tidbits about the game's relation to the first title. As the studio previously revealed, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is a prequel to the original. The game takes place shortly after Jade--the protagonist of the first Beyond Good & Evil--was born and is set in System 3, one of the star systems humanity traveled to after leaving Earth to build a new civilization. Ubisoft also revealed that the camera mechanic from the first game returns in the form of a spyglass, which lets players take pictures, scan the environment, and more.

Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still early in development, but Ubisoft teases that it will showcase more of the title at E3 2018 next month. The game was first formally unveiled during the publisher's press conference at last year's expo, where we had a chance to take an early look at it and felt that it was ambitious but not what we had imagined. Ubisoft hasn't yet announced a release date for Beyond Good & Evil 2, but you can sign up to participate in the Space Monkey Program at the official website.