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

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  1. giskarduk
    Dec 19, 2014
    7
    Elite has not learned a thing in the past 30 years. In 1984 is was all back and forth, back and forth in a very tedious fashion. In 1993 with Elite 2 they updated game but still produced the same back and forth boring game play. In 2014, its the same none sense. Yet the X series by Egosoft stole the Elite crown over a decade ago by adding more depth to that simple formula. Making space inElite has not learned a thing in the past 30 years. In 1984 is was all back and forth, back and forth in a very tedious fashion. In 1993 with Elite 2 they updated game but still produced the same back and forth boring game play. In 2014, its the same none sense. Yet the X series by Egosoft stole the Elite crown over a decade ago by adding more depth to that simple formula. Making space in to an interesting simulation.... Admittedly Egosoft threw the crown away with X3 and XR, abandoning core features that made it a great space sim. But does Elite Dangerous deserve a crown, even one that is laying in the mud because nobody wants it....

    The biggest issue here is the fact they decided to make a single player game in to a multiplayer game, so multiplayer feels like single player should feel and solo play is just you in multiplayer without players. Truth is, without Multiplayer Elite Dangerous is so boring it will put you to sleep.

    It is a great space sim, definitely made for the PC and PC hardware, from a space flight perspective its great the best. But these games moved on decades ago, they became much deeper than any Elite game has ever managed to be.... Elite Dangerous is like a Pacman shoot em up in the age of Call of Duty. Players simply expect more in a universe then to watch the stars flash past for 10 minutes at a time as you fly towards a station you will be leaving within seconds of arriving over and over and over again.

    Good game, poorly designed, nice flight mechanics, but this is not the 1990s anymore....    … Expand
  2. Bmane
    Jan 16, 2015
    7
    Elite Dangerous is a odd game. It's perhaps one of the most immersive space game I've ever played, and I've pretty much played them all, being an avid space sci-fi gamer.

    What's odd about it is my playtime. I look at it, and shake my head. I feel ashamed. I feel guilty. Here's a game that I've dreamed about since my first outing in outer-space. Here's a game that I know I should love,    Elite Dangerous is a odd game. It's perhaps one of the most immersive space game I've ever played, and I've pretty much played them all, being an avid space sci-fi gamer.

    What's odd about it is my playtime. I look at it, and shake my head. I feel ashamed. I feel guilty. Here's a game that I've dreamed about since my first outing in outer-space. Here's a game that I know I should love, cherish and burn away at until I've soiled my pants and I'm knee-deep in my own waste...

    Unfortunately, that never happens.

    What happens instead is, I tend to play Elite in short strides, because, to be perfectly blunt, it isn't 'ready' yet. It still feels like a 'beta' and it most certainly does not feel complete. There is no mistaking that Elite has a lot of potential, it's just a shame that most of that potential will be in the form of paid expansions and future DLC. Which mind you, I have no problem with. With promises such as planetary landings, and multi-crewed ships, I'll happily throw my money at them. But make no mistake, I'll angrily grumble away while I do it, reminding them that I didn't pay for an empty shell of a game.

    And that is sadly what Elite is at the moment. An empty shell. A game that promises so much, and has delivered so little. It is immersive. It is a great game, to be fair. But a deeply flawed one at that. The game's current mechanics are sub-par and undeveloped.

    Combat is exhilarating, takes skill, proper skill, and is a joy to behold. It's just a shame that combat aspect of the game that I'm least interested in. I'm sure the Elite combat jockey's are enjoying the game to its fullest, but even they get burned out from it now and again. I've a couple of friends of mine who also have Elite, and are 90% combat, 10% trading. They don't play Elite anymore.. Why is that? It's a question that gets answered with a shrug and a statement of, "Well, there's not much too it..."

    There same could be said for trading. If your not doing anything related to combat, then your possibly grinding your way at the rather mundane method of making money in Elite. Regardless of how you earn your credits, be it bounty hunting missions or trading away on some profitable route, or doing sanctioned courier missions for some NPC faction, watching your faction rep tick up, one percent at a time, you and along with your combat buddies, are all in the same boat.

    That is, you are all grinding away for money. Combat pilots do it for the bounties, and faction rep to boot is a nice bonus for them. Traders do it via smuggling or legit means, regardless, it's all about money. And what can you do with that money? Well, here's where Elite falters greatly.

    The core process of progression in Elite is jumping from Ship A to Ship B, and from there to Ship C and D. That's basically what Elite is, in a nutshell.

    Some of the mechanics are not fully fleshed out and this further emphasizes why Elite is a great but deeply flawed multiplayer game. Let's do a rundown on some of them:

    Piracy - For anyone that hasn't played Freelancer Discovery, the online RP mod that has a medium sized community following it, then let me tell you that piracy in that game was fun. Essentially you would camp a space highway/tradelane and wait for your intended target. You'd then knock out the tradelane and issue your demands. That was enjoyable and when I did it, I felt like I was committing piracy. It felt... 'right'. In Elite, I do not get that feeling at all. Piracy is not only difficult, (as it should be) but it can be tedious and downright boring at times. It takes a lot of work, a lot of luck, and a lot of waiting around, for it to be reliable and profitable. And even then, why do it?

    Economy: Essentially Elite's economy is only there to support players in upgrading their ships, there is literally nothing else to it. Sure prices will change based on trades being done, but really, nothing happens on the grandiose scale of things.

    Factions: Players can grind, and I mean that literally, GRIND to gain faction influence for a system that overall has little value in things, barring direct intervention by the developers. This is an area that is still being worked on, and I'm still not impressed.

    Exploration: My favorite aspect of the game. Or, it would have and should have been if it was even remotely interesting. It isn't. Go look up player vids of players exploration. Most of it contains oddball commentary on the stats of a planet, such as atmosphere and orbital period, while pretending to sip some cognac while pretending to be the late great Sir Patrick Moore. I want to explore ancient ruined wrecks in space. Interesting and bizarre visual anomaly's and other odd stuff... I don't want to drool over a planets stats. Speaking of planets, another point of criticism is that most of the planets look the same, and are quite dull and not as beautiful as they should be.

    I can recommend Elite, but I whole heartily recommend waiting for a more complete Elite.    … Expand
  3. daroczi
    Jan 14, 2015
    7
    I despise everything related to trading.
    I despise everything related to missions.
    I don't mind the time it takes to travel because it's an expected side-effect of the 1:1 size galaxy. I don't mind that the systems are all similar and repetative because I expected it. I'm disappointed with the absence (not lack, absence) of multiplayer features. I'm disappointed that all of a ship's    I despise everything related to trading.
    I despise everything related to missions.
    I don't mind the time it takes to travel because it's an expected side-effect of the 1:1 size galaxy.
    I don't mind that the systems are all similar and repetative because I expected it.
    I'm disappointed with the absence (not lack, absence) of multiplayer features.
    I'm disappointed that all of a ship's aesthetic options cost actual mf dollars.
    I love the visuals.
    I love the audio.
    I love lamp.
    I love the combat (i didn't know until yesterday that visiting Nav Beacons guarantees a steady flow of combat).
    I love that this game has endless potential. Yes this is a shell of a full-game, but its a perfect shell. When the modding community gets their hands on this, they've got the best foundation to support their talent. I'm optimistic.
    I'm so invested in this game that I often catch myself talking to myself while playing, and even if it's something minor, I'll leap outta my chair yelling whether I'm giddy or pissed. Not having some unintellectual hand-holding HUD to play the game for you and actually having to do tasks yourself like travelling makes for a sense of accomplishment and individuality (Skyrim vs Morrowind). I can see how many gamers wouldn't have the patience to enjoy this and I don't blame them. It isn't a casual game, its a long long-term investment. Please Frontier, IMPROVE CORE GAMEPLAY BEFORE ADDING NEW. Scouring a whole star-system for a USS (unidentified signal source) is more repetative, frustrating, and boring than travelling or docking. Last thing, do Discovery Scanners need to be so expensive?

    -3 points for: poor customer service, no multi-player features other than coexistance, everything related to trade, and "find" missions (including: how the f am I supposed to selectively retreive personal weapons or slaves in 2 hours?).    … Expand
  4. BastardySkull
    Jan 2, 2015
    7
    Ultimately unfinished. Beta should have been extended for at least another 6 months, and the game should not have launched without any serious multiplayer functionality. Ship hulls are too expensive and the game expects too much of an unrewarding grind for larger ships. If Frontier listen to their toxic fanbase they risk losing this game to frustration.
  5. 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, 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    Very 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    … Expand
  6. nightia
    Dec 18, 2014
    7
    Merely a platform and framework for something better in the future, experience and atmospherics really great. Solid stability. Beneficial to have some sort of HOTAS input peripheral to really appreciate the experience. It has a very steep learning curve. Performance is good, even on less than powerful hardware. Generally the other reviews are correct, its warm but not hot.

    It has the    Merely a platform and framework for something better in the future, experience and atmospherics really great. Solid stability. Beneficial to have some sort of HOTAS input peripheral to really appreciate the experience. It has a very steep learning curve. Performance is good, even on less than powerful hardware. Generally the other reviews are correct, its warm but not hot.

    It has the potential to become the "Killer App" for Oculus Rift when the Rift goes mainstream.

    Just don't expect a top tier AAA title with story line with a vast multi-player experience, since the on-line social interaction is hopelessly weak to say the least. This is modern take on Elite:1984, ground breaking at the time, but hopelessly weak compared to its modern contemporaries.

    I know quite a few individuals who have picked this title up, well aware of what they were getting into. They have all expressed the notion that the experience will greatly improve as the game develops.
    Difficult to justify the $50 cost at this stage for what you are getting. I see that $50 as an investment for something better in the future.

    Frontier Developments now have the responsibility to deliver an experience ultimately better than its modern contemporaries. The only problem could be forthcoming space combat/trading titles due for release in the 2015/16, they may steal the thunder.

    At least coming in at the ground floor at this stage, if the game does eventually take off, individuals should have a head start with equipment, cash and experience.

    I have no issues with the online cloud server interaction, if it protects the investment Frontier Developments have made in Elite Dangerous.

    I'm giving it 7 out of 10, since it has the potential to be something fantastic. From a gaming perspective. I wouldn't put it into the realms of BF4, Skyrim or GTA V at this point, since I'm not going to be running into the office tomorrow saying what an epic session I had on Elite Dangerous last night.    … Expand
  7. Ranulph
    Mar 6, 2015
    7
    After spending probably around 80 hours playing Elite: Dangerous, I find it a bit of a mixed bag. Echoing other reviews I have read out there, when it is good, it is very good, but it can also be dull and slightly infuriating at times. I have been mainly doing exploration, with a side of bounty hunting. The former can be very dull, even if profitable if you have the right specs in yourAfter spending probably around 80 hours playing Elite: Dangerous, I find it a bit of a mixed bag. Echoing other reviews I have read out there, when it is good, it is very good, but it can also be dull and slightly infuriating at times. I have been mainly doing exploration, with a side of bounty hunting. The former can be very dull, even if profitable if you have the right specs in your ship. The latter can be exciting, but it really depends on your opponents. The frequency of dog fighting in Elite is a bit uneven. Sometimes one gets attacked by pirates in supposedly safe systems, while in star systems where anarchy reigns you don't get almost anything happening. The steep learning curve is fairly steep, which is both good and also bad. I feel some systems would require a bit more explanation. The controls, even if highly customizable, are a bit overwhelming for newcomers. However, if you get a decent flight stick controller (I have the Hotas X) flying will seem like second nature after a while, and that is a pretty good feeling to have. Overall, the game is just good enough to keep me interested, albeit mildly, and I look forward to what the future brings to Elite: Dangerous.… Expand
  8. Vidicus
    Mar 28, 2015
    7
    When it comes to space flight sims, none can touch Elite Dangerous. The game is beautiful, has great sound, and the flight controls work fine. The only downside to this game is the current lack of content. No story, no NPCs, and little to do outside of mining, hunting, exploring, and trading. However, if you own a Oculus Rift.... this game is a must have. Perfectly executed for VRWhen it comes to space flight sims, none can touch Elite Dangerous. The game is beautiful, has great sound, and the flight controls work fine. The only downside to this game is the current lack of content. No story, no NPCs, and little to do outside of mining, hunting, exploring, and trading. However, if you own a Oculus Rift.... this game is a must have. Perfectly executed for VR gameplay.... a true treat to behold.… Expand
  9. hawkenfox
    Apr 3, 2015
    7
    PROs
    1 - 400 Billion Stars
    2 - Great Ship interface 3 - Great fun in wings with friends 4 - Cruising through space demonstrates it's vastness. 5 - Ever changing player crafted storyline with their interaction with persistence AI characters. 6 - No 2 planet are the same 7 - Nebulas are beautiful and getting more beautiful thru updates. 8 - If you are a space nerd you will get space    PROs
    1 - 400 Billion Stars
    2 - Great Ship interface
    3 - Great fun in wings with friends
    4 - Cruising through space demonstrates it's vastness.
    5 - Ever changing player crafted storyline with their interaction with persistence AI characters.
    6 - No 2 planet are the same
    7 - Nebulas are beautiful and getting more beautiful thru updates.
    8 - If you are a space nerd you will get space orgasm.
    9 - No hand holding figure the game out ... for those who love this sort of stuff.

