Elite: Dangerous

 PC
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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Goosebump
    Dec 26, 2014
    4
    Had been looking forward to this very much. The reviews all sounded good and the videos looked great.

    Now that I've parted with my money and installed it, I couldn't be more disappointed with how utterly rubbish the new player experience is. The in game tutorials are rubbish - enormously disjointed and assume far too much. Rather than have in-game videos, you're flicked out of the    Had been looking forward to this very much. The reviews all sounded good and the videos looked great.

    Now that I've parted with my money and installed it, I couldn't be more disappointed with how utterly rubbish the new player experience is. The in game tutorials are rubbish - enormously disjointed and assume far too much. Rather than have in-game videos, you're flicked out of the game to YouTube to watch some video that again, assumes you know a heap of stuff as it proceeds to talk about "basics" that are not basic at all.

    There is obviously a solid game in here somewhere based on the number of positive reviews and if you have the patience to try and muddle through this minefield as a new player then you might find it. As it is, keep your money - at least until they fix the new player experience (or if you're already versed in such wildly mystifying "basics").    … Expand
  2. sclark13
    Sep 13, 2015
    4
    Played off and on since December 2014. The game added a few ships but is still incredibly unfocused at making any particular activity work as intended. There is no reason to play with people, and no reason to think one's (or a very large group's) actions make any kind of impact on the world. Ships have very little thought put into their design, with several ships just being shunned due toPlayed off and on since December 2014. The game added a few ships but is still incredibly unfocused at making any particular activity work as intended. There is no reason to play with people, and no reason to think one's (or a very large group's) actions make any kind of impact on the world. Ships have very little thought put into their design, with several ships just being shunned due to their lack of role.

    Co-op with wingmen is terrible and penalizes players. Exploring is really boring, especially when there are simulators like space engine that let you visit different planets and stellar phenomena without the **** tedium of managing ship resources. Exploration would be cool, but there is no high reward for it, no satisfaction from seeing one gas giant vs. another, etc.    … Expand
  3. Daisai
    Jan 7, 2015
    4
    If this game was released about 10 years ago it would have been decent with the lack of content, however in 2014/2015 a game which costs this much should have alot more content then it currently has.
    And even the little content that it does have does not work.
    If you are thinking about buying this game, ask yourself, are you willing to spend the money you normally spend on a finished    If this game was released about 10 years ago it would have been decent with the lack of content, however in 2014/2015 a game which costs this much should have alot more content then it currently has.
    And even the little content that it does have does not work.

    If you are thinking about buying this game, ask yourself, are you willing to spend the money you normally spend on a finished product on a product which is not even half done.

    Yes it has alot of star systems, however you can not do anything in more then 99% of these start systems.

    If you buy this product you are not buying a product, you are spending some money in the hope that 1 day the product might be up to a standard normal people/developers might call "ready to release".

    Don't get fooled when they say the scope of this game is huge, since this all depends on their future.
    If they decide to release this game on a console ( which i think they first intended ) the scope of this game gets alot smaller, since consoles are lesser platforms in terms of performance.
    Because at this moment already a playstation 4 has 2 year old hardware, after 1 or 2 years thats even older.
    So if they release this game on consoles they have to take this into account when they release new content.

    So all in all, think well before buying this game, i did and am not pleased with what i got.
    The game is far from finished or even in a state one would call beta, this game shows signs of not even beta testing at all.    … Expand
  4. Johnman
    Dec 16, 2014
    4
    Not a good game right now. Pretty graphics, great sound design, and barely any gameplay. You will exhaust all it's possibilities in one day.

    Multiplayer interaction is close to nil despite always online DRM.

    It's a game made for old people who hasn't played anything but Farmville since 1984. They consider it a "hardcore space sim". It's sad what a waste of potential this game is.
  5. BernardTheBeast
    Feb 2, 2020
    4
    Don't look at Elite Dangerous as a game. It isn't. Elite Dangerous is a piece of software that wants to be Flight Simulator, Trains Simulator, a space combat simulator, and an MMO, all in one. Does it succeed? In my opinion, no.

    Here's the good stuff you can look forward to: ► A space game where you can choose to play Solo, with a Private Group (friends only), or Open (open online    Don't look at Elite Dangerous as a game. It isn't. Elite Dangerous is a piece of software that wants to be Flight Simulator, Trains Simulator, a space combat simulator, and an MMO, all in one. Does it succeed? In my opinion, no.

    Here's the good stuff you can look forward to:

    ► A space game where you can choose to play Solo, with a Private Group (friends only), or Open (open online multiplayer with instanced maps holding a set number of players at a time). Options!
    ► A space game where you can choose between the space-game trifecta of Combatant/Trader/Explorer or incorporate all three into your play style. Options!
    ► A space game where you can customize the loadout of your spaceship with equipment ranging from a dozen different types of weapons, armors, internal components for offense, defense, bounty hunting, passenger carrying, cargo hauling, planet exploring, etcetera. Options!
    ► A space game where you can fly across a huge, seemingly limitless galaxy, where every dot on your Galaxy Map (and there's millions of them) represents a sector of space you can travel to and explore, possibly for the very first time that anyone has ever gone there...! Options!
    ► A space game with fairly solid graphics, a cool premise, a good simulato-yet-action-focused-yet-exploration-capable feel to it. Especially if you have a good flight control system/joystick, TrackIR, or VR, you'll probably want to buy this just to take advantage of your hardware.

    Here's the bad stuff you can look forward to:

    • Grinding. If you want ranks, money, or to simply explore, prepare to spend months grinding. To get satisfaction from traveling and doing what you want to do, it's going to require money and ranks, so you'll have to grind. This is where MMO syndrome comes in: the infamous "Engineers" system requires you to find components found RNG about the universe, which can take a long time. These Engineering goals are essential in making your ship perform with lower risk of dying due to unfair AI or players who have an Engineered ship and want you dead for some reason.

