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. 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...........
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 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.
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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....
  26. 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 !
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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.
    Read full review
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