    CONs
    1 - Not really a full game yet.
    2 - Certain career path are not focused on and lack polish. Eg. Exploration.
    3 - Space can feel empty when you travel the fringe world.
    4 - Bugs and more bugs (expect that in all next gen games with loads of hardware to render to.)
    5 - Downloading the game from frontier can be a pain but there is a steam version now.
    6 - Steep learning curve for some players who require hand holding (Hint : Play the training mission)

    Elite is not a full game at the moment. Although it's released in Dec 2014, frontier is still developing the release version. I am a beta backer, did not really agree with the way it's being done. Certain key feature
    that were promised never came, some backers asked for refund on the game. They felt betrayed.
    Nonetheless I still hold high hope for the game as there were active development every month and lots of
    patches when the need arises. Needless to say it's a painful still beta game, and probably will forever be
    beta.

    It's only right that I should warn potential buyer into this game that if you are not ready to come into a beta
    game that have been said to be fully release , dont. Just dont because you would feel cheated. But if you
    came here to see some beautiful space scape your money will be well worth. Just have to sit tight to let
    the feature roll in. I come on and off the game once in a while so I don't feel burnt by the current lack of
    content. The only cool thing in Elite Dangerous is pvp , war , community events and wings system where
    you can have friends in a squad of 4.

    With that being said it's a strange kind of MMO ... althought it's an MMO with 100K players only 32 players can appear in the same instance. So for example no more than 32 human players will be visible to you in the same system. There have been some issues with match making, bugs that make wing members invisible and such. Yes there are bugs and issue, but all modern games have loads of them as they become more complex over the years to write and compile... so this will be the future issue of all next gen games.    … Expand
  10. Mhiester
    Mar 24, 2015
    7
    The 1.2 update and patches after it are a very good sign for Elite. Progress continues at the same pace that was going at beta.

    Yes, the game is unfinished, and it's still a grind, but it's gotten better. The developers have added features that were needed (wings), and have been balancing, along with adding promised content (ships). If you are able to stand the grind to progress, and    The 1.2 update and patches after it are a very good sign for Elite. Progress continues at the same pace that was going at beta.

    Yes, the game is unfinished, and it's still a grind, but it's gotten better. The developers have added features that were needed (wings), and have been balancing, along with adding promised content (ships).

    If you are able to stand the grind to progress, and the continuous development process, then this is a great example of a space game. The flight mechanics feel great, and make combat about much more than just aiming fast. If you aren't convinced by the game at the moment, keep an eye on it as more time goes on for it to be developed.    … Expand
  11. Heathy87
    Apr 7, 2015
    7
    Compared to the X-series that is X3:TC or AP, Elite simply lacks depth, Its not finished like others have said and is largely hinging of the success of its expansions and content patches. Elite is good in many ways, Its graphically superior to X3, has deeper combat and has a much larger game world (the entire milky way) but lacks any real depth or synergy with the game play professions youCompared to the X-series that is X3:TC or AP, Elite simply lacks depth, Its not finished like others have said and is largely hinging of the success of its expansions and content patches. Elite is good in many ways, Its graphically superior to X3, has deeper combat and has a much larger game world (the entire milky way) but lacks any real depth or synergy with the game play professions you can take up.

    You either Fight, Trade, Mine, or Explore.

    Fighting is done in various places in the game, it doesn't feel very consistent in that there are either a limited number of ships in your instance, or they continually spawn in, it can be fun but becomes a grind relatively quickly no matter where your doing it.

    Trading speaks for itself, unlike the X games however where trading seemed to have an effect on the stations, getting them to create new items over time, the Commodities market in Elite seems flat and lifeless, there is no crafting in this game by players or by the game world itself everything simply exists, so trading is a means of moving stuff from A to B endlessly trying to make a profit while doing so.

    Mining is a sub set of trading, as there is no crafting or manufacturing aspect to this 'mmo' you simply sell what you mine, no depth here. fly to asteroids shoot them scoop chunks, currently its less intuitive than if you could get out the space ship with a pickaxe.

    Exploration has the most depth for me, you have enough star system to explore the galaxy is massive, if all you need is the variety of space itself to keep you entertained you'll enjoy this aspect of the game, although it doesn't necessarily have much depth in itself, its a matter of going out scanning planets and star and returning to civilisation with the data.

    Basically I feel its potential but Elite: Dangerous doesn't really do anything new, the cockpits are nice to look at, space is great, the detail and sound are top notch, but there is barely an mmo here and barely a game I would consider playing for more than a couple of hours every other day. No matter what profession you do in Elite it doesn't not feel like a grind toward a new ship.

    If your the kind of person that is happy just exploring space from a first person perspective, uninterested in too many complex game features and player impact, you'll like it, there are plenty of places to visit in the galaxy and plenty of nice vistas to find.

    If you want a deep complex sand box mmo similar to Eve online, you will not find it in Elite, they both try to achieve similar things that is a breathing universe, although Elite is a far cry from the intricacies that gives Eve its notorious wrap for having a extremely steep learning curve. and depth/synergy with the professions.

    I'll Score the game a 7, and put it on Par with what X3:TC is sitting at on this site, which i think is fair, although X3:TC or AP, are currently the deeper games of the 2, what elite has is better fidelity and sound mostly, but less player control no empire building which directly results in basically less things to do to keep the game feeling grindy. Elite: Dangerous is not a terrible game its simply not a very deep one, although as time goes by it hopefully will grow depth to bring it in line with X3 or Eves longevity/complexity.    … Expand
  12. Rauta
    Mar 17, 2015
    7
    My opinion is based on current state of E:D (v. 1.2).

    As for the graphical side of the game it's very good, even on worse PC 's game's running smoothly enough. Sounds and music stands on a high level. The feeling of flying is great on joystick and decent on mouse and keyboard. Although there are a lot of things that are not yet fully finished and makes me feel that I payed 40€ for    My opinion is based on current state of E:D (v. 1.2).

    As for the graphical side of the game it's very good, even on worse PC 's game's running smoothly enough.
    Sounds and music stands on a high level. The feeling of flying is great on joystick and decent on mouse and keyboard.

    Although there are a lot of things that are not yet fully finished and makes me feel that I payed 40€ for product not yet finished. The universe is beautiful but it feels like it is mostly dead, and as far as there are community goals that are bringing the game back to life a bit there's still not really that much to do. There is no planetary landing (yet) and no first person module (yet) which in Star Citizen (SC dev 's had much more money and the game is not released but still) will be already implemented on release. Nonetheless it is a good game that can bring up a lot of fun if you are not against a continuous repeating the same scheme all over again. I would also love to say that after adding needed expansions and some more polishing it will be perfect space sim but right now it deserves 7/10.    … Expand
  13. behastie
    Dec 17, 2014
    7
    There's a lot to like in Elite: Dangerous, but there's also a lot missing and even more that isn't working. The grouping system doesn't work, so the game is multiplayer that doesn't let you play with your friends. They have a really good economy, except that the AI doesn't work so well, so space stations are a mess of exploding npc transports and missing commodities. They have a reallyThere's a lot to like in Elite: Dangerous, but there's also a lot missing and even more that isn't working. The grouping system doesn't work, so the game is multiplayer that doesn't let you play with your friends. They have a really good economy, except that the AI doesn't work so well, so space stations are a mess of exploding npc transports and missing commodities. They have a really good set of bounty hunting, exploring and trading careers to advance with, but bounty hunting often makes the feds or random factions turn red and shoot you (confirmed bug), trading cargo is glitchy and exploration data disappears. At this point, after around one million credits lost to bugs, most of the tension in the game boils down to a question of whether a given feature will explode when I try to play with it.… Expand
  14. gAndyGD86
    Feb 26, 2015
    7
    since freelancer i'm waiting for a game like that and this could be it...almost.
    the best thing about this game is the atmosphere. there is no other game where you feel like a real space pilot like this. on the bad side are the quests which are for the most parts pretty boring, repetitive and sometimes just really hard to complete without getting an appropriate reward.
  15. Ciger
    Dec 16, 2014
    6
    Just a game shell, would compare to some early access titles. Dont get me wrong it is a lot of fun, just dont expect any deep gameplay mechanincs. Still some bugs to be dealt with mainly with alternate missions. Games hangs up from time to time. 6 is the best I can give ED right now.
  16. wolverine2710
    Dec 16, 2014
    6
    ED looks great but the gameplay is a bit hollow. Atm a lot of the things discussed in the DDA-archives are NOT in the game, like for example wings. FD has released a good platform (if MP works OK with release that is) to build upon and they have said they will build upon it. To be fair atm I would give it a 6 but future improvements could make this a 8 or 9.
  17. grimdar00
    Dec 21, 2014
    7
    Elite is basically an amazing space sandbox, with an enormous size to play in. However, you'll get bored rather quickly at the moment due to lack of content and things to do.

    The missions are randomized and based off templates, so you'll see the same mission pop up at different stations with a different item to acquire, or person to kill. Unlike the X series of games, each    Elite is basically an amazing space sandbox, with an enormous size to play in. However, you'll get bored rather quickly at the moment due to lack of content and things to do.

    The missions are randomized and based off templates, so you'll see the same mission pop up at different stations with a different item to acquire, or person to kill.

    Unlike the X series of games, each planet/star only has ONE station in it. And there's only a small handful of station designs. So while there are literally billions of systems to visit, they all seem the same.

    Right now the esthetics, visuals and controls of the game feel FINISHED, and really nicely refined. It feels *really* good to fly especially with a nice joystick system. However the content is painfully lacking. I've spent a LOT of time grinding, doing research on best trading runs and making lots of credits, but I actually have nothing to buy with all these credits.

    - I can't make a fleet
    - I can't build a station
    - I can't make my own empire
    - Very, very limited number of equipment/customizations to buy for my ship
    - and even if I could customize my ship the way I wanted, I can't even see it from the exterior, except in "outfitting mode"

    As far as a trader is concerned, all I can do is just buy a bigger ship, and continue... grinding with absolutely no end point. And when I get the "elite" trader status, then what?

    Ok, but we do have a REALLY fantastic sandbox right now. So I'm just hoping this was planned by the developers to release the "heart" of the game so to speak, by a series of expansion packs. I do sincerely hope there is something amazing planned to input into this cool world, because it has amazing potential.

    Right now unfortunately, feels pointless.    … Expand
  18. tpapas1
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    well at least its not x-rebirth :) for which we waited 3 yrs to have a playable non buggy experience. it seems like arma 3 . Bohemia needed an extra year to delivered a full game...

    Elite at its present state its extremelly promising but unfinished. Not worth the money they ask but still enjoyable. positives 1. I like the combat and exploration system. 2 graphics are great. 3 ship    well at least its not x-rebirth :) for which we waited 3 yrs to have a playable non buggy experience. it seems like arma 3 . Bohemia needed an extra year to delivered a full game...

    Elite at its present state its extremelly promising but unfinished. Not worth the money they ask but still enjoyable.

    positives
    1. I like the combat and exploration system.
    2 graphics are great.
    3 ship handling
    4. Rift + track ir support magnificent
    5. they convey nicely the feeling of the unknown- unexplored . especially within meteor fields

    sadly the disadvantages are many
    1. game is a shell = no real missions= you are paying for an always online beta version....NOT a full game
    2. while the need for always online it is not an MMO= no interaction with other players
    3. GAME SERVERS MOT STABLE, NOT POSSIBLE TO PLAY WHEN YOU WANT...
    4. bad support

    Come back in 1 year    … Expand
  19. helioarc
    Jan 21, 2015
    5
    Half a score for half a game. Looks pretty at first, but lacks any depth. You'll be bored within an hour or two. Maybe one day it will be worth buying, but for now I'd steer clear.
  20. ShottyMonster
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    I've been playing since premium beta (about 4-5 months).

    Flight mechanics: Great, responsive and adrenaline fueled. AI: Ok bordering on bad Universe Sim: Weak and shallow Trading: Good but currently broken Supercruise: Terrible and boring Combat: Fun but repetitive Sound design: A* Graphics: Very good but some odd decision made regarding supercruise HUD Overall: Fun for a    I've been playing since premium beta (about 4-5 months).

    Flight mechanics: Great, responsive and adrenaline fueled.
    AI: Ok bordering on bad
    Universe Sim: Weak and shallow
    Trading: Good but currently broken
    Supercruise: Terrible and boring
    Combat: Fun but repetitive
    Sound design: A*
    Graphics: Very good but some odd decision made regarding supercruise HUD

    Overall: Fun for a while but marred by terrible games design decisions ultimately resulting in a boring experience.    … Expand
  21. CptBadger
    Feb 1, 2015
    6
    Half-baked release, with essential features missing and VERY dodgy multiplayer. Unable to play with friends.

    "Miles wide and an inch deep" seems to be a general consensus about this release. Pros: - Great sound design - Nice visuals - Great fly mechanics. - Rather on the "sim" side of things Cons: - bad core design - lackluster multiplayer - laughable amount of content -    Half-baked release, with essential features missing and VERY dodgy multiplayer. Unable to play with friends.

    "Miles wide and an inch deep" seems to be a general consensus about this release.