    • AI with no personality that mostly sends text messages to you (very little voice dialogue/radio chatter) and cheats in combat, their level of cheating determined by their difficulty (AI are immune to certain weapons, techniques and strategies, have accuracy/damage that is disconnected to their ship's actual loadout). The lowest ranked AI will fly stupidly in box patterns without fighting back, while the highest ranked AI will pull J-turns, flank you, shoot you perfectly with 360 degree turreted weapons, and take out your subsystems with flawless accuracy. Cheap.

    • No purpose or overall objective other than what you make for yourself. While there are more interesting missions other than "Kill/Trade/Explore", you might never experience them because you're too busy grinding to get a ship actually capable of doing those complex missions.

    Limited depth & bugs:
    • You can't land on planets unless you buy Horizons DLC; however, they're all slight variations of either a crater-marked orange moon, or a large, rugged and mountainous orange moon anyway

    • Using Multi-Crew, you can jump into the passenger seat of another player's spaceship! But you'll experience lag issues, sudden disconnects, game-crashing errors, and a whole bunch of other bugs. You also can't walk around the ship, or wave to your friend, or anything other than giving the pilot player an extra pip to their power distribution and maybe taking over one of their fighters or turrets.

    • You can land on space stations! But there's only about 6 different looking interiors in the game you'll see most often on average

    • You can buy any ship you want, but customizing the ship's appearance is real-money microtransaction based: $10 from the third-party Frontier store, and only applies to that specific class of ship. This game's out-of-game store is horrendously expensive, and feels like it's one step short of introducing lootboxes and XP boosters due to the excessive grind.

    I honestly like this game. But I literally don't have the time to play this game enough to gain enough money/ranks to do anything fun. I can't do combat/explore/trade for fear of my ship being destroyed and having to spend another 10 hours grinding for money. I can't participate in events because I haven't spent the 1,000 hours grinding to get an Engineered ship capable of not being destroyed. Everything I want to do relies upon grinding to get there, and the grinding itself gets very boring, very quickly.

    The satisfaction from playing with my X52 Joystick, TrackIR, or VR, is worth only an hour or two at most, because afterwards the game goes from 'game' to 'chore' to 'second job'.

    Do I recommend this game? Well, after doing the math, I have to say: "No, unless there's an incredible sale". This game is worth $30 at most, and that's counting cosmetic microtransactions.    … Expand
  6. NeoMorph
    Apr 7, 2015
    4
    This game isn't finished. It's still a beta in my mind.

    For example mining... what a load of twaddle. No mining scanners (so trying to find decent mineral loads suck), huge asteroids that run out of content after a couple of chips are removed (and you cannot tell which roids are empty AND each chip is only a small percentage of an actual sellable unit so if you have 99% of platinum you    This game isn't finished. It's still a beta in my mind.

    For example mining... what a load of twaddle. No mining scanners (so trying to find decent mineral loads suck), huge asteroids that run out of content after a couple of chips are removed (and you cannot tell which roids are empty AND each chip is only a small percentage of an actual sellable unit so if you have 99% of platinum you can't even sell it yet!!!), every time you remove a chip you have to chase it down with your ship and scoop it up and then return to the roid to chip off another - total pain in theass!, AI miners that jump in and start nicking ore from the asteroid that you are mining but if you shoot them YOU ARE FINED!!!!! Come on FFS... I loved mining in Eve Online... This however is total crap. Also the AI miners can suck the chips right into their craft but yours can't... Weird!

    The holographic displays are often washed out by the excessive glare... which is why holographic displays will never catch on. Look pretty but are poor replacement for a good LCD.

    The galaxy map is another good example of "looks pretty" but is actually frustrating... Stars that you are looking at fade out at the wrong moment so it gets hard to track routes. Also trying to find a station that sells items you want is annoying because it takes so long to load up system displays... also you can't select destinations from an in system display (say WHAT? Did they even think this through). There should be less of a load time than the galaxy view but it is the opposite. I think the 1984 version loaded quicker lol.

    For example I wanted to find a station that I could pay the fine for killing the claim stealing miner I killed... After I waited 60 seconds for a system display to pop up ( yeah, I waited 60 seconds and it STILL didn't appear) I said sod it and killed the game.

    I loved Elite back when it was released in 1984. This should have been much better but other than the nice graphics it seems less. Maybe once they finish the game it will be worth playing but at the moment it's grind central (and this is from a player that normally loves the grind).

