Elite: Dangerous

 PC
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. IGN
    Jan 16, 2015
    74
    Elite: Dangerous is a beautiful game and an amazing space sim let down by a universe devoid of character and low on excitement.
  2. GameSpot
    Feb 6, 2015
    70
    Perhaps the next true frontier is the search for a procedural generation system that can create something more ostentatious, something that can surprise…something not so visible derived from an underlying system of ones and zeroes. But then, maybe it's there in Elite: Dangerous, in its way, and the problem is that I need to learn to start being more impressed by LaGrange points.
  3. Level7.nu
    Jan 22, 2015
    70
    Elite: Dangerous offers a vast and remarkably authentic galaxy with magnificent views to explore. Sadly it feels somewhat desolate with only artificial life. In combination with often repetitive tasks this might alienate some but space enthusiasts. Still it can be quite addictive and will hopefully grow with future expansions.
  5. JeuxActu
    Jan 20, 2015
    70
    While being full of good features and clever ideas, Elite Dangerous feels like its release has been rushed in order to get ahead of Star Citizen. The games lack player interactions and the happenings have very little impact on the gameplay, maybe the humongous 400 billion systems map should have been scaled to the numbers of players. A game that shows great potential, but has yet to achieve it.
  6. Eurogamer Spain
    Jan 9, 2015
    70
    There's still a lot of work to do and missing features, but the base of Elite Dangerous is incredibly solid and the game is a must have for fans of the franchise and the genre.
  7. PCGamesN
    Jan 9, 2015
    70
    Elite: Dangerous is a beautiful arcade experience, plugged into an empty galaxy, one so big and bold that it might trick you into thinking there’s more to see and do than there really is. You’ll probably love it anyway.
  8. Metro GameCentral
    Jan 5, 2015
    70
    A welcome return for the pioneering space adventure, but despite a solid start it will need a steady supply of new content and tweaks to reach elite status.
  9. IncGamers
    Dec 16, 2014
    70
    A "launch" build with some features still in infancy, Elite: Dangerous nonetheless offers terrific space flight ambiance and trading progression befitting of the once-revolutionary series. In a few months time, this title could be outstanding.
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This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Ars Technica
    Dec 9, 2015
    If you like flying in space (especially with complicated HOTAS rigs) and you're a fan of the original 1984 Elite, this is an insta-buy. If you've never played an Elite game but you love the genre—like, if your game shelf has a bunch of Wing Commander and Freespace and Lucasarts' X-Wing and TIE Fighter boxes on it—then you should definitely give this game a shot. If you're in the market for a game that's mostly EVE but from a cockpit perspective,wait for EVE: Valkyrie instead.

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Best PC Game of 2014
5
#5 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1913 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,150 out of 1913
  2. Mixed: 209 out of 1913
  3. Negative: 554 out of 1913
  1. Zargor
    Dec 16, 2014
    10
    Elite is back! New, upgraded and shiny but at the core it's still Elite - you, your ship and the universe of possibilities.

    As per 2.07    Elite is back! New, upgraded and shiny but at the core it's still Elite - you, your ship and the universe of possibilities.

    As per 2.07 (last pre-launch update) it feels good, looks better and plays great. The foundation is very solid and it can get only better with the promised development after release that will continue to expand the base of the game while also working on major expansions like planetary landings and first person.

    The latest fixes during Beta and Gamma have done an excellent job to improve the stability and overall balance of the game. Trading is finally fixed and logical again, combat feels great. No issues with the netcode (for me) and overall an excellent experience. Mind though - this game isn't easy and doesn't hold your hand - your actions have consequences and there is no magic immunity nets. Live fast, die hard!