    Pros:
    - Great sound design
    - Nice visuals
    - Great fly mechanics.
    - Rather on the "sim" side of things

    Cons:
    - bad core design
    - lackluster multiplayer
    - laughable amount of content
    - very little variety
    - bugs

    tl;dr Will certainly get better with time, but right now it certainly does not deserve the praise it gets.    … Expand
  22. bombocloddo
    Jan 2, 2015
    7
    Not quite there yet. Needs more variety, more content and some immersion enhancers such as voice / radio / video feeds and better mission texts. Its a bit too generic. only 3-4 stations, and planets with different textures, then 2-3 sorts of asteroid fields, makes the 400 Billion star systems seem a bit strange. instead 50 star systems with more detail would have been much better.

    They    Not quite there yet. Needs more variety, more content and some immersion enhancers such as voice / radio / video feeds and better mission texts. Its a bit too generic. only 3-4 stations, and planets with different textures, then 2-3 sorts of asteroid fields, makes the 400 Billion star systems seem a bit strange. instead 50 star systems with more detail would have been much better.

    They should watch the old Freelancer game, that made many things quite right.    … Expand
  23. ShearForce
    Dec 16, 2014
    6
    Doesn't matter how big the sandbox is if there is no sand in it, or in this case very little of it.

    If you truly do love the space games, go ahead. Currently there are five things to do in game. Running missions Bounty Hinting Mining Exploration Trading Non of them earns you a vast number of credits, but the ships and upgrades cost a lot, so be prepared to grind for that ship    Doesn't matter how big the sandbox is if there is no sand in it, or in this case very little of it.

    If you truly do love the space games, go ahead.

    Currently there are five things to do in game.
    Running missions
    Bounty Hinting
    Mining
    Exploration
    Trading

    Non of them earns you a vast number of credits, but the ships and upgrades cost a lot, so be prepared to grind for that ship you really want.

    Anyways, off to play some more.    … Expand
  24. keksbruch
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    Expected more. Rushed release. Really not much to do in the game, multiplayer doesn´t really deserve the name. The little that is there is still bugged.
  25. Skycrime
    Jan 1, 2015
    5
    I really wanted to like this game, but it just isn't ready. This is a beautiful single player game with a vast universe and no depth. Having been marketing as multiplayer, I find the lack of social features- even basic chat functions- to be massively disappointing. The universe here is dead. The systems have no character, nothing to set them apart. The ships and equipment don't, either,I really wanted to like this game, but it just isn't ready. This is a beautiful single player game with a vast universe and no depth. Having been marketing as multiplayer, I find the lack of social features- even basic chat functions- to be massively disappointing. The universe here is dead. The systems have no character, nothing to set them apart. The ships and equipment don't, either, while we're at it. The missions are repetitive, and players have no impact on the world. The AI is limited at best, and I'm having a really hard time figuring out why I should launch the game again. I want it to be great, I really do, and I'm hopeful that it will be. But as it is now, I just can't recommend it.… Expand
  26. Rex_richards
    Dec 22, 2014
    7
    if you have an interest in the new elite vs the original elite.... well it is more or less as you would hope. BUT it is much harder than the original elite, and far more detailed. In other words it will require a lot more time to really succeed at it. When elite came out on the bbc model b, it was pretty much the only game you could get with any depth at all, and it is a question ofif you have an interest in the new elite vs the original elite.... well it is more or less as you would hope. BUT it is much harder than the original elite, and far more detailed. In other words it will require a lot more time to really succeed at it. When elite came out on the bbc model b, it was pretty much the only game you could get with any depth at all, and it is a question of lifestyle. you are talking hundreds and hundreds of hours needed to succeed at new elite. So for someone as lazy and casual as me... well, I'll stick with something like sniper elite, talos principle, where you can start it up kick some ass and get quick results.… Expand
  27. CmdrRoy
    Jan 4, 2015
    7
    I get annoyed by people who either give this game 0 - usually the ones who will never forgive Frontier for the offline mode debacle - and also the ones who give it 10 who are blinded by all the hype.

    I have been playing since mid-beta and can see why it is not for everyone. But there is one factor that keeps me coming back: It's not Eve. I don't have to spend my time playing by other    I get annoyed by people who either give this game 0 - usually the ones who will never forgive Frontier for the offline mode debacle - and also the ones who give it 10 who are blinded by all the hype.

    I have been playing since mid-beta and can see why it is not for everyone. But there is one factor that keeps me coming back:

    It's not Eve. I don't have to spend my time playing by other people's rules. I can have fights with other players and not worry about a million other players turning up and zapping me. I can do my own thing.

    If you want Eve fork out your 10 quid a month and stay away with your tedious griefer buddies. Sit around in space stations all night doing nothing except talking because you are too scared to leave and might start having to play the game.

    The graphics are amazing and although gameplay can be repetitive, that's the nature of computer games.

    A few points get knocked off because missions don't work tremendously well. I would like to be able to complete them without having NPC pilots trying to bribe me all the time and then having the whole thing cancelled because I hit the wrong button.

    The nerd in me admires the attempt to create a Milky Way copy in the game. There's no way of telling whether or not it's accurate but I like the point it makes about the vastness of space.

    In conclusion I hope that Frontier keep pushing this thing forward and make some improvements, add a few more ships and perhaps add some more variety in terms of missions.

    I have spent a fair bit of money on this game and although it's been worth it, my VFM rating will go up if Frontier introduces developments such as landing on planets and walking around.

    So ratings are:

    Graphics 10/10

    Gameplay 7/10

    Sound 9/10

    Value for money: 6/10

    Overall 7/10    … Expand
  28. Blanke73
    Dec 18, 2014
    6
    It's quite unfortunate that as of now Elite is a skeleton of a game. the frame work is there, but not much meat on the bones. They rushed this game so they could count the pre-orders on their financials, and the game is suffering for it.
  29. Hamerstein
    Dec 18, 2014
    7
    A solid release, if unspectacular. Elite Dangerous 1.0 is a framework, the fundamentals are there - trade, fight, mine, explore but it's lip-service. Having experienced the game's development from Kickstarter onwards, having insight into the development process via the Design Decision Forum and access to all builds from premium Alpha, it's fair to say that the release was premature.A solid release, if unspectacular. Elite Dangerous 1.0 is a framework, the fundamentals are there - trade, fight, mine, explore but it's lip-service. Having experienced the game's development from Kickstarter onwards, having insight into the development process via the Design Decision Forum and access to all builds from premium Alpha, it's fair to say that the release was premature. Features had to be dropped (postponed), the last month of development took on an almost panicked air, with as many elements being broken as were fixed.

    Fortunately the release candidate worked fairly well out of the "box", I haven't experienced any game breaking issues and am still enjoying the experience - which is not a bad thing at all as having "played" for a year prior, I'd be likely to feel entitled to a more jaded outlook - but I don't.

    Give it 6 months, and we may see the kind of game that it's potential implies, as it is, the release is worth a solid 7/10.    … Expand
  30. Anthroban
    Feb 19, 2015
    5
    The graphics and sound are solid enough but the unforgivable sin of this game is that it is so very dull and boring. There is little in way of actual content - this doesn't mean the galaxy isn't enormous it means there are only about half a dozen things to do in it and they all get very old very fast.
  31. toramo
    Dec 16, 2014
    7
    Hello commanders !

    This Elite Dangerous is a really cool game. I already spent a lot of time on beta/ gamma. Pro Immersion ! Exploration, trade, fight, mining, Each module is working really nicely and the bunch of ships available deserve it ! And there is of course a tons of mission relative to your stuff and specialization. Buy & stuff your ship to specialize it or keep it    Hello commanders !

    This Elite Dangerous is a really cool game. I already spent a lot of time on beta/ gamma.

    Pro

    Immersion !
    Exploration, trade, fight, mining, Each module is working really nicely and the bunch of ships available deserve it ! And there is of course a tons of mission relative to your stuff and specialization.
    Buy & stuff your ship to specialize it or keep it versatile, it is your choice :)
    Everything is working fine and there is a lot to discover in the game.

    Cons:
    Multiplayer !!!!!!!! seriously this game is sold as an 'MMO' like game but actually there is absolutely nothing to do with your friends.

    It is really hard to meet friends (you don't know where they are) and even more hard to try to do something with them... No coop mission, no PVE (except conflict zone but it is really boring), no convoy escort for example etc...

    Just don't buy it if you don't like to play Solo, wait for early next year, the multiplayer part called "wings" will be added.

    -3 points because of this, it looks unacceptable to sold a multiplayer game without multiplayer stuff !!

    Otherwise, all good !    … Expand
  32. MartinAtome
    Jan 14, 2015
    6
    The game is in fact still in beta, the basic structure is there and it's solid but both the gameplay and the content will need a lot of work before we can judge the final product.

    ED promises an open, immense, unforgiving world where the player has total freedom (and no safe nets), something we have seen already in games like EVE or DayZ and is very appealing, but it doesn't offer    The game is in fact still in beta, the basic structure is there and it's solid but both the gameplay and the content will need a lot of work before we can judge the final product.

    ED promises an open, immense, unforgiving world where the player has total freedom (and no safe nets), something we have seen already in games like EVE or DayZ and is very appealing, but it doesn't offer enough complexity to support that kind of experience.

    At the moment the main two strong points of the game are the flight/fight system (the only part of the game that feels like a finished product) and the scientific appeal that visiting a real 1:1 model of the known galaxy might have for some users, provided you have a tablet to spice up the journey with wikipedia.

    All other features are at embryonic state:

    -mining, trading and exploring are the only gameplay mechanics available outside fighting and are so simple that they could all be explained in detail in 2 pages.
    -stations and ships models are not enough for an open world, they become repetitive after few days.
    -ships equipment features few weapons and even fewer utility components, most of which are organized in tiers with an obvious best choice that makes all others intermediate steps to the most expensive piece.
    -the factions system (that's supposed to simulate the political struggles between NPC's factions, giving the player a chance to interact) is, again, too simple, a 15 minutes video on youtube will explain all you all there is to be known.

    All this simplicity means you'll master the game mechanics in a couple of weeks (except dogfight), from there on is just a matter of how many hours you are willing to trow at the game doing the same things over and over.

    As Scott Manley said: "it's a mile wide and an inch deep", if it manages to go a little deeper in the next year it'll be a great game, maybe the best space sim ever made (we'll see what SC has to offer)
    At the moment i wouldn't suggest the purchase of the game except for Elite series enthusiasts and Oculus Rift owners    … Expand
  33. Jingo
    Jan 12, 2015
    7
    Caveat: I give it a 7 for a finished game, but it's not finished yet. As an early launch game I'd give it a 10.
    Excellent, deep and truly vast scope space sim. Unlike others out there, it has 'real' physics including lasers that go the speed of light! Biggest game map ever, probably. Lots to do, so much customising and upgrading potential in every ship.
    But, we're waiting for expansions    Caveat: I give it a 7 for a finished game, but it's not finished yet. As an early launch game I'd give it a 10.
    Excellent, deep and truly vast scope space sim. Unlike others out there, it has 'real' physics including lasers that go the speed of light! Biggest game map ever, probably. Lots to do, so much customising and upgrading potential in every ship.
    But, we're waiting for expansions like getting out of your ship, landing on planets etc. Don't play with mouse and keyboard, a gamepad is fine, HOTAS maybe better. Oculus RIft-ready, they say. Also, this is a very long game, will take ages to get the biggest ships and upgrade them. Likewise in changing politics of a system. This game puts you as a space-ship-owning nobody amongst 400 billion star systems. Can't be the hero here, how's that for realism and something different?    … Expand
  34. W3a7herman
    Dec 16, 2014
    7
    GREAT POTENTIAL!!!!
    Bulletin Boards / Missions? maybe tomorrow they will be better 5 (only fetch 5 or kill 5)
    Exploration? lolwut? fly around and aim at stuff Mining? shoot rocks and pick up bits (barebones) Trading? (allmost there!!!!) Outfitting? (could use info on what you outfit, oke i guess) Graphics? (awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Sound?(incredibly    GREAT POTENTIAL!!!!
    Bulletin Boards / Missions? maybe tomorrow they will be better 5 (only fetch 5 or kill 5)
    Exploration? lolwut? fly around and aim at stuff
    Mining? shoot rocks and pick up bits (barebones)
    Trading? (allmost there!!!!)
    Outfitting? (could use info on what you outfit, oke i guess)
    Graphics? (awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
    Sound?(incredibly awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111234omfg!)
    Combat? (hit and miss, sometimes great sometimes completely naff)
    Multiplayer?(chat not working, grouping absent, instances a disaster, not working too well)
    Social? (broken
    Piracy/Bounty Hunting? (it is there, sort of)
    Smuggling? (hahahaha, soon)    … Expand
  35. NewMenace
    Dec 25, 2014
    7
    Its a wonderful Space Sim with lots of stuff to do and tons of content to explore, with a dynamic universe a trully remarkable game. Its a challenging game (im playing using a regular KB+M config, and it took me around 10 hours of in game time to be a decent pilot who can land, launch engage without fail), mainly because of its gameplay which is very complex ( you cant land on a spaceIts a wonderful Space Sim with lots of stuff to do and tons of content to explore, with a dynamic universe a trully remarkable game. Its a challenging game (im playing using a regular KB+M config, and it took me around 10 hours of in game time to be a decent pilot who can land, launch engage without fail), mainly because of its gameplay which is very complex ( you cant land on a space platform for example without asking for permition first, and you must go to the landing pad assigned to your ship otherwise your ship will be attacked and most likely destroyed), the grinding at first its a little bit boring since you only start with 1000 in game credits, a very weak spaceship and many things you have to figure out either by watching youtube videos or searching the forum since the in game tutorials are very basic. For me at least its a great game that would evolve in the future (now it has only the features of the first Elite released in 1984, later they will add more things that are found in Elite 2, and other space sims like landing on planets, more freedom to exploration etc. At this point it has a decent amount of bugs but if you enjoyed space sims before you would enjoy this game too. (also the voice control commands work like a charm).… Expand
  36. 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, 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.    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.    … Expand
  37. Stig
    Feb 22, 2015
    5
    I was excited. I played the original Elite in my youth and spent an embarrassing amount of time playing it. Typical teenage basement dweller.