    I really should have remembered that I said I would never buy another Braben game after First Encounters.    … Expand
  7. flexy123
    Jan 7, 2015
    4
    I played in the Beta, mind you, before Retail hit the shelves. In the Beta, I made a lot of money until I finally was able to get an Anaconda. I also got me a shiny new joystick, throttle, etc...etc....
    I have no desire to play this game (even if it's right there installed on my HD) since I "feel" I have already seen everything this game has to offer. You can only have "so much" fun    I played in the Beta, mind you, before Retail hit the shelves. In the Beta, I made a lot of money until I finally was able to get an Anaconda. I also got me a shiny new joystick, throttle, etc...etc....
    I have no desire to play this game (even if it's right there installed on my HD) since I "feel" I have already seen everything this game has to offer. You can only have "so much" fun spending some days, a week or two flying in a dark, empty space from A to B to make credits and to buy a new ship. How long do you think would such a "game" sustain motivation? Others are correct, this game has not one yota of what I'd expect from a new game which calls itself MMORPG, this is user interaction, communication, PvP, trade, building etc. This game has NOTHING of that. It is a game for 45+ year old nerds (like me) who buy an expensive PC rig and then "enjoy" flying in an empty, dead space from A to B with other 45+ year old nerds. In other words: It's incredibly boring. A game concept that was cool in 1983 can hardly sustain 30 years later. When I get into a game today I want to feel I play in a "living world" where I can meet and play with others, where adventures and challenges arise from playing with others, discovering new places etc...but ED entirely failed in this MM aspect of the game. Another HUGE turn-off for me is that the "simulation" aspect of this game is a mere illusion, and one done badly actually. You can not actually fly to other star systems, instead you "jump" from one "box" to another, the universe as such is therefore not really connected since you're only always in a tiny local "box" which you cannot escape unless you get into Hyperspace mode. If you are not hyperspacing you could target another system and you will NEVER reach it. I am aware that this is due to technical limitation and other games in essence do the same thing, but for me it's a huge turnoff to know that.
    And...PULEASSE stop it with stupid comments such as "good foundation" or "there will be cool expansions coming out". You don't enjoy a game because "there will be great things added in the future". You play a game NOW, not "in the future". And Frontier will have a hell of a bad time "adding" stuff to the game since this is the main mistake they made from the beginning: Rather than building upon a good foundation which deserves a name such as MMRPG..they merely *added* features, this is why anything *added* appears halfassed, such as multiplayer, communications, missions etc. If the game at its core is already built wrong (netcode....) you will have a hard time to make it better by "adding" stuff.    … Expand
  8. CoSm1c_gAm3r
    Apr 6, 2015
    4
    I am quite disappointed by "next" game from Elite universe. This game also suffer from casual targeted crowd.

    They made some idiotic design for lateral rotation that will make your teeth sparkle from grinding it while you try to rotate just to see for example station details or land on landing pad! I heard all excuses/explanations and all are totally retarded and all of them made me    I am quite disappointed by "next" game from Elite universe. This game also suffer from casual targeted crowd.

    They made some idiotic design for lateral rotation that will make your teeth sparkle from grinding it while you try to rotate just to see for example station details or land on landing pad!
    I heard all excuses/explanations and all are totally retarded and all of them made me laugh.
    Small ships and medium ships rotation rate is more than 1 minute to make 360 degree turn while in full stop. That is just plain retarded design. Nothing can excuse such idiotic design. NOTHING!

    Idiotic boost system that uses always the same amount of power but when you are at "TOP SPEED" then adding 1-10 m/s cost still the same amount of power from capacitors :D
    Also any boost would kill pilot because it creates so many G's that only robots and androids would deal with it without any problem. But cargo would turn into mashup so passengers would need to be frozen hard or something just to survive that trip with immortal player character that can be killed by ship explosion.

    About that. ships explode because ED future didn't deal with instability of explosives so if magic HP meter go down then ship is turning into big POFF! xD
    I can compare that to Star Citizen and I see that Chris Roberts used more common sense. In SC ships mainly are destroyed and if more damage is dealt or they crash into asteroid then it fell apart while in ED ship crashing into asteroid just bumps away then after a second it decides to go boom! How dumb is that!!! :D

    If you love details in design and value sense, logic, and basic believability then this game is not for you.
    I bought it when it was in beta and even if I don't like this game then I am not totally disappointed because there was very long period in gaming industry that space sim was ignored and SC with ED may change that so it was worth to support this game but it is not satisfying for my taste and my demands. To bad that it was touched by casuals demand as lots of modern games. Dumbed down just to earn money on not demanding players. Sad modern gaming reality.    … Expand
  9. C_M_K
    Dec 16, 2014
    4
    Currently Elite has a decent framework in place, but there's no real 'game' there -- you can literally experience all of the content in a few hours and it changes extremely little regardless of what system you go to or what ship you're flying.

    Pros: Very pretty (aside from the painfully dated and barely functional HUD). Amazing sound. A gazillion star systems to go 'explore'.    Currently Elite has a decent framework in place, but there's no real 'game' there -- you can literally experience all of the content in a few hours and it changes extremely little regardless of what system you go to or what ship you're flying.

    Pros:
    Very pretty (aside from the painfully dated and barely functional HUD).
    Amazing sound.
    A gazillion star systems to go 'explore'.

    Cons:
    Every single gameplay system -- trading, mining, pirating, bounty hunting -- is simplistic in the extreme, most are broken in one way or another, and frankly all of it has been done far better elsewhere.

    Eleventy gazillion systems to explore means little when the vast, vast bulk of them are basically identical.

    Multiplayer? What's that? The game's multiplayer features are so barebones as to essentially be nonexistent.

    Online only. This wouldn't be a con if the netcode (especially the perplexing decision to go with P2P architecture in an online-only game) wasn't so flaky, if there were actual multiplayer features that worked, or if there was, well, any meaningful reason whatsoever for it the game to be online, but the netcode is flaky as hell, there aren't meaningful (or even usable) multiplayer features, and there's no real reason for the game to need to be online-only other than as DRM.

    Basically Frontier has created a universe simulation that you, the player, have little to no effect on. It's a place where you can fly around and see the same systems, the same stations, and the same ships 400 billion times. Sadly they forgot to include any gameplay beyond the most barebones in there.

    At best the game is being pushed out the door six months too early, at worst Frontier has actually made the game they intended and they really do think that copying a thirty year old game with some new graphics will do well. Either way, best to avoid this one for a while and see if they eventually actually add some gameplay before it crashes and burns.    … Expand
  10. Phallex
    Aug 7, 2015
    4
    I'd love to love this game. Unfortunately, once you've gotten used to cruising around and looking at stars, docking, dogfights etc it just becomes really boring. There's not really anything to drive you in game. Finding your teammates is very hard to do properly, and even if you do manage to meet up within the hour, you're stuck with the same problem...what shall we do? Shoot some moreI'd love to love this game. Unfortunately, once you've gotten used to cruising around and looking at stars, docking, dogfights etc it just becomes really boring. There's not really anything to drive you in game. Finding your teammates is very hard to do properly, and even if you do manage to meet up within the hour, you're stuck with the same problem...what shall we do? Shoot some more AI...er....ok....??