    In addition, Frontier Developments have shown to be a great company, constantly hearing and answering their customers and changing the game to suit people's requests. Many times features or fixes requested in the forums have "magically" appeared in the game showing that the guys at Frontier actually do really care about our opinions - this also corroborated by some of the senior Frontier staff frequently posting and engaging in debates and clarifications with the players.    … Full Review »
  2. bbcokeley
    Dec 16, 2014
    7
    Very pretty game, solid combat and decent structure. Although a lot of recent news surrounding the 'Offline mode' being dropped is true, IVery pretty game, solid combat and decent structure. Although a lot of recent news surrounding the 'Offline mode' being dropped is true, I have played since Premium Beta and have a lot of hours in this game.
    .
    the mining as it stands is pretty good, a solid mechanic and a bit of thinking is required to get to/find the best places.
    .
    Like I said combat is solid, its engaging, exciting and can be rewarding as an early career path.
    .
    Exploring still needs some work, bu I kind of enjoyed this feature as it can be easily done in a starting ship to get you on your way with a couple grand in Cr.
    .
    This is it for a basic out line of the game.
    7/10 for the following reasons:
    .
    you need a joystick/HOTAS setup so -1 point for that.
    .
    there is are a few missing features and or broken petty things that should have been addressed -1 point for that.
    .
    Offline mode was killed but its not a major feature for me personally I can understand if its off putting for some people but just remember there are clever people that can (and probably will) mode the files to make it off line (watchdogs had it (got hacked), SimCity had it....(EA finally gave inn) this will have it eventually) -1 point for that    … Full Review »
  3. TitusBalls
    Feb 22, 2015
    6
    This is my second review of Elite: Dangerous. At the launch of the game I gave it a 10. This was based on, at the time a very smooth launch,This is my second review of Elite: Dangerous. At the launch of the game I gave it a 10. This was based on, at the time a very smooth launch, an enjoyable beta period and to counter the 0 reviews it was unfairly getting due to the the whole offline debatable.

    It's now over 2 months since the launch of the game and I've come back to update my review and I've decided to give it a 6.

    When David Braben was interviewed up to the launch of the game, he kept using the analogy of a house being built and that they were in the final stages of all the furniture being put in - as much as a month before release. This made many feel that from Gamma to launch there would be a lot of new stuff - however in the end what was released was little more than what we had seen at the end of Beta.

    What was added was shallow and quite frankly buggy. What has been confirmed is that the background simulation that Frontier told us was going to be amazing, and why offline needed to be removed, is actually nothing more than some simple (and broken) functionality - the real game has to be injected on an event-by-event basis by the development team.

    Basically Frontier are the wizard behind the curtain, and they keep telling us to try ignore it - but you can't ignore the fact they just pull leavers and knobs to make the whole thing work.

    The GalNet news items are shoddily written with little real enjoyable narrative, stories that go nowhere and very little quality or spell checking - as if someone let the dyslexic intern loose on the production CMS and isn't checking what they put out.

    Exploration is nothing like what it was touted to be - we were told it would be exciting, that there would be lots to find in the galaxy. Many of us imagined it would be like Skyrim in Space - where we would stumble on adventures. Sadly it's nothing more than Jump, Scan system with 1 button, find only the interesting worlds, point your ship at them for 30 seconds. Rinse and repeat and then sell the data.

    While the addition of "First discovered" tag on systems is a nice touch, it's not enough to hide the fact the game is very shallow.

    The latest addition of community goals seems like a rather slap-dash add on to the game to create some content but less than 5000 players took part and achieved no where near all the goals. The ones who did complained of any lack of real gameplay (granted not all players). What it did create was some conflict which saw people enjoying PvP but mostly it pushed risk-adverse players into private or solo mode.

    On the whole solo mode thing, my personal opinion is that it is what will completely ruin the game. People say they don't want another Eve-type game. Well not only will they not get that, but they also won't get a multiplayer game with any players in it.

    Overall when I was back in Beta 1, the game felt epic even though it was limited to a handful of systems. When they opened up the bubble it felt even grander. When they opened up the galaxy everything felt like it collapsed in on itself and the true game was revealed to be very little content.

    Frontier have committed themselves to new content patches and I will continue to watch this game change and grow over time but I don't feel confident that the captain at the helm of this ship sees the icebergs ahead.    … Full Review »
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