    The first week it was fine, new ships to fly, new flight/combat mechanics, and some very frustrating bugs. I stuck with it ... and it got more and more frustrating ... and boring. Like Eve, it feels like work. Combat with NPCs is predictable,    I was excited. I played the original Elite in my youth and spent an embarrassing amount of time playing it. Typical teenage basement dweller.

    The first week it was fine, new ships to fly, new flight/combat mechanics, and some very frustrating bugs. I stuck with it ... and it got more and more frustrating ... and boring. Like Eve, it feels like work. Combat with NPCs is predictable, mining and trading is tedious, the odd time you get interdicted ... ugh.

    Time wasted aside, I really wish I could get a refund.    … Expand
  38. Arniedadrink
    Mar 11, 2015
    6
    This is the core of what I hope will become a great game but at the moment a lot is left up to your imagination on what is happening in the universe around you. There are some background stories going on but keeping up with them seemed like you had to keep reading small new clips in game on a daily basis and the information in them was too brief to keep me interested. How to representThis is the core of what I hope will become a great game but at the moment a lot is left up to your imagination on what is happening in the universe around you. There are some background stories going on but keeping up with them seemed like you had to keep reading small new clips in game on a daily basis and the information in them was too brief to keep me interested. How to represent what is going on in the universe definitely needs to be thought out a bit more.… Expand
  39. Skamf
    Jan 15, 2015
    6
    So i was looking forware to play this game , 50 EU sounde a bit overprice but guss what it was Total overprice :P .. the game is so boring ,

    First thing i did was to jump into my ship and learn how to fly it then how to get mission ect .. then out into the big univers it goes "wich is total empty " lifeless and total boring , i got my first small Mission wich would give me " a small    So i was looking forware to play this game , 50 EU sounde a bit overprice but guss what it was Total overprice :P .. the game is so boring ,

    First thing i did was to jump into my ship and learn how to fly it then how to get mission ect .. then out into the big univers it goes "wich is total empty " lifeless and total boring , i got my first small Mission
    wich would give me " a small amount" of 2000 cr , i had to undock wich more or less was a Big pain , from a Station , i found my mission you cannot just choose to get it to point it on the map you have to remember the name of the system you have to go to then go into a Map write Down the system name , after then you can choose it so you know where to fly Ok ok fin fin we dont die of that , now 32 Mins later in so call Supercharge or hyperspace Iam still not at the mission where to deliver my cargo .. So boring it Hurts

    Update : gave a bit more in score , 11 hours and still not much to do when you are on a mission you cannot just fly to the mission and do what you came for you do have to try and find out wher the mission is in a system , it will only tell you what system to look in " a system can be big " , i ende up using 30 mins just to find a Black box from a Ship , now i will try mining to get som Money and hopefull this game will be more fun later on .    … Expand
  40. Danceswithsheep
    Mar 17, 2015
    5
    I expected too much so I guess it's my fault I feel let down.

    I love the handling of the ships and it looks fantastic but there is this confused keep it real vibe that stops it being fun which for me can be summed up in three elements 1. The way it is set up for griefers in multiplayer and the reverse of the old school MMO trope where in this game the last touch, no matter how    I expected too much so I guess it's my fault I feel let down.

    I love the handling of the ships and it looks fantastic but there is this confused keep it real vibe that stops it being fun which for me can be summed up in three elements

    1. The way it is set up for griefers in multiplayer and the reverse of the old school MMO trope where in this game the last touch, no matter how slight, wins you all the bounty. So you play in Solo mode but are affected by the multiplayer happenings and everything is second hand because the multiplayers got there first.

    2. Because it's 'real' if you go too far there are no stations to land on so no jobs to do and every chance you will fall victim to problem number three

    3. If you lose your ship then you lose a lot of your time investment due to the flaky insurance system they have set up which is like the worst car or home insurance you could ever buy and where assets on other stations cannot be used to offset losses.

    In essence it seems to me they have forgotten this is a game, it's very punishing if you die and offers none of the save options a single player game might so it sucks fun from exploring where a mistake or bug can result in you losing all your personal progress. It's like it wants to be Eve but without the gameplay of that model.

    I was hoping for exciting surprises to be hidden randomly amongs the stars but nothing there, this is truly an empty Galaxy. Don't look for Sci-Fi fun and gaming here, this is pretty turgid (pun intended).    … Expand
  41. Ekar
    Feb 26, 2015
    6
    I said to myself that I would give Elite a year (after release date) before judging it, as I understood that more features were to be coming or planned. I had told myself, and heard it said many times before, that its foundations were good and solid. After playing the game for about a month or so I'm not so sure that's really true, or it depends on what you mean by foundations. So let'sI said to myself that I would give Elite a year (after release date) before judging it, as I understood that more features were to be coming or planned. I had told myself, and heard it said many times before, that its foundations were good and solid. After playing the game for about a month or so I'm not so sure that's really true, or it depends on what you mean by foundations. So let's talk foundations.

    If you mean the flight experience- the moment to moment sense of being in a spaceship, then yes, that's all pretty solid and nice.

    If you mean the environment, the backdrop of stars which are all real systems that you can set off to and explore- that's also a very solid foundation. Who can scoff at a 1:1 scale virtual galaxy as playground? Stellar Forge is a stellar achievement, and should be the envy of any space sim looking to portray the actual vastness of space.

    These two things Elite does very well. But some of the other 'foundations' are not there yet, and may never really get there...

    For example, I originally assumed that the mysterious and long awaited 'background simulation' would actually model material flows throughout the galaxy- that factories would not be able to produce stuff without a specific number of specific raw materials present, that populations would starve if not enough food was produced or procured. That Terrain Enrichment Systems would actually enrich terrains. I imagined all kinds of interesting knock on effects which players could participate in and shape to however small degree. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case. Right now the economic aspect of Elite feels fractured, stale and isolated from the rest of the game. Trading simply feels like moving numbers from one place to another, but without meaning or effect. You get credits for doing so, but you haven't actually saved the day for the factory owner who's pulling his hair out because he can't get a hold of enough aluminium. The result is that trading becomes a minigame (in a series of minigames, none of which are really talking to each other), and barring a bit of fluctuation in prices, nothing really changes. Right now I'd say this is the primary reason for the game's hollow feeling. Missions should be tied to the real needs of each station, though since the economy isn't an actual thing, I guess this is impossible at this stage. Dynamic and unfolding universe this is not.

    This became more visible to me with the recent introduction of community goals, with an early goal being the production of a new space station for a certain faction. Nowhere in Elite, do factions actually build or do anything on their own, the developers themselves introduce new things into the game. So, there's no AI logic which says that it makes sense for a faction to build a station in system x, or that asteroid belt y is a good place to send workers to mine for metals, or anything else as far as I can see. We simply have the illusion of AI traffic going about some kind of business, but then they're zapped out of existence when the player leaves the immediate area. I get that... you can't create lives for every single NPC in the game. But it would be nice to know that any NPCs you do meet represent a logic operating within deeper levels of the game's background simulation and economy. At the moment any kind of encounter just feels random.

    Missions, another 'foundation' of the game, are very basically implemented right now but there is word from the devs that they are being overhauled. The way in which missions tie into USS's (unidentified signal sources) is quite horrible - for instance, you can drop into a completely random part of a system and meet an NPC player who is actually looking for you! I can't fathom the actual odds of that occuring. Other times, you just doddle along without any real direction, looking for a specific item you've been assigned to find, and after a certain amount of tries, you'll stumble across it in a USS. Random chance again. You're not using your brain or skills to achieve something, you're just waiting for the right number to come up. This kind of thing is clumsy and breaks immersion, it's simply not good gameplay. I'm really looking forward to improvements in this area- I'm sure they will come in time.

    I've highlighted two things which I feel are the most lacking currently. Certainly there are aspects of the game which are truly great, such as the sound design, atmosphere, and previously mentioned flight experience & environment. For me to keep playing and interested, I need to feel the 'glue' of the galaxy; a properly modeled economy, faction behaviours and actions which aren't just the whims of developers, more content for sure... that large stations interiors feel very samey on the inside kills any sense of actually going anywhere. I want to feel surprise as I enter a new station I've never been to. More variety will surely help.

    Consider this a 'beta' review. Let's see how things are a year out.    … Expand
  42. bojamajams
    Feb 23, 2015
    5
    Pretty shallow game play, multiplayer mechanics are very lacking with little to do with other players. All the different "professions" you could choose are repetitive and get stale pretty quickly.
    It takes some sophistry to try to argue there is more to the game than making credits and upgrading your ship and its modules. Pretty disappointing for a "released" game.
  43. usualday
    Dec 28, 2014
    6
    I would love to rate this game higher, however at release "1.0" the game is still incredibly full of bugs. To compound this, because there is no concrete levelling system that will save your progress you may well find yourself destitute (aka back to level 1) in an entirely random set of circumstances because of bugs.

    I hope they fix this in the coming months / years. Until then I can    I would love to rate this game higher, however at release "1.0" the game is still incredibly full of bugs. To compound this, because there is no concrete levelling system that will save your progress you may well find yourself destitute (aka back to level 1) in an entirely random set of circumstances because of bugs.

    I hope they fix this in the coming months / years. Until then I can only state this game is brilliance wrapped in frustration – enough to make someone with limited play hours per week feel it's not worth the effort.    … Expand
  44. Zhorge
    Dec 22, 2014
    6
    I've been waiting for this game for over 20 years now (Frontier Elite II, 1993). Many of my fondest gaming memories include FEII. But this game is not the game I've been waiting for all these years. It's just a shell of a game with some rather underwhelming and annoying 'features.'

    My first issue is that the control system is clunky and harkens back to the bad-old-days of    I've been waiting for this game for over 20 years now (Frontier Elite II, 1993). Many of my fondest gaming memories include FEII. But this game is not the game I've been waiting for all these years. It's just a shell of a game with some rather underwhelming and annoying 'features.'

    My first issue is that the control system is clunky and harkens back to the bad-old-days of second-rate flight sims. I would have thought by now we'd have gotten past third-rate, crap-fest controls but I guess not.

    My second issue is the unnecessary pre-flight controller checklist that must be passed the first time you play the game (or major update) or you can't launch your ship. And if there is a problem with the game registering one of your control-binds, you're just stuck there. (Which happened to me until I changed from Joystick to Keyboard/Mouse even though my joystick controls worked 100% fine with the tutorial and every other game that uses it and the forums are full of threads with people sharing the same exact issue -- joysticks not registering, keyboard key-bindings not registering, mouse controls not registering -- so it's hardly me.)

    Next, navigation through the menus is so antique and clunky I had research how to move through an interface that should be point-and-click with a mouse! Seriously, do they not have mice in the future? Or are they all limited to the keyboard?

    So I take two points off for the poorly-thought-out gate-keeping and antique control system. There's just no excuse, even for a game that's primarily a sim, to be so clunky in it's control layout or force people to pass arbitrary gate-keeping checklists.

    Once in space, I've had other issues. The KB/M controls are bad. If switch back to the joystick, the controls get fouled up in the transition. So, after crashing my first ship trying to transition over, I feel like I'm stuck with KB/M for now.

    So I took another point off that.

    After getting past that... Well, it's kind of duller than I expected. I would have thought with all the money they begged off of people, plus having a successful, large company, Frontier might have put a little more effort into the universe. But, really, it just plays like a reskin of a 20-year old game and not a comprehensive reboot of a great franchise.

    And while things are promised for the future, right now the game is shallow, superficial missions and a really messed up trading economy. I really expected some improvement in the missions and I'm not seeing it.

    So another point off for giving us 1993 all-over-again.