    If you're looking for a new X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter type game, hold your breath for Valkyrie, just maybe they'll pull it off.. Elite is just a beautiful simulation showing how big space really is, even when you have a really fast ship.    … Expand
  11. Basiclife
    Dec 17, 2015
    4
    Promising Game, Idiotic Company

    The game has an awful lot of potential. Playing with the rift is truly f-ing awesome. When I first got hold of E:D I sunk a couple of hundred hours into it and then left it alone for a while to see what came along next. Apparently the answer is ... Nothing. You can buy a whole _new_ game which includes the base game (and some new features like landing    Promising Game, Idiotic Company

    The game has an awful lot of potential. Playing with the rift is truly f-ing awesome. When I first got hold of E:D I sunk a couple of hundred hours into it and then left it alone for a while to see what came along next.

    Apparently the answer is ... Nothing. You can buy a whole _new_ game which includes the base game (and some new features like landing on planets) but there's not much in the way of content (at least, not when compared to MMORPGs as the devs keep trying to do). The new game? More expensive than the original because it includes the base game. Which I already have.

    I don't mind the money, I object to the shady business practices, broken promises and (frankly) half-baked level of implementation for all existing features/content.

    But hey, why finish developing a game when you can add a few new features and charge the same all over again? Ok, they haven't _actually_ added most of the stuff you're paying for but they will. Honest!

    Looking at their track record for keeping promises to date, I'm not optimistic.

    In summary: Really good foundation to make a truly epic game, but it's being used to make a series of half-broken, incomplete, full-priced games, one every year to keep milking you.

    Oh and as an added bonus, you too can have 10 copies of the game in your Steam library to really clutter things up.    … Expand
  12. Xelluse
    Apr 20, 2016
    4
    4 and just cos of great Physics release.
    Gameplay interesting on start, but nothing special, boring and very repetitive in late game.
    Graphics not much better than in EVE. Very shiny, feels wet and looks like Korean MMO more, good for old space games. Nice light effects. Game is stable, but will overlock even good gaming PC. Maybe someone like it - design looks like in scifi movies    4 and just cos of great Physics release.
    Gameplay interesting on start, but nothing special, boring and very repetitive in late game.
    Graphics not much better than in EVE. Very shiny, feels wet and looks like Korean MMO more, good for old space games.
    Nice light effects.
    Game is stable, but will overlock even good gaming PC.
    Maybe someone like it - design looks like in scifi movies from 60s, not bad, but was expecting something realistic, especially for that high system requirements.
    I never played Elite before and after this game 100% will not do that in future, In my opinion game is good to purchase just on huge sales.    … Expand
  13. Pannon
    Dec 26, 2015
    4
    The gamer site reviews reflect the score, that has hopes and wishful thinking has attached to it.
    If you read them, note the date of the review. They reviewed the game not long after it was released and the game has (had) a huge potential to become something much bigger. The reviewers gave the high scores for high hopes. A year later, the game barely changed, beside a few additional    The gamer site reviews reflect the score, that has hopes and wishful thinking has attached to it.
    If you read them, note the date of the review. They reviewed the game not long after it was released and the game has (had) a huge potential to become something much bigger. The reviewers gave the high scores for high hopes. A year later, the game barely changed, beside a few additional features, which ultimately just gave the game more grind, instead of adding meaningful content.
    If you play it for a few hours you get the vibe, that you may have to do a lot of things to progress anywhere, and perhaps you get excited, just thinking about the endless possibilities and options and choices.
    Give it another 10 hours, and your entire gameplay consist of preparing to start to play the game and waiting for that moment, when you start really playing. Unfortunately, that moment never comes. What you do in your first hour, is what you will do for the rest of the time. Either trade back/forth between stations, which consist of taking off, traveling - loading screen -traveling - landing, or fighting endlessly spawning enemy ships, which change absolutely nothing, whether it comes factions or affiliations of various powers. All the other ships you may see as traffic is nothing else, but background filler. They serve no purpose or function, beside they are giving the illusion of "things happening". You can actually test this by trying to follow a ship, which will end up traveling somewhere infinitely, or landing at an non particular space station, and then taking off and doing over and over, without selling something or fighting.
    You can also test, that whether those ships you blow up makes any difference to their faction or base. They do nothing.
    Eventually, you will realise, that the entire universe is created for you, and outside of your visual radius, nothing really goes on, and everything ceases to exist as soon you leave. Unidentified signals sources pop up for you randomly, if you fly slow and their content isn't determined, until you stop to investigate by dropping out of hyperspace.
    Sound effects is great. That's why I'm giving it a 4. If nobody else, then it's the sound team, that perhaps did their best to make something.
    I see, a lot of people praising graphics. I don't see it that way. It's not hard to draw space and place objects floating in it.It's much harder to create Earth based fantasy worlds or actual locations with buildings, vegetation.
    I can't give more than 4, and if I would not consider the sound and music, this game is maybe a 2.    … Expand
  14. koyukon
    Mar 1, 2016
    4
    It looks amazing but it's just tedious to play. 99% of the time is spent traveling and what there is of gameplay is effectively meaningless mindless activities. I'd only return to it for the sake of planetary discovery but I always find myself quitting in deep space due to lack of reward. It seems that it is better to let others play it and follow their discoveries than to play it myself.It looks amazing but it's just tedious to play. 99% of the time is spent traveling and what there is of gameplay is effectively meaningless mindless activities. I'd only return to it for the sake of planetary discovery but I always find myself quitting in deep space due to lack of reward. It seems that it is better to let others play it and follow their discoveries than to play it myself. I really appreciate the touches of science and realism, but it just lacks a lot of content.… Expand
  15. MPCPRO
    Dec 16, 2014
    4
    Has potential, I enjoy the graphics and the great sound design but as many other people write there is a lack of gameplay elements. It feels really empty and it's really hard playing with other friends which forces people mostly to just solo out on their own. I hope with the future expansions the game might live up to its potential, but at the moment it is just an empty shell.
  16. Squareski
    Oct 2, 2015
    4
    I've given it 18 hours of my life. It's hard to describe. On one hand, it is quite addictive, in that, you're trying to build the funds for all those upgrades and bigger and better ships, and graphically it is very beautiful. On the other, however, the fun, just like the game, is mostly lost in a vast void of space. It has brief moments of excitement, glimpses of game play out of theI've given it 18 hours of my life. It's hard to describe. On one hand, it is quite addictive, in that, you're trying to build the funds for all those upgrades and bigger and better ships, and graphically it is very beautiful. On the other, however, the fun, just like the game, is mostly lost in a vast void of space. It has brief moments of excitement, glimpses of game play out of the corner of your eye...but sadly, it's mostly hours of doing nothing, despite trying not to. This is only part of the story...if you factor in the bizarre game mechanic of real time quest timers in solo mode, that expire while you're out of the game entirely, it just makes matters worse. Ensure you don't have kids, or work, or have a social life as you'll have to sink hours of uninterrupted time into the void that is Elite Dangerous.… Expand
  17. Veryance
    Mar 5, 2015
    4
    Just the latest entry in the fad of selling an incomplete game as the whole product. The game dumps you into the deep end, probably as a way to obfuscate the fact that at the end of the day, there really isn't much to do. The learning curve is needlessly steep; everything you want/need to do will have to be gleaned from the internet, because the game won't teach you, or even provide theJust the latest entry in the fad of selling an incomplete game as the whole product. The game dumps you into the deep end, probably as a way to obfuscate the fact that at the end of the day, there really isn't much to do. The learning curve is needlessly steep; everything you want/need to do will have to be gleaned from the internet, because the game won't teach you, or even provide the tools in-game to find your answers. After the first couple hours of daunting gameplay, you realize that the tip of the iceberg is actually just the whole iceberg. Balance some spreadsheets, blow up bad guys, repeat. Not to mention that Frontier cleaves to the classic tightlipped-developers-that-think-their-playerbase-is-retarded ideology, which essentially precludes any hope for this game to right the many many things it gets wrong.
    That being said, it's gorgeous to play, and the sounds are amazing, so if you don't want anything more from your game then to fly around in space aimlessly, then this is right up your alley.    … Expand
  18. LeoKol
    Dec 16, 2014
    4
    DISCLAIMER: This is an objective review. Everyone giving the game 10/10 is lying to themselves, and you. That said, if you own, or are looking to own, an Oculus Rift, then this game is a must buy. The game is beautiful. It makes for a perfect Oculus Rift title thanks to it's stunning visuals, immense sense of scale and beautiful audio.

    tl;dr - Current state of the game: Grind credits to    DISCLAIMER: This is an objective review. Everyone giving the game 10/10 is lying to themselves, and you. That said, if you own, or are looking to own, an Oculus Rift, then this game is a must buy. The game is beautiful. It makes for a perfect Oculus Rift title thanks to it's stunning visuals, immense sense of scale and beautiful audio.

    tl;dr - Current state of the game: Grind credits to buy bigger ships so that you can grind credits better. Graphics & Gameplay has been improved over the original Elite (1984), but content has stayed the same (unless you count the 400 billion empty, lifeless, procedural star systems).

    Elite Dangerous will be a great game in another year or two. I have little doubt of that. However, as of the writing of this review, Elite is almost entirely unplayable. The foundations for a great game are all there, but there's little to keep players interested.

    Mining, exploration, combat and trading are the only activities currently open to players. You can either do any of these activities on your own, or you can accept a generic mission and do them for an npc you'll never meet or interact with. With exception to combat, all these systems are basic and repetitive.

    While there is a dynamic economy in the game, trading is hardly complicated when compared to that of games like X3 or EVE. You buy low, and you sell high. The only excitement comes in the form of random pirate and police attacks. You can observe changes in the economy, but, unless you enjoy watching numbers go up and down, I doubt you'll find this exciting.

    Exploration involves flying to new systems and pointing yourself at 'undiscovered' celestial objects & stations. You won't be stumbling into any ship graveyards or sentient nebulae. There are no surprises here and, unless you're an astronomer looking to observe binary stars & black holes, you probably won't find this very exciting either.

    Mining is even simpler. You find asteroids and you shoot at them. Maybe you'll get attacked by a pirate, maybe you won't. Combat, on the other hand, feels great and intuitive. The game's audio and HUD are highly immersive and really shine in combat. Unfortunately you'll most often find yourself fighting against AI due to the whole 400 billion star systems thing.

    There is no concrete system that promotes team-play, and you'll probably make more money fighting NPC's rather than players. The games selection of ships is also rather limited when compared to other titles (and they all look like geometric shapes).

    The biggest problem with the game right now is the fact that there is no end-game. There's nothing to strive for. You may set personal goals, like visiting a distant system or getting a certain ship, but, at the heart of it, everything you do ends with you making credits in order to make credits better.

    The living world is entirely a novelty, and will almost never directly impact you. You may have to go to another system to buy cheap goods, or you might note the presence of more police ships, but this will never make a significant impact on the way you play the game. You will never feel like you're doing something important. There is a giant disconnect between the world of the NPC's and the world of the players.