    In a few years, if Braeban actually delivers on his promises, this may be a great game. But right now, it's mediocre. So the best I could give it is a 6.0. Not because I'm a hater. But because this game has ignored 20-years of improvements in game-design and just didn't get much beyond a 'recycled feel.'    … Expand
  45. GamestaUK
    Mar 5, 2015
    5
    This game is visually beautiful, but I still have a problem with it. It's nothing more than a remaster of the original. It doesn't work at the moment as it should, I will get back to it in a year and a half.
  46. grumphy
    Dec 27, 2014
    5
    Has potential but is currently severly lacking in actual content and information regarding how the different modules and weapons perform.
    Also has a fair share of bugs, weapons not working, ships suddenly exploding, unable to complete missions.
    Is currently more a less just a giant grindfest without much depth
  47. Masterhummel
    Jan 8, 2015
    6
    Elite currently builds on 'whats about to come' Because currently, there's not that much to do and the things that are there are connected by the yet not really fleshed out supercruise mechanic. It is especially dissapointing that the multiplayer metagame - which was the reason for the lack of a offline mode - barely works. Player may see each other in supercruise but as of now can barelyElite currently builds on 'whats about to come' Because currently, there's not that much to do and the things that are there are connected by the yet not really fleshed out supercruise mechanic. It is especially dissapointing that the multiplayer metagame - which was the reason for the lack of a offline mode - barely works. Player may see each other in supercruise but as of now can barely interact with each other due to bugs or not implemented features.… Expand
  48. rootz
    Jun 1, 2015
    5
    If you like to jump from system to system to copy of copy of copy with some other planet names and colors and you think you are exploring space than this is a nice game for you !
  49. ttshin
    Dec 16, 2014
    6
    There have been some definite improvements since beta 2.05, both to the game engine and to the gameplay. It still feels like there are some big gaps, and its not clear at this stage if the intention is to change this or not.

    We have two flight modes, effectively one for combat, one for exploration. The exploration mode (supercruise) is a tricky balance of tedium (is a 1000 Ls trip long    There have been some definite improvements since beta 2.05, both to the game engine and to the gameplay. It still feels like there are some big gaps, and its not clear at this stage if the intention is to change this or not.

    We have two flight modes, effectively one for combat, one for exploration. The exploration mode (supercruise) is a tricky balance of tedium (is a 1000 Ls trip long enough to put the kettle on, or check the forum), beauty, and interest (interdictions once an hour seem sensible, and evaded 50%. I mostly enjoy the exploration aspect too, locating nearby stars using parallax. Close quarters flight does take more learning, but is quite satisfying once you get the hand of it.

    Personally I've not experienced any major stability issues since the early beta phase, and there has been an impressive rate of patch releases over the past month.

    Although the game offers a variety of different play styles, at the moment with only a single live character per account, it is not too easy to experiment - particularly once you've spent a week or two building up credits and reputation only a catastrophic failure is going to act as an incentive to experiment. Similarly, the random quest locations (un-identified signal sources) offer a good risk/reward trade-off for someone with only 100cr to loose - not so much for someone with an insurance premium equivalent to a couple of days playing.

    Missions are currently just as shallow as in any other game, but they make for an easier life than trying to work out your own trade routes. The in game economy is still in a bit of a state of flux - why a complex background simulation is useful to players, I'm not sure.

    In a game which places such strong emphasis on trading, the approach to market information is bizarre. I have to pay for (almost no) information, then it expires after 24 hours of desk-time. There is no information I can log from the game (except for 3x4k screencaps per station), and loging data is actively discouraged by the EULA. 30 years ago, pen and paper was a reasonable way of keeping track of the markets - almost everyone has moved on by now. Its very disappointing to be denied the opportunity to easily log my flight history and market information. I suspect the background simulation was invented to facilitate obfuscation of this data - and this is a significant drawback if you don't want to play for several hours every day.

    Multi-player aspects seem to be the main focus of this game, online only and with player driven in-game politics. I'm not convinced I want to keep track of all this and take part in massive online wars, yet the game design seems to anticipate this being the primary activity (exactly how is yet to be seen).

    No doubt there will be improvements in the following months (well, after a break for Christmas), but exactly where this is leading isn't clear.    … Expand
  50. ShinsFortress
    Apr 4, 2015
    5
    Nice idea. Would have been happy with less tweaks on making it big and more on making it good. I've played almost all the space sims that there's been, and this one is not in the top 10.

    Okay, but not worth the £40 they're charging at the moment.
  51. Kazuki
    Dec 16, 2014
    6
    Elite ha vuelto con muchas novedades y muchas carencias, en un juego donde el dorado predomina, no es oro todo lo que reluce.

    No es mal juego, para nada, pero no tiene ni el 40% de lo que se supone que será el juego completoo (Obviando los futuros DLC) así que mientras esto no cambie, no se merece más que un mero... bueno.
  52. wipeout2014
    Dec 30, 2014
    5
    If you buy this game, watch out. It has an extremely nasty little feature in it.

    If your spacecraft gets destroyed and you don't have enough money on you at that very moment for insurance or a loan, your spacecraft doesn't respawn. It's gone forever. Since some spacecraft may take weeks or months of work to buy -- depending on how you play -- this perhaps the most brutal gameplay    If you buy this game, watch out. It has an extremely nasty little feature in it.

    If your spacecraft gets destroyed and you don't have enough money on you at that very moment for insurance or a loan, your spacecraft doesn't respawn. It's gone forever.

    Since some spacecraft may take weeks or months of work to buy -- depending on how you play -- this perhaps the most brutal gameplay mechanic I've seen in decades of playing videogames.

    Potentially all your work is gone for failing to watch one number on one page of one of the many ship displays.

    There's no warning when you are in danger of losing your ship. And that number's importance is never explained.

    I have to wonder what the hell the developers were thinking to make this even possible.

    Players naturally want to fly their new ships the moment they have scraped together enough money to buy them. And if they do, this insurance feature will punish any mistake mercilessly.

    It's a good game overall, a bit empty at the moment and there's much that can and will be added and improved.

    But whatever you do, be aware of this ridiculous insurance feature.    … Expand
  53. Dirtbox
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    Looks beautiful and sounds incredible and it's a marvelous technical achievement with a lot of familiar favourites, but as it currently stands, there isn't a lot of game, and what there is is unforgiving to an extreme and what little content the game has to offer is artificially obscured behind titanic levels of grind. Making money, which is apparently central to progressing in the game,Looks beautiful and sounds incredible and it's a marvelous technical achievement with a lot of familiar favourites, but as it currently stands, there isn't a lot of game, and what there is is unforgiving to an extreme and what little content the game has to offer is artificially obscured behind titanic levels of grind. Making money, which is apparently central to progressing in the game, is incredibly hard when you're starting out and all your hard earned credits can be dashed with a single unfortunate incident.

    The social aspect of the always online universe is nil, you may see other commanders, but if you bought the game to play with friends then you're often out of luck, you will start life many, many light years from anyone you know and there is bizarrely no way to reach them.    … Expand
  54. bazookoscircus
    Dec 16, 2014
    6
    OBJECTIVE REVIEW

    Most of the reviews on here will be either 10/10 from hardcore fans, or angry 0/10 from people who have suffered at the hands of Frontier's terrible customer service and suspicious motives for ditching offline play. I'd say looking at the middle-ground reviews will probably be more accurate. 1. Gameplay Currently the Gameplay is very similar to that of Elite II -    OBJECTIVE REVIEW

    Most of the reviews on here will be either 10/10 from hardcore fans, or angry 0/10 from people who have suffered at the hands of Frontier's terrible customer service and suspicious motives for ditching offline play. I'd say looking at the middle-ground reviews will probably be more accurate.

    1. Gameplay

    Currently the Gameplay is very similar to that of Elite II - Frontier. Much of the gametime will be spent doing very little flying around solar systems. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing: it is after all a SPACE SIMULATOR and space is big. Really big. It can't all be Star Wars dogfights. With Nav Beacons & Unidentified Signal Sources you can still get into plenty of combat if that's your thing. the controls are somewhere between Newtonian Physics and Shoot-em-up gamer style - a decent compromise.

    However, the missions and space stations are, quite simply, boring. There feels like very little life around the stations, each one looking pretty much exactly the same. And you'd think in all of space exploration there would be more than a half-dozen different types of space station and 20 or so different spaceships. Missions feel deeply anonymous and repetitive.

    2. Content

    It very much feels the game has been rushed to release (ironically one of the big problems with FEII - first Enoucnters) and as a result, it feels like there is a lot missing. a LOT. As mentioned above, missions / spacestations etc. are repetitive and repetitive and repetitive. Planetary landing is still out. There's also not much visual variety in the planets & stars, nor does it contain any stellar objects aside from planets / belts / stars (where are the comets? asteroids? whay are there so few moons?)

    3. Graphics & Sound design.

    The graphics are as one would expect of a modern space game - decent but not exceptional - at around the same visual level as X-3, although there is still a lot left to be desired on the variety of stellar objects. Sound design is probably the games current strongest feature - the rattling of a Cobra Mk III feels like the pod-racers in Phantom Menace. Superb.

    4. Offline / online

    the big debate. Many people backed the game on the promise of an offline mode, where the game could be paused & saved. One month before release it was revealed this had been shelved, the reasons given seeming suspicious. Most believe it was a financially motivated change (to enforce further purchases / micro-transactions). Either way, the companies abyssmal PR handling of the matter, and lack of refunds or communication left an extremely soured relationship with many previous fans & backers.

    5. Overview / TLDR

    Feels rushed out & lacking content, but what's there so far looks promising. Could be an excellent game once fully developed. The lack of offline mode is still a suspicious move that feels financially motivated. Looking forward to updates & DLC, maybe in another 6-12 months this could be something special. Right now, it's just a skeleton. 6/10    … Expand
  55. alexnode
    Jan 20, 2015
    6
    Really steep learning curve, feels a bit unfinished in certain areas, some commodities have wrong descriptions, monotonous algorithm to generate the universe, icy planets everywhere. The core universe feels ok. Planet textures a bit flat. Great potential though but needs more love from the developers. Too hard and slow since there is not enough fun apart from buying better ship to doReally steep learning curve, feels a bit unfinished in certain areas, some commodities have wrong descriptions, monotonous algorithm to generate the universe, icy planets everywhere. The core universe feels ok. Planet textures a bit flat. Great potential though but needs more love from the developers. Too hard and slow since there is not enough fun apart from buying better ship to do things more quickly. Wish they could add a bit more content...Nevertheless it is a must have and a great experience ...… Expand
  56. Beardsmear
    Dec 16, 2014
    5
    ED has great potential. But I have to base my review on the released version and so far this is just a fraction of a complete game. This grindfest lacks a lot in every part that would provide long term motivation. This game lacks an offline mode which was promised beforehand but the multiplayer part does not have really, well "multiplay" so far.
  57. Musashi
    Dec 29, 2014
    6
    - Good graphics and sound.
    - Great sense of scale and wonder at the galaxy.
    - Good spaceship and station models. - OK spaceship cusomisation abilities. - Combat is generally fun, but gets boring after a while against NPCs. - Flight model is OK, but arcadey. Does the job without impressing. It was much better in Beta 1. Multiplayer is appallingly bad, with game-breaking network    - Good graphics and sound.
    - Great sense of scale and wonder at the galaxy.
    - Good spaceship and station models.
    - OK spaceship cusomisation abilities.
    - Combat is generally fun, but gets boring after a while against NPCs.
    - Flight model is OK, but arcadey. Does the job without impressing. It was much better in Beta 1.

    Multiplayer is appallingly bad, with game-breaking network problems. Again, this used to be fine in Beta 1 and Beta 3, so something has gone very wrong for Gamma and Release.

    Overall, the game is something of a shell at the moment, with nothing to keep interest in the longer term. Gameplay features are implemented in a barebones manner, and a lot of potential is yet to be realised.    … Expand
  58. indi01
    Dec 17, 2014
    6
    My opinion:
    To me the biggest problem with this game coincides with its biggest selling point: its pursuit of realism.
    On the one hand it's cool to see the entire map of the milky way, but after a few instants my thoughts were "What's the point of all those stars, I'll never be able to explore them all". I'm not even sure it's possible, since I tried to venture in the dark and couldn't    My opinion:
    To me the biggest problem with this game coincides with its biggest selling point: its pursuit of realism.
    On the one hand it's cool to see the entire map of the milky way, but after a few instants my thoughts were "What's the point of all those stars, I'll never be able to explore them all". I'm not even sure it's possible, since I tried to venture in the dark and couldn't find any star to scoop...
    It's also great to experience the sheer size of stars, planets, and to have like "realistic" dockings, but after a while that becomes tedious, a chore, to lose 15, 30 minutes, even hours, just to fly between systems and dock. Also understanding how the UI works is a nightmare, and that's one of the most important thing to attract players!
    So it's all too slow-paced, you will spend most of the time just flying through systems. Combat is cool I have to say, it requires skill, but again, it's rare to pick up a fight and you spend more time "searching" for opponents than actually fighting.
    I have hopes for the (paid) expansions, planetary landings etc, but honestly I don't think it's possible to get outstanding results out of procedural generation of 1:1 scale planets, due to the limits of (current) computational power.
    So in essence a fantastic space simulator, a meh game so far.    … Expand
  59. allan_treebeard
    Jan 11, 2015
    6
    An outstanding achievement, but not my cup of tea. Elite: Dangerous asks a lot of you, you need to put in a lot of time to get anywhere and the learning curve is steep. Elite gives you freedom, but it is freedom without direction and many may literally become lost in space (sorry couldn't resist) as they wonder what to do and where to go. If you put the time into this game and enjoy theAn outstanding achievement, but not my cup of tea. Elite: Dangerous asks a lot of you, you need to put in a lot of time to get anywhere and the learning curve is steep. Elite gives you freedom, but it is freedom without direction and many may literally become lost in space (sorry couldn't resist) as they wonder what to do and where to go. If you put the time into this game and enjoy the undiluted freedom it offers, i'm sure it would be an amazing experience. But not for me....… Expand
  60. Moriarte
    Jan 27, 2015
    6
    An impressive, almost infinite galaxy is at your fingertips. Browse through the map and myriads of systems have something to keep one engaged for months. There is a system with crime lord threatening the inhabitants, a naval base for the Federation, a system producing rare goods, which get more expensive the further out you deliver them. Bouncing around populated space, from one starAn impressive, almost infinite galaxy is at your fingertips. Browse through the map and myriads of systems have something to keep one engaged for months. There is a system with crime lord threatening the inhabitants, a naval base for the Federation, a system producing rare goods, which get more expensive the further out you deliver them. Bouncing around populated space, from one star system to another, from federated space to that of the empire, or the alliance, filling the fuel tank directly from stars, doing random missions here and there, increasing reputation, bounty hunting and mining are all truly a magnificent experience, by the way of the graphics and the sound specifically.

    Slowly upgrading the ship from lowly sidewinder to majestic imperial clipper was my path as a pilot, since release, took me a month, and i never regretted a single minute of it. My build was incredibly stable, "unexpected error" situations happened only twice during that month. Unbelievable for a game that just released, if you ask me, considering i logged about a hundred hours.

    The combat is a compromise between Newton's physics and "fighter jets in space", it's solid and will definitely have longevity. As much as NFS 5: Porsche 2000 got it right about it's driving experience, the Elite got it right about space fighting. The choice of weaponry and outfitting modules is interesting and requires, at times, hours of contemplation: how to strike a good balance between weight, defence, offence and whatever your opponent might have? That is the question. An interesting and engaging one.

    The only downside i will note in this section: lack of choice for fighter space ships. Basically, there is Viper and Cobra at entry level, below one million credits. The next great ship is the imperial clipper, which costs 50 mil in fighter configuration and the one after that, the Python, is beyond a hundred. That is weeks and weeks of grinding. I grinding one may never want to choose, and, hence, one never gets a Python, as bounty hunter’s/explorer’s/miner’s life pays 1/100th of what the trading does, and trading isn’t for everyone.

    After the initial month of shock, awe and pure enjoyment, many players, including myself, attempted to get down to the screws and bolts of the underlying influence system, which is supposed to drive the economy and political system, only to find out there is no elephant in that dark room. The NPCs, roaming around in great numbers are not tied to the background simulation system. That miner? He isn’t really mining. That bounty hunter? He isn’t cashing in his bounties. That trader? He isn’t really trading. The actual work is done by the background simulation system with NPC’s pretending it’s them, who are doing it. Disappointing. Why is it disappointing? Because the player or the group of them can hardly influence the galaxy around them in a direct and logical way - by interaction with NPCs and other players. Example: one can completely blockade the station, cutting off potential supply chains, but supply won’t stop. In short, the meta-game is bogus.

    Every star system in Elite has factions. Every faction gains or loses political influence inside the system, depending on whether the trade happens with them, missions are accomplished in their favour and due to other minor interferences. Every faction has potential to become a ruler in the system and even to expand beyond, to other systems, depending on player/NPC interactions. Factions are driven into “states”: civil war, expansion, etcetera. The result of states is either seizure of power within a system or actual expansion. But how are they driven into these states? No one knows that. Two large groups of players are still, to this day, trying to figure out the way the system is supposed to work, but to no success. The consensus is: it’s either broken or incredibly difficult to figure out, as Frontier is unwilling to share the intricacies (or bugs) of the whole “influence” design. Some are even convinced the whole thing is not worth the effort of figuring it out as the players’ efforts are too detached from the works of the system.

    Elite Dangerous is the old school space arcade, where the player is expected to use his or her imagination heavily to engage in galactic struggle. With beautiful and engaging gameplay at the surface, the inner works are flawed, limited and, perhaps, are a result of Frontier’s wrong choice in vision and direction. The game experience is worth well beyond 50$ it’s priced at, but, at this stage, the potential of it joining the ranks of greatest space sims of all time is yet to be seen, and may be years away in development.

    6/10, yet definitely a buy.    … Expand
  61. MrSteakface
    Feb 10, 2016
    6
    I've put over 100 hours into this game. You'd think that a game I've played for that long would deserve a higher score. That'e because, to me, this game represents the perfect example of a love-hate relationship.

    The game world is HUGE, so expansive it can take weeks to cross it with some solid time investment. I personally love the exploration aspect of the game, and being able to    I've put over 100 hours into this game. You'd think that a game I've played for that long would deserve a higher score. That'e because, to me, this game represents the perfect example of a love-hate relationship.

    The game world is HUGE, so expansive it can take weeks to cross it with some solid time investment. I personally love the exploration aspect of the game, and being able to first discover stars and planets gives you a reason to venture far. The ships are great and fill many different roles. Some ships focus on specific roles, some can handle multiple roles, and some are just cool to have. Flight mechanics are very well done but can be difficult to master, providing progression in combat skill. Weapons and loadouts are diverse enough that you'll always be coming up with different ship builds, sometimes to the point of obsession. The visuals and sounds are beautiful, FD really has a great art team. Along with a slowly progressing story-line, the game will give you a reason to catch up on the galaxy's latest news even if you're taking a break.

    That was the love, well, most of it. We all know what must come next. Like others have said, the game can seem shallow and lacking, and can get repetitive very quickly. Missions don't make much sense as starting players will need to have some kind of ranking before accepting most of them. Players who are further advanced in the game may have many mission options, but most of them aren't worth the time investment. Grouping with others can be a hit or miss because of the way the games peer-to-peer online system works; sometimes you can drop into the same instance, sometimes you can't. It can be quite irritating when your friend is engaged in combat with someone else, and you can't come to their aid because of infrastructure limitations. FD's priorities put game breaking CTD (crash to desktop) bugs on the development back burner, releasing content patch after content patch while adding more bugs. The gaming experience would be much improved if FD would just take the time to fix them. The community is hit or miss when discussing these issues. Many members take it as their personal responsibility to defend FD's actions, for whatever reason, even if they are obviously causing issues within the game.

    In the end, I want to completely love this game. There are so many things this game does right, and it's unfortunate that they must be grouped with all the things the game does wrong. I will continue to play it, all the while staying hopeful for the possible grand slam that Star Citizen has worked itself up to be.    … Expand
  62. jormungaund
    Jun 2, 2021
    5
    Fun for a while. But they you gain a few levels, and the AI enemies start cheating. Pulling off maneuvers that are literally impossible for a player to execute in the same ship. Nothing ruins a game worse than obviously cheating AI enemies.
  63. Kapow626
    Feb 14, 2016
    5
    The Game still leaves a lot to be desired as the RNG nature of it and terrible instancing doesn't help, but if you get in with a good group/wing/player faction you will have fun :) I give it 5 out of 10 with potential to be 9 out of 10
  64. Kavii90
    Jan 1, 2019
    5
    Played this game for two years since launch. Enjoyment was very high at first but fell slowly as game evolved into grindy mechanics, unbalanced gameplay, constant nerfs, full opposition policy against player-driven plots and broken game mechanics that never worked (like multi-crew). For a single player, there is little to do with BGS as everything is designed for large player numbers, butPlayed this game for two years since launch. Enjoyment was very high at first but fell slowly as game evolved into grindy mechanics, unbalanced gameplay, constant nerfs, full opposition policy against player-driven plots and broken game mechanics that never worked (like multi-crew). For a single player, there is little to do with BGS as everything is designed for large player numbers, but then for a big squadron there aren't proper mechanics and efficient net code to support complex operations. Still there's some fun on it, but not like the old times where people went open motivated to do things rather than fearful of losing their ship...… Expand
  65. halfik
    Aug 8, 2015
    5
    There is a space for a good game. But only a space. Game is empty, and after couple weeks boring as hell. Braben don't give player any end game. World is totally random. Economic system is random. Battles are random. everything is random. There is no option for player based clans/factions or anythings.

    Only good things in game at the moment is how it looks, battle mechanics and things    There is a space for a good game. But only a space. Game is empty, and after couple weeks boring as hell. Braben don't give player any end game. World is totally random. Economic system is random. Battles are random. everything is random. There is no option for player based clans/factions or anythings.

    Only good things in game at the moment is how it looks, battle mechanics and things you can do for first 2-3 weeks of game-play.    … Expand
  66. ScottsPorage
    Jan 22, 2016
    5
    As an Alpha backer and avid fan of the originals, I have been extremely dissapointed with ED.

    Whilst visually and audibly stunning, it lacks immersion in a huge way. There is no continuity in the game, nothing you do has any effect on the galaxy, this creates a 'space invaders' effect, where you are just doing the same thing over and over for points (credits). There is no reason for    As an Alpha backer and avid fan of the originals, I have been extremely dissapointed with ED.

    Whilst visually and audibly stunning, it lacks immersion in a huge way.

    There is no continuity in the game, nothing you do has any effect on the galaxy, this creates a 'space invaders' effect, where you are just doing the same thing over and over for points (credits). There is no reason for me to login anymore as my brain requires much more stimulation that just shooting things.

    Trading is incredibly boring, the 'economy' is completley static, nothing ever changes, so those exciting trade routes that you would find in the original games just dont exist, the prices are very similar everywhere you go.

    Given a few years this game could become something great, but personally I feel that David Braben has lost the essence of the original games, some of the design decisions are just plain awful.

    He is making a game for the masses now, dumbed down and lacking any challenge, its such a sad thing to see happen to such a great game series.    … Expand
  67. BrownBoxer
    Jul 9, 2015
    5
    Great looking game with superior sound design.

    Not an actual MMO. Max 4 player groups with no content worth grouping for. Servers struggle hard with max players in area (32) rubberbanding and disappearing ships. Extremely bland repetitive missions. Decent flight model, nothing special (not like in trailer keep that in mind). Limited weapon loadout. Somewhat of a cheating    Great looking game with superior sound design.

    Not an actual MMO. Max 4 player groups with no content worth grouping for.

    Servers struggle hard with max players in area (32) rubberbanding and disappearing ships.

    Extremely bland repetitive missions.

    Decent flight model, nothing special (not like in trailer keep that in mind).

    Limited weapon loadout.

    Somewhat of a cheating problem but rarely effects you unless you PVP.

    PvP is a joke, most players will either log out before their ship nears destruction or boost away from you and warp out.

    ED has potential, I got my $60 out of it. I hope it evolves into something great without asking for more money.    … Expand
  68. bob_slump
    Jul 16, 2015
    6
    I got this when it was at beta. I saw snippets of people playing earlier games and it looked pretty cool. I also wanted it to play with the Rift. For that the resolution is too low with DK2 but it looked promising. Overall the game itself has some nice graphics but gameplay is as dull as anything. Travelling around is very tedious and combat mostly consists of chasing a tiny enemy ship around.
  69. noobmsu93
    Aug 13, 2015
    7
    Second review for this...all of my previous criticisms still stand with the game. Though I did forget to mention reputation decay...yeah that breaks down over time now too post 1.3!
    But...recently I have gotten into exploration (headed to Sag A via the Perseus arm of the galaxy) and despite the enormous time sinks (the absolute worst for me is the detailed scan 15+ seconds to complete!    Second review for this...all of my previous criticisms still stand with the game. Though I did forget to mention reputation decay...yeah that breaks down over time now too post 1.3!
    But...recently I have gotten into exploration (headed to Sag A via the Perseus arm of the galaxy) and despite the enormous time sinks (the absolute worst for me is the detailed scan 15+ seconds to complete! All the time watching that silly "disco ball"...very tedious FD - please, please, give us a progression bar or time to completion or percent complete, for the surface scanner!) I'm absolutely loving exploring. I do love astronomy and "space" science in general. Definite prerequisite if you want to explore.    … Expand
  70. Analyst77
    Feb 23, 2019
    5
    I am playing now for about 4 weeks, and I like the game. But there are drawbacks...
    tl,dr: Positive aspects are sadly countered by real bad design decisions...
    The positive points: + Game is complicated, but there are many external (player made) sites and documents and lots of YT tutorial videos. Frontier also packs several tutorials and videos - but with this alone you will not go far.    I am playing now for about 4 weeks, and I like the game. But there are drawbacks...
    tl,dr: Positive aspects are sadly countered by real bad design decisions...
    The positive points:
    + Game is complicated, but there are many external (player made) sites and documents and lots of YT tutorial videos. Frontier also packs several tutorials and videos - but with this alone you will not go far. But after mastering the basics it is a wonderful game, if you love complex games.
    + Graphics and sounds (with decent HW) are very good and immersive. (I use a monitor, so no VR, and a 5.1 Sound System)
    + Death will - if you do it right - always cost only 5% of the ships price you died with, and will bring you back in this ship at the next station. You can have more ships, so try to get killed in the cheapest ship :)
    + There are several things one can do, it is your choice: Exploration (and selling the data), Mining (and selling the ores), Trading and Fighting (Bounty Hunting, Pirating,...). There are missions of many types. This all seems quite repetitive and some players may not like it. I find it relaxing, if you select the right missions or things to do. I do mainly exploring, and have earned 100 millions in the short time I play, and own now 3 ships. But one should try to do different things in different places, this keeps it interesting. There are many things I did not yet try - but see below...
    + Community is rather nice (mostly) and very helpful, answers questions and is willing to help.

    So why only 5 points?
    The negative points:
    + There are two things in this game, where you can 'customize' your ship, i.i. make it stronger, faster, and so on. The first thing is the Guardian Story Line, where you can earn several modules which make your ship more powerful. The second thing are the 'Engineers', who also are able to modify your ship. But for some reason Frontier decided to hide these things behind massive, boring and repetitive grind!
    + Guardians: Modules have to be 'unlocked' (I came to hate this word) by visiting 'Guradian Sites' on planets, and playing sort of a mini game shooting at pillars, fighting robot sentries, and if successful earning diverse parts and a blueprint. With this 'Blueprint' you can - not build anything. No - you have to visit a 'Technology Broker', and there you learn that you also need 'Materials', in this case essentially things you can find by 'farming' the Guardian Sites. And I mean farming! There are very good instructions and videos how to do this. Including logging off mid game and log on immediately to do repeat the process. I call this an exploit, but Frontier does not care.
    +But at least every player needs to do this only once! After having 'unlocked' the modules you can simply buy them as often you want.
    + The Engineers are much worse. There are lots of them, some of them are easy to reach, others are harder. To 'unlock' (I did mention I hate this word?) an Engineer you need to bring her/him something. This is not so bad, mostly you can buy these things somewhere. After this you can start to modify, every Engineer has specialties and will modify certain modules (drives, armor, weapons,...). BUT: this requires materials, and to find those materials you have hours of boring, repetitive and senseless play before you. Also every module you modify starts at Level1, and goes through to a maximum at level 5. And every module has to start at Level 1. And every steps needs several tries. And every try needs the same materials. You cannot buy these materials - you have to 'find' them. There are lots of instructions and video how to find them. It is just boring grind. Needless to say that several players have no problem with this grind. But a player like me, who wants to PLAY, soon decides to do a MINIMUM of this, if even that. And as a consequence cannot compete against heavily modified ships. (Now even NPC ships seem to become 'engineered' and are hard to beat).
    + I have no idea why Frontier does not change this. The Guardian Sites may have been funny when they came out and players had to figure out what to do. The Engineers and materials may have been fun in the beginning. But now it is IMHO a game destroying grind. I have nothing against making it hard to earn these things. But I want to PLAY to earn them, not to grind with every engine abuse possible to find the materials...
    + There are a lot of small bugs in the game, which are barely recognized and (up to today) not fixed br Frontier. They were introduced by the 'Horizons' and 'Beyond' expansions. And nobody knows what comes next. Frontier is silent and fixes only exploits and very few bugs.
    Summary: I will continue to play, but I can see a point in the (near) future where all the grind destroys my motivation to try new things. Engineers are one main reason for this. If one could simply BUY the materials (expensive, hard to get, yes) the one could actually PLAY instead grind to get them.
    Read up a lot before buying!    … Expand
  71. BayJay
    Oct 30, 2018
    6
    It is necessary to develop the game and add more content, but not the coloring of ships, "lasers" and "engines". While little is added (my opinion). But I play it
  72. Borreh
    Nov 13, 2015
    6
    In two years, this might be a great game.

    As of now, never before did I regret buying a game as much as after a few weeks with Elite. But mind you, I didn't play Fallout 4 yet. Let's get this clear: I love big, huge, demanding, open-ended games that are demanding towards the player and might even seem tiresome at times. I'm a Dark Souls fan for crying out loud. But Elite is just    In two years, this might be a great game.

    As of now, never before did I regret buying a game as much as after a few weeks with Elite. But mind you, I didn't play Fallout 4 yet.

    Let's get this clear: I love big, huge, demanding, open-ended games that are demanding towards the player and might even seem tiresome at times. I'm a Dark Souls fan for crying out loud.

    But Elite is just unfinished. It masquerades as a huge, online space-sim while severly lacking in content and variety. Sure, you can do multiple different things, but all of them are shallow and monotone. Don't expect other players adding a new dynamic into the game - The only time I interacted with other people was when chatted about nonsense while waiting in a huge line to a ridiculiously small space station. Whatever you do, feels tedious, boring, detached. The only goal in this game is to grind money in order to get a better ship in which you will be able to grind money faster.

    Sure, the flight model is spectacular, the sound and music are awe inspiring (Try not to cry when supercruising for the first time). But for what? It's a shame that such amazing audio-video went to waste for a spooky skeleton of a game.

    The first time I saw the galactic map, manly tears were shed. But my amazement changed into frustration once I learned all of those systems were alike: Dull, empty and devoid of life.

    I will finish this review with a (quite good actually) quote from another disapointing game, Civilization: Beyond Earth. Why? Because I feel like it. Also, it expresses what I felt before quitting Elite perfectly.

    "When Coyote learned he was the only one of his kind on the new planet, his howl echoed through the rifts and off the distant hills."    … Expand
  73. AlienSpaceBats
    Apr 28, 2015
    6
    I feel bad disliking this game so much because it was a gift, but after numerous sessions I often felt frustrated and annoyed to the point where I just had quit out of the game, especially during my first ten hours.

    The game is a work in progress however, and has a long way to go. This is my second or third revision of this review, and I went from outright frustration and hate, to    I feel bad disliking this game so much because it was a gift, but after numerous sessions I often felt frustrated and annoyed to the point where I just had quit out of the game, especially during my first ten hours.

    The game is a work in progress however, and has a long way to go. This is my second or third revision of this review, and I went from outright frustration and hate, to something approaching liking it.

    Elite: Dangerous makes a terrible first impression, it does a terrible job at explaining itself and has a huge learning curve. To make things more difficult than they already are, there are some vague tutorial missions that explain some basics, and some obnoxious, barebones YouTube tutorial videos that attempt to explain *what* to do, but never *how* (familiarity with the genre helps). I found these are as useful as a wooden compass. I soon learned that I was expected to hit alt+tab to find out everything I needed to know, or check keybinds; something I had to do constantly. There is no manual; to compare, my physical copies of X2 (The Threat) and X3 (Rebirth) came with instructions the thickness of a novella, and a huge fold-out sheet listing key functions. I suppose I was lucky in a sense though, as I know people in person who play the game who I could query on the massive list of questions and issues I had with the game. One could argue that this would form a 'social' part of the game, but I like space sims, so I'm anything but social.

    A lot of effort has clearly been put into the game, it looks and sounds amazing and has the potential to be truly immersive. The universe is truly huge and the possibilities might be endless - I don't know though, because it's never explained outside of exploration, delivery jobs and combat sorties what exactly I'm able to do. There are peculiar design decisions in place that just serve to make the game more confusing and annoying, polyhedron space stations with one (hidden) letterbox docking entrance (approach vectors would be nice!), fines for every minor infraction from hovering too close to a landing pad that isn't yours (leave me alone, I'm learning to fly!), fines for spending too long exiting a station, timed docking procedures, confusing docking manoeuvres (don't you dare park the wrong way around!) to an unintuitive UI and hidden, dogpiled menus that hide crucial information from the beginner.

    Currently, I think the main problem is that the game feels like an F2P MMO as opposed to the free-roam sandbox it's supposed to be, as a participant in this game, I feel as though I've no presence or identity, just a faceless blob delivering tea to the outer reaches of space or destroying/being destroyed by the occasional pirate that attempts to interdict me.

    The experience improves over time, but from the perspective of a beginner, 20 hours may be too much an investment to simply learn the ropes.    … Expand
  74. Branko
    Apr 23, 2015
    5
    It's basically a modern remake of Elite. The multiplayer component is one of the most contrived ways of having multiplayer I have seen so far. It is essentially a single player game, and while graphics are good and flying in space is rather fun, the game is rather shallow and after some time amounts to a grindfest for the next ship.

    The crux of the matter is that there is no really    It's basically a modern remake of Elite. The multiplayer component is one of the most contrived ways of having multiplayer I have seen so far. It is essentially a single player game, and while graphics are good and flying in space is rather fun, the game is rather shallow and after some time amounts to a grindfest for the next ship.

    The crux of the matter is that there is no really meaningful multiplayer experience, and Elite is rather boring concept for a 2015 game - grind (trading being the most profitable but mind numbingly boring, combat being repetitive farming of easy to kill NPCs) to progress from ship A to ship B. This more or less summarizes the concept of the game. Once you get your ship as long as you have a bit of credits you cannot lose it. It's like Elite:Mostly Harmless And Rather Dull.

    On the upside graphics are lovely, and the feeling of space and flight are well done.    … Expand
  75. Shunduild
    Nov 19, 2015
    5
    *Not ready for prime time: 'Multi-player' lack of features feels beta. I feel a little ripped off.
    *Learning curve: Playing an ice hockey game naked on dull skates and have to score goals to collect protective gear. There is a button for everything from skate speed to the temperature of the popcorn popper in concessions. Half the opposing players are NPCs and the others are adolescent    *Not ready for prime time: 'Multi-player' lack of features feels beta. I feel a little ripped off.
    *Learning curve: Playing an ice hockey game naked on dull skates and have to score goals to collect protective gear. There is a button for everything from skate speed to the temperature of the popcorn popper in concessions. Half the opposing players are NPCs and the others are adolescent serial murderers.
    Lastly, your team mates do not know how to skate and the goal is invisible.    … Expand
  76. ireviewthings1
    May 19, 2015
    6
    Read a question about it once: "is this even a game?"
    Fair enough.
    Elite feels more like a simulator then a game. The flight mechanics are amazing. The ships just feel amazing to fly. There is a lot of micro management. Like Han Solo flicking all kinds of switches, using all kinds of systems while people who are watching you probably have no idea what the hell you are doing. Once you    Read a question about it once: "is this even a game?"
    Fair enough.

    Elite feels more like a simulator then a game. The flight mechanics are amazing. The ships just feel amazing to fly. There is a lot of micro management. Like Han Solo flicking all kinds of switches, using all kinds of systems while people who are watching you probably have no idea what the hell you are doing. Once you have a real purpose to do anything in Elite, it shines. It just feels that great as a flight simulator in space. The problem is the game part. The contextualization fall completely flat. You start with a ship and some cash with THE ENTIRE MILKY WAY to travel to. And that is all they tell you. No story, no nothing. Just a huge amount of systems, factions, wares, weapons. What you do with it is literally your problem. The lack of direction soon turns into a lack of purpose. If you manage to find some for yourself and make up your own stories like you used to do as a child with action figures, go ahead.

    Disclaimer: If I would have a Oculus Rift, it probably would have been rated higher.    … Expand
  77. Wally_Allen
    Apr 27, 2015
    6
    Ok so let me start out by saying I am a fan of this game and have been playing since beta.... with that being said.... I'm very disappointed with the graphics... all the shudders and stutters and whatnot... then noticing after setting my graphics to what I want they would get changed without me doing anything all of a sudden my graphics a subpar and it looks like a first year xbox 360Ok so let me start out by saying I am a fan of this game and have been playing since beta.... with that being said.... I'm very disappointed with the graphics... all the shudders and stutters and whatnot... then noticing after setting my graphics to what I want they would get changed without me doing anything all of a sudden my graphics a subpar and it looks like a first year xbox 360 game.... the game is buggy and shouldn't be a full release yet ... it's not ready... I would say hold out for at least 6 months to a year before you get it .... it's no different than it was in straight beta ... though my computer ran it better when it was in
    "beta"....

    really tired of game companies releasing unfinished buggy games.... for now elite dangerous get's put away ... I'll wait till it's not a glorified alpha game...

    overall frontier has dropped the ball on this and pushed it's release way before they should have... very disappointed at this point....    … Expand
  78. TGMode
    Apr 18, 2015
    7
    I played the original and it was like nothing else, you could just fly forever and I did. I loved it. Then X came along and I thought of it as an up to date Elite. That was in 1999. Now the new Elite has come along and it's a disappointment. It looks great but that's about it. I don't think it is anywhere near as good as the X games. I was disappointed with Rebirth when it first came outI played the original and it was like nothing else, you could just fly forever and I did. I loved it. Then X came along and I thought of it as an up to date Elite. That was in 1999. Now the new Elite has come along and it's a disappointment. It looks great but that's about it. I don't think it is anywhere near as good as the X games. I was disappointed with Rebirth when it first came out but they have patched it up to a good game. I hope this will happen with this game. I have quit for now after giving it a good go but there isn't enough to do. It's a huge game but it's repetitive and boring. I did see one site had titled their review "In space no one can hear you yawn". I'll keep my eye on the game and drop back in when it's finished. Till then it's back to Rebirth.… Expand
  79. Grobi
    Jun 5, 2015
    6
    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.
  80. Avadon
    May 4, 2015
    7
    "Hey, you know the X series? Let's make a game like that, but with vastly superior flight model and production values... and NONE of the depth!" Why... You know how in X you can build factory complexes and become a tycoon and eventually form your own fleet, including capital ships, and lay waste on the Xenon controlled space, with you leading the armada while piloting any ship you want?"Hey, you know the X series? Let's make a game like that, but with vastly superior flight model and production values... and NONE of the depth!" Why... You know how in X you can build factory complexes and become a tycoon and eventually form your own fleet, including capital ships, and lay waste on the Xenon controlled space, with you leading the armada while piloting any ship you want? Well, in Elite you can't do anything like that. You can only grind aimlessly, buy a good ship, and then immediately quit the game.

    At least the devs are actively making content for the game (as free patches for now). It desperately needs a full fledged expansion though, even if they charge 30$ for it, I wouldn't mind buying it, because I want this game to improve so badly, and I want a reason to come back and revisit it.

    Is it worth 50$ right at this moment? Well, if you are a spaceporn guy who gets really really excited about flying to Altair and Alpha Centauri and Fomalhaut or something (and I mean REALLY excited), then there is not much to do other than grind for months. However, the foundations for a truly amazing game are here, and it will only get better with time no doubt. But for how long and how good will it eventually be? Noone knows. If you feel like taking a gamble, go ahead. I'd say you have a good chance of eventually not regretting your investment.

    NOTE: Best with a flight stick, playable with a pad, but personally I was unable to control it with k/b+mouse. At all. It's all a deadzone conflicting nightmare. So if you all you have is kb+m, be warned.    … Expand
  81. Rudal
    May 30, 2016
    6
    great engine and amazing ground for a good game play but nothing to do
    game is boring after a couple of hours and does not reward you for playing
    you are forced to do trading if you want a new ship or upgrade the one you own cause combat and exploring does not give you enough credits
  82. Midds
    Jun 7, 2015
    7
    Elite: Dangerous is, at its core, a solid game. The flying is smooth, the visuals are great, the fighting is entertaining and the size of the game's universe is an interesting and unique aspect. Unfortunately, the amount of variety in the things you can actually do is unnecessarily limited.

    Your choices are mining, trading, bounty hunting and exploring. Unfortunately, the combat and    Elite: Dangerous is, at its core, a solid game. The flying is smooth, the visuals are great, the fighting is entertaining and the size of the game's universe is an interesting and unique aspect. Unfortunately, the amount of variety in the things you can actually do is unnecessarily limited.

    Your choices are mining, trading, bounty hunting and exploring. Unfortunately, the combat and trading (i.e the only significantly profitable ventures in the game) can become repetitive relatively quickly due to the little variety within those ventures.

    Elite: Dangerous has so much potential to be a great game, but unfortunately, that is all I am seeing. Potential.

    Nevertheless, I still have my hope that this game receives the attention it deserves from its developers.    … Expand
  83. theWhip
    Jun 3, 2015
    7
    Und Multiplayer fähig ist es auch nur eingeschränkt, wenn sich alles in Instanzen abspielt, wo wie ich hörte immer nur max. 200 Spieler + NPCs befinden.... das ist echt wenig bei 400 Mrd. Sternen....
  84. choppy
    Dec 20, 2015
    7
    Critics are right about the repetition and tedium, and supporters are right about it being the best space sim currently on the market. What both need to realize is that this is the ultimate Early Access game. In another few years, it will be a great game, but for now, it needs a huge "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" sign on everything, and it's definitely not worth paying $60 for unless you love theCritics are right about the repetition and tedium, and supporters are right about it being the best space sim currently on the market. What both need to realize is that this is the ultimate Early Access game. In another few years, it will be a great game, but for now, it needs a huge "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" sign on everything, and it's definitely not worth paying $60 for unless you love the concept of living through and supporting every baby step of development. I've played more than 200 hours, so enjoy it, but for most people I'd say save your money until this is a full game, in another three years or so.… Expand
  85. Hylus
    Dec 3, 2015
    7
    Specing a ship is fun and the graphics are great but the game is 100,000 light years wide and an inch deep. It might keep most people's attention for 10-20 hours, I suppose. Possibly less. Get's real dull, real quick. I do very much hope that future expansions improve enough upon the base game.
  86. Xzenor
    Mar 4, 2020
    6
    It's beautiful, gorgeous even. They thought of everything. But it's unplayable. the controls are simply terrible. Simple flight is no issue. Docking is peanuts. But I have not survived one single fight outside of the tutorial. That's just insane! The ship handles like turd that's trying to turn around in thick honey.

    It's my go-to game if I want to rage-quit.. it's so beautiful that I    It's beautiful, gorgeous even. They thought of everything. But it's unplayable. the controls are simply terrible. Simple flight is no issue. Docking is peanuts. But I have not survived one single fight outside of the tutorial. That's just insane! The ship handles like turd that's trying to turn around in thick honey.

    It's my go-to game if I want to rage-quit.. it's so beautiful that I want to play it but it's an unplayable game.    … Expand
  87. rockodagamer
    Nov 17, 2022
    6
    This is a really good game, the graphics are good, the gameplay is good, even the vr is sh*t! Ok but no joke the game play is really good and i personally think the flight controls are really good, the only problem i have with the controls is that your not in control. The only problem i have with the game play is that it doesnt feel like it has a story. The graphics are amazing it looksThis is a really good game, the graphics are good, the gameplay is good, even the vr is sh*t! Ok but no joke the game play is really good and i personally think the flight controls are really good, the only problem i have with the controls is that your not in control. The only problem i have with the game play is that it doesnt feel like it has a story. The graphics are amazing it looks beautifull, the planets are generated extremely well and look hand made, the optimization is also amazing and i can run this on ultra settings on 4K with an rtx 3070.

    The VR is terrible, i dont even know why they added it because it is totally useless. You gotta use your keyboard to do everything, the controllers arent used for anything, you cant sit while your in the game because then youll just clip inside of your body, you dont really get motion sick TOO fast but its still pritty bad. This feature needs to be removed because it serves no purpose besides make you sick while you play. I personally think a 6 for this game is still high but i only gave it that because the world generation and optimization is good.    … Expand
  88. sneakyc4
    Mar 13, 2021
    5
    Having now spent over 500 hours and I can say Elite is not a game, it's a boring space / loading screen simulator.

    Graphics: 9/10 Sound Design : 10/10 (it's so good you forget about the laws of physics like you re not meant to hear sound in a vaccum) Cockpit Experience 9/10 sooooo immersive, even better in VR Flight model, dynamics 9/10 it's quite fun to fly and pew pew    Having now spent over 500 hours and I can say Elite is not a game, it's a boring space / loading screen simulator.

    Graphics: 9/10

    Sound Design : 10/10 (it's so good you forget about the laws of physics like you re not meant to hear sound in a vaccum)

    Cockpit Experience 9/10 sooooo immersive, even better in VR

    Flight model, dynamics 9/10 it's quite fun to fly and pew pew

    Network: 5/10 limited to wings of 4 lots of instancing issues, almost unplayable

    Gameplay : 2/10 (very limited and inconsistent, chaotic) This is the biggest problem of this title. The game is split in many activities ( that have little to no-overlap) and gets overall very basic, repetitive and dull.You will be jumping stars and looking a lot at a loading screen and you are meant to like it!

    MMO : 0 /10 all you can do is shoot others or drop/pickup cargo ... the money in game cannot be transfered. There are lots gameplay limitation that ruins the game (cannot carry upgrades around ...) pushing players to find loopholes to get around those ... leading the dev to create more nerf / constraints to block players to do what they want = no freedom = more salt = less fun. The only impact you can have is the label of the faction controling a system or a nametag on a planet for having discovered it first. This "thing" is soporific!

    Difficulty : 3/10 there s quite a bit to learn before you feel confortable flying around., you may feel like burning your joystick while you are learning... It's really difficult to not get bored too as all the end-game content is simply hidden away behind a soul-crushing repetitive grind that will make you regret to play this game.

    If you like space games, have friends to play with, and have a lot of imagination, then this game is for you : it will provide the world for your space adventures. But don't expect too much variety in missions and activities. The bare extra-ordinary content will be created by you and what you decide to do and will always revolve around doing the same missions or shooting others.

    Space travel is soooo slow and long, this game will require a lot of patience, a lot of time just looking at a loading screen.    … Expand
  89. oneplayer
    Dec 3, 2020
    5
    The game is divided into 3 main activities.
    Exploration: Fly around scanning planets with this tool called the FSS. You can also fly closer to a planet and throw probes at it for even more money. This is fine for the first several hours but after that it is extremely repetitive and shows little to no depth in the gameplay. You use tools like "Road to Riches" to find valuable planets to    The game is divided into 3 main activities.
    Exploration: Fly around scanning planets with this tool called the FSS. You can also fly closer to a planet and throw probes at it for even more money. This is fine for the first several hours but after that it is extremely repetitive and shows little to no depth in the gameplay. You use tools like "Road to Riches" to find valuable planets to probe netting you 800-900k credits per scanned planet + 25% bonus if you hit efficiency in probing.

    Mining: Another type of activity to make money. Surface mining involves using lasers just on the surface and using limpets to grab the materials that are refined on the ship. Then you sell using tools like eddb to find the highest price. Core mining involves using a scanner to see which ones light up (as well as turn dark, and being the right shape). A lot of good tutorials on core mining and is easy if you have the credits to outfit a ship. You lay charges on fissures, blow them up, surface abrasion the surface deposit while limpets again grab minerals you then refine on the ship. Simple. But after doing this for several days, I cant see the point of grinding such monotonous gameplay.

    Combat: Played PVP in the Arena. Was OK, you unlock ships really quick and are given a variety of weapons and outfits to choose your play style. Once you have the credits from mining/exploration, you can outfit a ship for PVE. Using the many tools such as Coriolis to see all the options. Did missions hunting pirates. Fought in resource extraction sites. Decided to stop and ask myself what else by looking on Youtube. I saw nothing that called on me to continue playing. Hunting thargoids maybe?

    Engineering: Simple gather materials to "engineer" your ship components; simply means you can choose to upgrade specific things at the cost of some negative consequences. Overall your ship will be a lot stronger, faster, and can travel further. Getting this early especially a component that allows further travel (FSD) is key and simple. I used YouTube to farm a bunch of tier 5 materials easily.

    Side note: I used EDMC, EDEngineering, EDDB, INARA, several road to riches tools that all work the same, and YouTube. This game just lacks depth and fun gameplay. The new expansion Odyssey might add something worth spending money on.    … Expand
  90. blaze787
    Jul 28, 2020
    7
    Elite: Dangerous is a space sim that allows you to trade, explore, or engage in combat as you see fit and make progress (I won't exactly say "meaningful" progress) in any or all of the three. There are about 38 ships to choose from that vary by cost, and in some cases, other unlock requirements and allow a lot of customizability. Some ships are more suited to exploration, some to trading,Elite: Dangerous is a space sim that allows you to trade, explore, or engage in combat as you see fit and make progress (I won't exactly say "meaningful" progress) in any or all of the three. There are about 38 ships to choose from that vary by cost, and in some cases, other unlock requirements and allow a lot of customizability. Some ships are more suited to exploration, some to trading, and others to combat, while still others are great (but not the best) at all three. Due to the variety of tasks that you can perform, the game can get quite addictive as you spend "just one more hour" to try something else.

    While the game has a lot of breadth, it doesn't have a whole lot of depth. There isn't much of a story to speak of (you'll have to dig for the lore in the form of text or audio logs) and definitely no campaign mode. The game is a sandbox where the galaxy is your playground and you make of it what you will. This in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, the learning curve is steep. Very little is explained in-game and you'll find yourself heading to Google or YouTube quite often in an attempt to figure things out.

    You can either play in Open with other players or Solo, and herein lies the biggest drawback. Once you leave the starter areas, you'll have players in fully decked out ships that are bent on your destruction just for the fun of it. There is no Open PVE server. If you wanna play with others, be prepared to get ganked by experienced players. If you play Solo, you won't have to deal with that annoyance, but you'll be alone. The alternative is to join a Private Group where only you and other like-minded players can have fun, but then the game doesn't feel like a true MMO. If you like the idea of open PVP with ganking, the game may work for you, but these days, you'll still need a fully "engineered" ship. To put it simply, Engineering is the process of upgrading various aspects of your ship to make it a lot more powerful than it is by default. This process is a tremendous grind and not fun at all. It is tedious and will take you a long time. Die-hard fans will attempt to shoot me down for this, but that's no concern of mine. It is what it is, and as a potential new player considering purchasing this game, you deserve to know the facts.

    In my opinion, an Open PVE server will solve this problem and make the game a lot more playable, perhaps even increasing the game's fanbase as more people get to cooperate and socialize with others. Until then, the game is going to remain very restricted. A lot of players did return to try out Fleet Carriers, which are the newest addition. But there's no guarantee that most of them will actually stay once the novelty wears off. So in the end, is the game worth it? It definitely has potential. But Engineering is mind-numbing and Open PVP is a substantial deterrent for many. Those are good reasons not to waste your money.    … Expand
  91. RPG_Fanatic
    Jun 20, 2023
    5
    playing on my PC now,because the devs stopped the support on consoles,so they deserve only a 5,plus the expansion has too many bugs.
    Fun,but...........

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

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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.
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  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.
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