    There is a giant intergalactic war being waged, but unless you force yourself to care it's really of no consequence to you. You can't interact with NPC's, so there's very little to connect you to the troubles of the poor populace of miners living on some rock. You might visit a planet with billions of inhabitants, but the space around it will feel just as empty and lifeless as the distant reaches of the galaxy.

    So, all of this leaves you to motivate yourself. Sure, you can try to join one of the galactic empires and lead them to victory, but what's the point? No NPC will thank you, unless it comes in the form of a giant wall of text available as a generic contract in a space station. You won't get a limited edition ship, nor will you get the joy of watching or participating in any giant cinematic battles. There's no sense of urgency or need to drive you forward.

    All you have to do, is to make credits so that you can get upgrades simply for the sake of getting upgrades. The foundations for a great game are all there, but to call this release ready is a joke. I highly advice new players stay away from Elite until more content is added. I've honestly had more fun playing the Star Citizen alpha than I have playing the release-candidate version of Elite.

    To put it into contrast, imagine an X3 with better graphics and combat. Now imagine that you can't control more than one ship. That NPC's don't have a voice and communicate through text. That there is no single player story. That all space stations serve only one purpose. That you never see any other ships unless you're in combat or docking. That you can't own space stations. That exploration only leads to you finding floating credits. And, well, the list goes on...    … Expand
  19. christhenoob
    Dec 20, 2014
    4
    I want to love this game. I really do. I've been a backer since alpha and was really sold on the vision that they had. Unfortunately, the game that was released is not the game I imagined it to be. If you were expecting an MMO, I hate to disappoint, but this is not an MMO in any sense of the word.

    Interacting with other players when not completely broken is almost impossible due to the    I want to love this game. I really do. I've been a backer since alpha and was really sold on the vision that they had. Unfortunately, the game that was released is not the game I imagined it to be. If you were expecting an MMO, I hate to disappoint, but this is not an MMO in any sense of the word.

    Interacting with other players when not completely broken is almost impossible due to the sheer size of the universe. Although huge, I've never played a game that has felt so empty. I imagined roaming the galaxy pirating and bounty-hunting other players in epic battles of wits, but I'm lucky if I even see another player. Not to mention the hours upon hours of tedious grinding it takes to be even remotely equipped to do so.

    Playing with your friends is just impossible in the current version not only because the game lacks even the most basic of social tools, but because the game punishes you for playing with other players. Bounties are only awarded to the person with the last kill, missions are given and rewarded individually, you can't even see your friends half the time, multiplayer is just a downright mess.

    Don't get me wrong, the game is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, and the sound design might be the best I've ever heard in a video game. But great visuals and audio does not a game make. It's just a shame that the game design is so horrid. There is no story to speak of. Every mission follows the same of several archetypes: "Kill this", "Deliver that", "Fetch this", etc. Missions are boring and feel as though there is no consequence, especially when you're offered the exact same mission seconds after turning it in.

    The actual gameplay is mind-numbingly grindy. Most MMOs get away with this because the grind is for a greater purpose, but in Elite the only reason to grind is so that you can grind some more. It kills what very little motivation I had to play the game in the first place. The combat is pretty good, but it's not enough to carry the game through.

    There is also so little in regards to depth it's absurd. There is an entire universe of systems, yet there is hardly any difference between the systems. The missions are the same, the factions are functionally the same, it's the same system over and over with a couple of variables tweaked along the way. Ships are "customizable" in that the more money you have the better your ship is. There are no side-grades to speak of except maybe weapons where really only 2 or 3 are actually viable.

    At the end of the day, the game is just disappointing. Modern graphics and stunning audio coupled with gameplay from the 80's. I think it's naive to say game design hasn't improved in the last 30 years, and it's a shame that this game decided that it didn't have to.    … Expand
  20. Viking84
    Dec 22, 2014
    4
    Elite looks great, combat is fun, and the full scale realistic universe is brilliant. Sadly, once you have learnt how to land, how to fly and how to fight, you start seeing the games limitations and realise you are simply repeating the same simple tasks over and over and over again. Besides combat nothing requires skill, only patience, and even the bountyhunting becomes a little on theElite looks great, combat is fun, and the full scale realistic universe is brilliant. Sadly, once you have learnt how to land, how to fly and how to fight, you start seeing the games limitations and realise you are simply repeating the same simple tasks over and over and over again. Besides combat nothing requires skill, only patience, and even the bountyhunting becomes a little on the easy side once you get the hang of it.

    First 10 hours of gameplay are worth 8/10 if you can be bothered googling how to do things, after that I'm afraid you have seen what there is to see unless you have an unusually vivid imagination. 4/10 from me, hopefully more content/depth will be added to this great framework in the next 6 months or it will have been a huge waste of time.    … Expand
  21. Gutenisse
    Dec 26, 2014
    4
    It's a copy of Elite II from 1993 with superb graphics. It's fun for a few hours, but then you start wondering why you keep playing it. There's no goal, other than making more and more money.

    The combat is pretty fun, for a few hours. Trading is fun, for even less hours. The only progress is buying a bigger or better ship, bigger or better guns, but why? To make more money, so you    It's a copy of Elite II from 1993 with superb graphics. It's fun for a few hours, but then you start wondering why you keep playing it. There's no goal, other than making more and more money.

    The combat is pretty fun, for a few hours. Trading is fun, for even less hours.

    The only progress is buying a bigger or better ship, bigger or better guns, but why? To make more money, so you can buy bigger and better ships. It's fun - for a few hours.

    After a few hours, it gets boring and I'm starting to remember why I stopped playing Elite II.    … Expand
  22. rockdacazbah
    Dec 26, 2014
    4
    Do not buy this game yet!!!!!!!! No gameplay! No content! nothing just a space trucker cred grind fest. It will hopefully get better but don,t hold your breath nothing that was promised is there just a bare boned demo. £40 wasted atm imho. Oh and if you do buy it ,don't put any negative threads on the forum as they are policed by over zealous, cantankerous, supercilious snarky fanboys thatDo not buy this game yet!!!!!!!! No gameplay! No content! nothing just a space trucker cred grind fest. It will hopefully get better but don,t hold your breath nothing that was promised is there just a bare boned demo. £40 wasted atm imho. Oh and if you do buy it ,don't put any negative threads on the forum as they are policed by over zealous, cantankerous, supercilious snarky fanboys that get upset if you do.… Expand
  23. Chaotic-Entropy
    Dec 29, 2014
    4
    With deep regret, for I am a lover of the genre, I cannot bring myself to recommend this game to a wider audience than extreme fans desperate for a fix and willing to accept anything. An outsider looking in will not see a sandbox (if you can call it that), at best the game is a sandcastle beach, where you are merely a bystander. At worst, the game is a barren desert, one which you areWith deep regret, for I am a lover of the genre, I cannot bring myself to recommend this game to a wider audience than extreme fans desperate for a fix and willing to accept anything. An outsider looking in will not see a sandbox (if you can call it that), at best the game is a sandcastle beach, where you are merely a bystander. At worst, the game is a barren desert, one which you are free to play in. It is an open world, but it is an empty world and one which players can play little to no real part except with ever watchful approval of Frontier.

    If you can somehow not tire of doing the same old repetitive missions or doing the old repetitive trading, mining or "exploration" then good for you. I however expect something more from a game of revolutionary scope than to just provide me the bare minimum of paltry amusements. Not to mention that it takes everything that is annoying about online games and removes all of the benefits, leaving just the always online, unpausible and constantly running mission timers. It provides no social features, little interaction with others without a lot of effort and has a game breaking approach to player conflict which rewards rage quitting and disconnecting by removing you from these difficult situations at your leisure. Just quit and reload and you're fine.

    At the same time, it provides a basic and simplistic singleplayer approach to a space game, all the travel, all of the grind, with little reward or acknowledgement. You will hear a lot of comments about using your imagination in the forums, to which I respond that I did not pay good money to a developer for a pretty backdrop for doing nothing but imagine.

    At the moment, it's release state is a framework of a game, with glaring issues and nonsensical design choices around every turn. This is a great shame as it has a lovely amount of potential, it's galaxy is mind boggling and gorgeous, it's combat is quite entertaining, if infrequent and unrewarding. The game engine is polished and stable, but without content and any semblance of immersion and interaction then there is no point. Nothing you do matters beyond what Frontier actively allows, it is not a malleable sandbox, it is reduced to a glorified Elite museum.    … Expand
  24. elfindreams
    Dec 29, 2014
    4
    As an alpha backer, I really wanted this to succeed. Regrettably, I am left with the feeling that while parts of the game are good overall it fails to deliver an enjoyable or compelling end product.

    The problem with this title lies in its emotional and storytelling execution. Even the most basic sandbox game must give the user enough context to emotionally engage the user and make    As an alpha backer, I really wanted this to succeed. Regrettably, I am left with the feeling that while parts of the game are good overall it fails to deliver an enjoyable or compelling end product.

    The problem with this title lies in its emotional and storytelling execution. Even the most basic sandbox game must give the user enough context to emotionally engage the user and make them desire to interact with your world.

    With E:D you (optionally) go through some mechanical tutorial missions and are then placed in a station with no context at all about the world you are in. Eventually you learn that there are factions but no real reason is ever provided for why you should care that there are factions. There is no emotional pull and zero context. If you were lucky enough to grow up with Elite in the UK you might know more about the universe based on novels and other media produced about it but if this is your first foray into the Elite universe, you are given no reason to want to do more than scratch the surface and then move onto a different game.

    The bulletin board system provides missions with zero real soul and context (I was offered a mission to free slaves but given no indication at all about where in the universe slavery might be found, where in the universe slavery is common, the ramification of slavery in the universe, etc and two missions to provide very basic goods again with no real context about where to find them... it turns out I was able to purchase both sets of goods in the very station offering the missions...)

    Now to be clear I have been a gamer for over 25 years and the type of gamer that spends hundreds of hours in most games I play... I don't just play games I fully mine them for all they are worth and I was left with the question in my mind of why should I bother.

    Even if you force yourself to continue despite any emotional investment (in my case because of the rather large monetary investment) you find a game where combat is enjoyable but so sparse as to be practically non existent and where every other activity (mining, trading, exploring) is undocumented, obtuse and tedious.

    This game may be a technical marvel of procedural generation but it lacks a soul. Maybe someday someone can transplant a soul into it but until then, please do yourself a favor and give this title a miss unless you are already emotionally invested in the Elite universe.    … Expand
  25. RadiantRadmila
    Mar 4, 2015
    4
    This can be a nice game. It isn't at the moment.

    Pros: + Huge universe + Nice atmosphere + Nice music + Potential Cons: - There is no MMO component at all - Chat with friends does not work - There are many hackers who exploit a game and ruin the experience for everyone - No grouping yet, can't play with friends, can't even meet in space - Missions are boring and dull - Game    This can be a nice game. It isn't at the moment.

    Pros:
    + Huge universe
    + Nice atmosphere
    + Nice music
    + Potential

    Cons:
    - There is no MMO component at all
    - Chat with friends does not work
    - There are many hackers who exploit a game and ruin the experience for everyone
    - No grouping yet, can't play with friends, can't even meet in space
    - Missions are boring and dull
    - Game is bugged and you will often blow up for no reason and go poor again
    - Game feels empty and it's not worth the money currently. Maybe it will change with time, but so far I've paid for promises, nothing more.
    - Servers often disconnect me in the middle of the flight.    … Expand
  26. ACRIET
    Jan 10, 2015
    4
    1000 credits, a spaceship and lightyears of space ahead!

    Enjoyable for a few hour's but then it gets boring. Nice graphics, sounds and some space-fights don't make a good game, unless they throw in a serious patch to lighten things up. No storyline at all other than some small quests for some small credits. So big buck trading it is and if you think you feel like searching for the    1000 credits, a spaceship and lightyears of space ahead!

    Enjoyable for a few hour's but then it gets boring. Nice graphics, sounds and some space-fights don't make a good game, unless they throw in a serious patch to lighten things up. No storyline at all other than some small quests for some small credits. So big buck trading it is and if you think you feel like searching for the ultimate buy/selling prices; you got a match in this game of endless empty boring space... My opinion: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME UNLESS YOU'RE IN A RETIREMENT HOME!!!!    … Expand
  27. RandyFandangle
    Mar 11, 2015
    4
    EDIT: Back after a month to update review, and it's going down from a 5 to a 4. Nothing new of any use, still empty and buggy. On the plus side, an XBOne version is on the way..... wish they'd stick some content in the PC version before trying to cash in with a feeble port. The 4 is still for potential, though I'm not holding out much hope any more at this stage. Disappointing in theEDIT: Back after a month to update review, and it's going down from a 5 to a 4. Nothing new of any use, still empty and buggy. On the plus side, an XBOne version is on the way..... wish they'd stick some content in the PC version before trying to cash in with a feeble port. The 4 is still for potential, though I'm not holding out much hope any more at this stage. Disappointing in the extreme.

    (Previous review)
    Giving this a grudging FIVE for now, as I've only been playing for a couple of weeks. I'll come back later and update after another week or so.
    What I can say is that NO WAY IS THIS WORTH 10/10 AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW!
    There are just too many bugs, and mechanisms that don't work as they should. Well, I'm praying they aren't working as they should, cuz if this is how they have designed it then God help us.
    Had some fun, but it's hard to find sometimes. Frontier are gonna have to release some damn good stuff very soon or players are gonna bail.
    Hey, the 5 is for potential. Will have to see.    … Expand
  28. KnightEnvy
    Feb 13, 2015
    4
    If you get this game you will be WOW'd right off the bat. Combat is fun and works great with a joystick. Graphics are amazing.

    And that's about it. Most of the universe is without story or at least irrelevant to it. Only 1/2 the ships are available, and if I come across more than one or two players per hour you are in luck. Disappointed I paid $60 for this. Until the price    If you get this game you will be WOW'd right off the bat. Combat is fun and works great with a joystick. Graphics are amazing.

    And that's about it. Most of the universe is without story or at least irrelevant to it. Only 1/2 the ships are available, and if I come across more than one or two players per hour you are in luck.

    Disappointed I paid $60 for this. Until the price drops to about $20-$30 I would wait for Star Citizen.    … Expand
  29. Darious
    Feb 18, 2015
    4
    The truth is somewhere between the shill tens and the zeros.

    It's a pretty game, but also pretty empty of content. Your primary options are to grind as a miner, grind as a trader, grind in combat, or explore new systems - which, after the 10th or so system, gets to feel pretty ... grindy. But make NO mistake - it is beautiful. And first two week of playing was breathtaking. But as    The truth is somewhere between the shill tens and the zeros.

    It's a pretty game, but also pretty empty of content. Your primary options are to grind as a miner, grind as a trader, grind in combat, or explore new systems - which, after the 10th or so system, gets to feel pretty ... grindy.

    But make NO mistake - it is beautiful. And first two week of playing was breathtaking. But as time went on I'd gone from trading, to exploring and out of sheer boredom bounty hunting and finally to just flat out p-king.

    After about a month I find that I just don't bother to log in anymore.

    Maybe in a year or so it might be worth the bother, but not right now.    … Expand
  30. moblin
    Feb 18, 2015
    4
    While the game looks and sounds beautiful (even more so with an Oculus Rift), it does however lack gameplay depth for long term enjoyment. There's a lot of tedious grind to get anywhere (or to get the money to get anywhere), and if you don't keep changing what you do - trading, mining, exploring, bounty hunting, the game can get boring fast.

    There's also a feeling that the game isn't    While the game looks and sounds beautiful (even more so with an Oculus Rift), it does however lack gameplay depth for long term enjoyment. There's a lot of tedious grind to get anywhere (or to get the money to get anywhere), and if you don't keep changing what you do - trading, mining, exploring, bounty hunting, the game can get boring fast.

    There's also a feeling that the game isn't really cohesive, like there isn't an overall design that underpins everything. Your presence in the universe is meant to result in some small influence on how things unfold, but everything feels like its coming into being for the moment you are there, and then disappearing after you leave, like instances. It feels very much like a typical MMO but without any story.

    There are plenty of features in the pipeline that will expand the game - the new update promises to enhance multiplayer, but treat what exists now as early access / beta, or keep an eye on the updates before taking the plunge.    … Expand
prev
Page:

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 8, 2015
    80
    First minute the game takes your breath away and then it entertains you for another couple of hours to end up like a meditative tool for hard working individuals. What a waste and shame for a game in such beautiful environment. [Issue#253]
  2. Ragequit.gr
    May 11, 2015
    90
    Everyone who played the original game back in the 80's, should be right at home. It's the 21st Century version of "Elite." But newer, uninitiated players may find it strangely desolate and repetitive. A grand space simulation, aimed at the series' hardcore fans.
    Read full review
  3. Games.cz
    Apr 23, 2015
    80
    You can focus on the journey, not the destination – even when some "road work" signs will bother you for the time being in the reincarnated Elite. But their numbers are declining with every new update so a thirty-year-old vision becomes more and more complete.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »