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. Trebonius
    Dec 29, 2014
    9
    I expected a wonderful game but I am severely disappointed. The world is vast indeed, but the 400 billion star systems are very similar and there's little entertainment to be had.
    You can forge your own path - be a trader, pirate, bounty hunter... well, you sort of do a little of almost everything anyway and what they advertised about creating your own story is a joke, there is NO story    I expected a wonderful game but I am severely disappointed. The world is vast indeed, but the 400 billion star systems are very similar and there's little entertainment to be had.
    You can forge your own path - be a trader, pirate, bounty hunter... well, you sort of do a little of almost everything anyway and what they advertised about creating your own story is a joke, there is NO story whatsoever, at least not yet.
    What's really annoying besides the "400 billion" glitches that the game has is the bounty system which is very poorly conceived. You can get attacked by an NPC and if you retaliate you get a bounty on your head for no reason, unless your attacker is marked as "wanted", and this makes life of a bounty hunter very difficult.
    Excellent graphics but in spite of my PC specs being far above Elite's recommended system requirements, the game runs far from smoothly so the game's code optimization upon release promise was not kept. God knows what sort of rig one needs for this game...
    If you haven't bought this game yet I don't recommend it, not until serious changes and fixes have been made.    … Expand
  2. LordDwyer
    Apr 3, 2015
    8
    Firstly, if you are thinking of buying this game, do the research. It is NOT and arcade shooter or a casual game. It is MASSIVE! I mean bigger than anything I have ever played. I've read some reviews that are negative, and to be fair, the majority of the negative reviews are written by morons who had no idea what they were buying.

    Graphically: It is beautiful. Depth: I'm still    Firstly, if you are thinking of buying this game, do the research. It is NOT and arcade shooter or a casual game. It is MASSIVE! I mean bigger than anything I have ever played. I've read some reviews that are negative, and to be fair, the majority of the negative reviews are written by morons who had no idea what they were buying.

    Graphically: It is beautiful.

    Depth: I'm still sinking and I am 6 months in. You can role as combat, trader or explorer and that is only down to ship loadout and option, not a class selection. Freeform is the word of the day.

    Playability: Expect a steep learning curve and remember that the forums are your friend. I use a HOTAS, keyboard and mouse. To be fair, I'm currently saving for a Wookie co-pilot.

    My only negative is that because the play space is so vast you may forget it is an MMO at times. Exploring is a lonely business, but combat if gritty and intense. Don't expect to dock at a station with a nice cutscene sequence, you land that ship yourself, controlling all aspects of your ship position.

    Anyone with less that a few weeks in game experience writing reviews is simply not qualified, and so their opinion should be immediately discounted.    … Expand
  3. Toumal
    Apr 2, 2015
    8
    There's currently a campaign going on against Elite due to the developer announcing that they are not shipping with an offline mode (They might do one lateron, but they said they can't make promises).
    If you see reviews giving 0/10 then you know you've found one of the disgruntled offline players. Did Frontier handle that whole thing well? No. However those are not reviews anymore, just    There's currently a campaign going on against Elite due to the developer announcing that they are not shipping with an offline mode (They might do one lateron, but they said they can't make promises).
    If you see reviews giving 0/10 then you know you've found one of the disgruntled offline players. Did Frontier handle that whole thing well? No. However those are not reviews anymore, just revenge attacks.

    Yes it's online only at the moment. Don't buy if you live on an oil rig with no internet connection. It's annoying that the developers basically keep all the stellar data on their servers and you need to have internet connection for the game to know what stellar bodies to generate, but that doesn't make Elite a 0/10 game. Not by a long shot.

    Elite Dangerous is an amazingly beautiful, if troubled game. The feeling of space flight has been nailed in a way that competitors will struggle to match for some time. Space really does feel big, you're not restricted to a cubical "mission area", Space is also pretty empty, but when you do get close to planets, gas giants, stars or even black holes, Elite turns into the most beautiful space game to date. There are entire websites dedicated to collecting the best screenshots from the game, and for good reason. And then you stare into space and wait for your frameshift drive to take you to a station that's quite some distance away, doing nothing. Well, almost, for there's pirates pulling you out of frameshift. But there can be stretches of boredom.

    Sound design is simply 10/10, hands down. The entire idea of your ship "generating" sounds for your situational awareness instantly solves any of the "sounds in space" issues, and the first time someone shatters your cockpit glass you'll hold your breath instinctively.

    The overall stability is good. There's a constant stream of patches with both bugfixes and major new features. Multiplayer is a bit hit and miss, with the peer-to-peer networking sometimes causing problems. These days it works most of the time, but it's still spotty at times.

    The controls are perfect. The ships are huge and have significant mass, and the game feels like it. You're not turning on a dime in Elite, since even the smaller ships are the size of a small house, and the bigger ones get up to half a kilometer long. And that without even counting the non-controllable capital ships that are several kilometers long and announce themselves with one of the most amazing warp-in effects you've ever seen in a game.

    Oh and you don't need a joystick for this game, many people including myself are happily playing with keyboard and mouse.

    Why is this only 8/10? Because once you've mastered the various activities, you realize that a lot of the long-term motivation is still missing. We've had a big update recently that does help and turns Elite into a great Coop experience, but it clearly needs more actual content, more activities to do.

    Luckily Frontier is working on new feature updates and there's even (paid) expansions adding a first person mode as well as multicrewing and flying and landing on planets coming up.

    As it is, Elite is not a 10/10 game. That said, it could end up being a 10/10 in the future, and it is wholly recommended in it's current form. It will definitely entertain you longer than any CoD game. Elite is a deeply atmospheric game with slightly spotty networking but extremely polished combat and controls. You will have a lot of "wow" moments, and the next feature update isn't too far away.    … Expand
  4. Marasmusine
    Dec 22, 2014
    8
    I am having a delightful time roaming the galaxy. There aren't many games that give me that feeling of awe from celestial bodies and the immensity of space. I'm eagerly awaiting planetary landings, so I can check out the sunsets on different moons and planets. The sound design is excellent. I guess people complaining about "grinding" or "exhausting all possibilities" just don't have thatI am having a delightful time roaming the galaxy. There aren't many games that give me that feeling of awe from celestial bodies and the immensity of space. I'm eagerly awaiting planetary landings, so I can check out the sunsets on different moons and planets. The sound design is excellent. I guess people complaining about "grinding" or "exhausting all possibilities" just don't have that spark of curiosity about our universe.… Expand
  5. L-Arkwright
    Dec 21, 2014
    8
    Hadn't read that much beforehand and played just the release version, so, coming from not having that high expectations and having liked the original - I quite fancy this game.

    Have seen some small bugs, but nothing game spoiling. Sure, it is shallow exactly on a level with the previous Elites ,and the multi-player aspects are lacking. But as I expected Elite, it is exactly that and    Hadn't read that much beforehand and played just the release version, so, coming from not having that high expectations and having liked the original - I quite fancy this game.

    Have seen some small bugs, but nothing game spoiling. Sure, it is shallow exactly on a level with the previous Elites ,and the multi-player aspects are lacking. But as I expected Elite, it is exactly that and does it brilliantly. I just love the atmosphere, sounds, fighting and mainly, the immersion. Only thing I'm concerned is the current difficulty-level: once you know how to fly well, the npcs are way too easy. I hope there will be harder challenges in the updates.
    At the core, gameplay-wise, it feels like a Euro Truck -simulator in the emptiness of the deep space, spiced with optional combat. If that sounds like your thing, it is really good. But right now, if you're looking for deep story, complicated multi-player experience or anything else than straightforward space-flight-simulation - better wait for the updates and expansions.    … Expand
  6. JigiSix
    Mar 24, 2015
    8
    (TL;DR: TRY COMBAT INSTEAD OF BORING THINGS)

    I've played Elite: Dangerous for a few hours now, and the graphics look amazing, the sound is great but the gameplay is semi-repetitive which I can understand, as I've just only started playing. I hope the gameplay will change up a bit after a few more hours. For now, it's been something like this. Step one, get to a station. Step two, get a    (TL;DR: TRY COMBAT INSTEAD OF BORING THINGS)

    I've played Elite: Dangerous for a few hours now, and the graphics look amazing, the sound is great but the gameplay is semi-repetitive which I can understand, as I've just only started playing. I hope the gameplay will change up a bit after a few more hours. For now, it's been something like this. Step one, get to a station. Step two, get a delivery mission. Step three, deliver the data and get like 700 credits (which, for those of you who don't know, doesn't get you **** Step four, repeat the process. Tried combat. Immediately killed a high value target, got quite a bit of money. Play dangerously in Dangerous, and you'll do **** amazing.    … Expand
  7. teethbits
    Mar 28, 2015
    10
    I have been having the best time of my life with my friends in the Lugh system. Testing on background simulation goes well and the recent Community Goals have made the conflict explode PVP wise (in a good way!): Blockades, combat zones, interdiction wars... all in Wings. Awesome fun.
  8. boldsirrobin
    Mar 23, 2015
    8
    I'll confess at the beginning - I was a fan of the original 1984 Elite, so I may be biased. My first impulse was to give it a 9 or 10, but that would be silly, as I agree with some of the negative comments here; l love the game in spite of its obvious faults. I give up on games very easily (because life is too short to play tedious games) but I've been playing Elite: Dangerous since theI'll confess at the beginning - I was a fan of the original 1984 Elite, so I may be biased. My first impulse was to give it a 9 or 10, but that would be silly, as I agree with some of the negative comments here; l love the game in spite of its obvious faults. I give up on games very easily (because life is too short to play tedious games) but I've been playing Elite: Dangerous since the day it came out and am still trying to squeeze time out of my busy schedule to play it, so it must have some magic.

    Pros:

    + Beautiful graphics and sound.

    + Flight - you have pitch, roll, yaw and four directions of thrust, and a choice between the default flight assist mode where the ship does more-or-less what you'd expect, and "flight assist off" where it behaves in the crazy way objects in space actually behave.

    + Combat - a variety of weapons, ships and tactics, and everything from one-on-one encounters to massive PvP+PvE battles that go on for weeks.

    + The galaxy as your sandbox.

    Cons

    - Although its better than the release version, it needs to develop multiplayer a lot more, though the latest version does have "wings" (i.e., combat teams). Teams and events tend to be organised via the forums or social media; this should be integrated into the game.

    - While player actions do affect the universe, the devs need to tweak this to work much better. Of course the actions of one player can't have a major effect on the fate of empires, or even most star systems, but there need to be certain tipping points where a system could go either way depending on what players do. One thing people like about games is the idea that their character is going to make a difference.

    - The universe is kind of homogeneous. Types of government need to have more effect on how business is done, starports need to look more different from each other, there should be rare local commodities, weird religions you can get on the wrong side of - in short, different cultures.

    - Missions are generally obtain/transport/destroy one-offs, with tiny incremental effects on your reputation. They need to feed into each other more.

    Procons (i.e., things some people will hate and others may not be bothered by or even like)

    * There's no back-story for characters or an overarching story line. You start as a blank slate, and if you're not careful, you'll continue as one.

    * Space is big. That's an advantage in many ways, but it does mean you won't run into many other players outside a few popular (and hence dangerous) locations. Sometimes nothing much happens - you can spend a long time just travelling from one place to another. It used to annoy me, and it's a deal-breaker for some people, but now I kind of enjoy the change of pace.

    * There are few limits on PvP. If some guy with an Anaconda (the biggest ship) feels like blowing your little Sidewinder out of the sky, there's nothing to stop them except the prospect of their bounty increasing, which tends not to deter pirates who have Anacondas. Even NPC fights can be absurdly one-sided (hint: don't investigate anything that says "Strong signal source"). On the plus side, you get more of a sense of danger from the game, which leads us to ...

    * Real penalties for dying. Your ship is insured, but you'll lose a lot of money, all your cargo and even cartographic information (but not any bounties on your head, unfortunately). Some people hate this; I find it adds to the excitement. Fight or flight is a serious choice.

    * It's difficult. You'll spend a long time just learning how to fly your ship, and it'll be a while before you can enter a combat zone and survive more than a few seconds. Personally I like that it's difficult, but I agree with criticisms of the learning curve. The game needs proper tutorials that talk you through things, not a few basic solo missions and links to YouTube videos.    … Expand
  9. chokecook
    Mar 28, 2015
    10
    So, this is either your game liking or it isn't.

    If it is, then this is the bstest space sim you can possibly play on a PC.

    I've basically stop playing everything else. I'm probably over 50 hours now and still just feel like I'm not even getting started, and every flight is an adventure
  10. Silencio56
    Dec 26, 2014
    8
    The game needs work and in my opinion was released too early, as there are a few pretty bad bugs right now. It's also lacking content and is in dire need of more ...everything. Having said that, what is there is excellent.

    It's difficult for me to explain why i like this game so much, i think it's because it makes me believe i'm really there. let me describe to you just one of many    The game needs work and in my opinion was released too early, as there are a few pretty bad bugs right now. It's also lacking content and is in dire need of more ...everything. Having said that, what is there is excellent.

    It's difficult for me to explain why i like this game so much, i think it's because it makes me believe i'm really there. let me describe to you just one of many moments i've had since playing. iIm in a hauler, the Elite Dangerous equivalent of a transit van, and the engines whine and moan with every adjustment to my speed or direction, the cabin shakes as i boost forward, i set course for a ringed, gas-giant, i fly down toward the rings and they become asteroids, i zip between them and i'm like a speck of dust. I kill my engines and sit there, so many stars out there, i could go and explore any of them, the giant planet looms in front of me, everything is dead silence, i actually feel fear at being so alone, but i also feel wonder at the sheer size of space.

    Ok so that's just me, but if that doesn't impress you then the fighting is awesome and the missions are horribly addictive, i just find myself sinking hour after hour into this game. ED is really cool now, albeit missing a load of stuff that we all want for it, if it gets those things in the coming few months i will upgrade my mark to a ten, because it's got more potential than a young Mike Tyson. A solid and well deserved 8 from me, a unique and beautiful experience.    … Expand
  11. celloknife
    Mar 28, 2015
    9
    The way the galaxy has been modelled with procedural generation to a dot with actual data is amazing. Travelling through it is a dream come true. After seeing so many Youtube videos of Elite explorers I had to try it out and it has not disappointed. Black hole light distorsions, nebulae, oyu name it... Being able to chase and combat wanted PC or NPC to know stars has no price.
  12. OccipitaL
    Dec 21, 2014
    8
    Gameplay is robust, sounds are absolutely amazing. It feels a little bit empty right now (well, hey it's space) due to not having any social tools/gameplay, also because there aren't really a variety in models in the game for ships and stations but it's good enough a start for me. None the less It's still a solid release. If they can improve social aspects in a short span of time it willGameplay is robust, sounds are absolutely amazing. It feels a little bit empty right now (well, hey it's space) due to not having any social tools/gameplay, also because there aren't really a variety in models in the game for ships and stations but it's good enough a start for me. None the less It's still a solid release. If they can improve social aspects in a short span of time it will be a great game to play for a long time with its coming features they promise.… Expand
  13. d33f
    Dec 19, 2014
    8
    Positive:

    Great visual and sound design, a lot of freedom to do as you please.

    Negative:

    Steep learning curve, mission descriptions could use some more details.
  14. manquepierda
    Dec 21, 2014
    9
    A true space sim sandbox, Elite is. If you are in to be a hero, dont come. But if you feel ok with making your own way to the best space ship and gear that goes with it all the way having a blast with your friends or in solo then come along!
  15. wolfy28
    Dec 16, 2014
    8
    Not a game that panders to people that want to have their hand held for story-lines. you have a galaxy, a ship and 100 credits, and now it is up to you.

    With the choice of trading, piracy, bounty hunting, mining, exploring, general or faction missions to take to improve your reputation with factions thus allowing certain other restricted ships to become available, you really make your    Not a game that panders to people that want to have their hand held for story-lines. you have a galaxy, a ship and 100 credits, and now it is up to you.

    With the choice of trading, piracy, bounty hunting, mining, exploring, general or faction missions to take to improve your reputation with factions thus allowing certain other restricted ships to become available, you really make your own storyline.

    This is not however to everyone's taste and if you prefer a standard "go here, do this, then go there and kill that" style of play, you may find this is not the game for you.

    As it stands Elite:Dangerous is a game you can lose days with, and it only looks to get better with future expansions that are planned.    … Expand
  16. Cmdr-coypu
    Mar 24, 2015
    10
    Rewarding to play as long as you know that you are going to have to invest time in learning how the Elite universe works and that you are prepared to live with the consequences of E:D's risk mechanics.
    i.e. never fly a ship you cannot afford to lose !
    HOTAS gear is not essential, I have played with mouse / keyboard since launch date - just bought a HOTAS set now for a change. The people    Rewarding to play as long as you know that you are going to have to invest time in learning how the Elite universe works and that you are prepared to live with the consequences of E:D's risk mechanics.
    i.e. never fly a ship you cannot afford to lose !
    HOTAS gear is not essential, I have played with mouse / keyboard since launch date - just bought a HOTAS set now for a change.
    The people giving this game a score of 0, after playing for weeks and then getting bored, are being rather mean-spirited I think - any game that you have played for weeks and enjoyed has been a good game I believe. Every game gets "old" after a while so it seems unfair to give E:D such a low score. I have played a lot of other great games for far fewer hours than I have spent in E:D and still considered it a good investment of my leisure time. Perhaps it is because E:D has no set "end" that people stop playing when they have got bored and some have only negative impressions at that point and have forgotten all the fun they had ? Whereas with other games once you have reached the "end" you can have a more positive closure experience.    … Expand
  17. Timyersidies
    Dec 16, 2014
    8
    In short a solid foundation is in place for a great space game so if your into flying pixel spaceships this is one to watch.

    It has an innovative approach to PVE and PVP with the same character able to choose which mode they want to play in for that session but all actions impact the same sandbox. It also does not need a subscription so you can dip in and out playing at your own pace in    In short a solid foundation is in place for a great space game so if your into flying pixel spaceships this is one to watch.

    It has an innovative approach to PVE and PVP with the same character able to choose which mode they want to play in for that session but all actions impact the same sandbox. It also does not need a subscription so you can dip in and out playing at your own pace in your own way.

    It is a sandbox game so don't expect a character story, cut scenes or linear missions. You need to use the missions and wider narrative provided by the game studio to craft a story or join in with the community who are already creating their own "Freeing Lugh" being an example.    … Expand
  18. maxiu
    Dec 22, 2014
    8
    As a person who haven't played any of the betas, don't know what they promised on kickstarter and bought the game on release date without knowing much about it I'm really enjoying it. So far I've put about 30 hours into it and I'm not bored by any stretch of the imagination. Granted the game does look a little barren and some features are flat out missing like any form of playerAs a person who haven't played any of the betas, don't know what they promised on kickstarter and bought the game on release date without knowing much about it I'm really enjoying it. So far I've put about 30 hours into it and I'm not bored by any stretch of the imagination. Granted the game does look a little barren and some features are flat out missing like any form of player interactions (except maybe crashing at docking port - thanks guys for flying close to red light) but the foundation is pretty solid and what is in the game works really well. Looking at what the game has to offer in terms of ship customization has me a bit worried because choice of available guns and modules seems to be quite limited, scrolling through the station's inventory gets you a lot of things looking exactly the same but with a different price tag. All in all the game seems to be released a little bit prematurely and you can see it's missing features straight away, but it does not stop you from playing it all day long.… Expand
  19. Namix
    Dec 16, 2014
    9
    If you want a game that tells you what to do and when, this is not the game for you. If you want a insanely massive playground, where you can pretty much do what you want, this is it.
  20. chrisfs
    Mar 21, 2015
    9
    Elite Dangerous is an futuristic, space flight "sand box" game. You play a solo character who is a small time pilot with a spaceship. You can play in several different ways. You can engage in combat, in trade between solar systems, explore new systems or mine asteroids. You can do one, some or all of these, but you don't HAVE to do any of them. I think this is one of the best aspects ofElite Dangerous is an futuristic, space flight "sand box" game. You play a solo character who is a small time pilot with a spaceship. You can play in several different ways. You can engage in combat, in trade between solar systems, explore new systems or mine asteroids. You can do one, some or all of these, but you don't HAVE to do any of them. I think this is one of the best aspects of the game because it allows for different types of people to enjoy the game. Some people aren't good at combat. In some games, that rules out the whole game, but in this game, you can prosper in the game without firing a shot and often the occasional attacker by avoiding 'bad neighborhoods' and running away. With 400 billion solar systems, there's space for a lot of different people.

    I also like it's emphasis on space travel as a thing in itself, where you need to plot courses, take fuel into account and navigate around starts and planets in order maintain the best speed. Space flight is not simply a thing between battles, it's a thing itself. Because Elite Dangerous is more than just a first person shooter in space, there is considerable learning curve at first, and there can be a good deal of time between combats (although you can always find them if you spend time with the game to find out how). It's a space game and not a shooter with space as a skin.

    When I see criticisms of it being "boring", it usually boils down to people having an expectation that it's solely a combat game (it's not) or it's a 'conquer and rule the galaxy' game which it's not as well. It's better to think of it like a "Firefly The Game" game where your focus is to trade and do missions to keep yourself flying, rather than conquer a planet and build a private empire. That's not something you can do. If people expect it to be something it;'s not , that's when I see complaints. Might as well complain that crossword puzzles have no guns.    … Expand
  21. JerTheStampede
    Jan 1, 2015
    8
    It's fair to say Elite Dangerous is far from perfect, it has it's short comings, the bitter taste of the way in which the offline mode was dropped aside there really is an empty feeling to the game due to lack of content.
    That said, the mechanics of the game are fantastic, the groundwork for a truly exceptional game are most definitely there to be built upon, Frontier in my honest opinion    It's fair to say Elite Dangerous is far from perfect, it has it's short comings, the bitter taste of the way in which the offline mode was dropped aside there really is an empty feeling to the game due to lack of content.
    That said, the mechanics of the game are fantastic, the groundwork for a truly exceptional game are most definitely there to be built upon, Frontier in my honest opinion cannot take their eye off the ball and MUST keep churning out new content and by this I mean a lot more than setting up the odd conflict zone or manipulating the legality of certain mushrooms. Things like planetary landings and being able to walk around your ship etc are all well and good but these shouldn't be the things Frontier Development concentrate on imho they need to focus very heavily on content such as multi-player tools, additional ships and variety, the milkyway isn't as simple as a copy and paste solar systems which for all intense and purposes may as well be the same ones over and over making exploration as much fun as packing fruit on a conveyor belt.

    As it stands Elite Dangerous is an awesome game trapped inside a very good game, it just needs to be encouraged to mature properly, and seeing as offline mode is history now this development is solely in the hands of Frontier Development.    … Expand
  22. Gibbonici
    Dec 20, 2014
    8
    A solid start for a game that has huge potential. It has plenty of room to grow during post-release development, and does suffer a bit from underdeveloped features and a steep learning curve. There is actually a lot of depth in the political simulation (which is still being tweaked), but a lack of tutorials and the fact that Elite: Dangerous departs from the standard economy sim is spaceA solid start for a game that has huge potential. It has plenty of room to grow during post-release development, and does suffer a bit from underdeveloped features and a steep learning curve. There is actually a lot of depth in the political simulation (which is still being tweaked), but a lack of tutorials and the fact that Elite: Dangerous departs from the standard economy sim is space model means that some players may miss it. But at its heart, it's a game of discovery, not only in the literal sense of exploring the insanely huge galaxy, but also in finding out how that galaxy works.
    It has no campaign as such, but Frontier are injecting story "hooks" in the form of events which players can get involved with and influence the outcomes of. The current storyline is a struggle for the Imperial throne. As well as the injected storylines, others naturally develop as a consequence of the many thousands of local factions goals and statuses, and how players respond and interact with them.
    As an MMO, it's radically different to what the term usually implies. There are a massive number of players in the same persistent galaxy, all of whom have an influence on it, but the galaxy is so huge that it can be quite rare to meet other players. The game doesn't artificially force players together, so you'll need to make more of an effort than is usual if you do want to play with other people. There are also no standard MMO features at the time of writing, so guilds, parties and chat channels are absent - though they'll be developed as time goes on.
    But what the game does right now, it does very well. The flight model is fun, there are plenty of different activities to engage in, the background simulation brings a lot of unusual (and often overlooked) detail to the proceedings, and the galaxy model is a work of art. If you've played previous versions of Elite, you'll have a good feel for the game and where it is heading.
    It is, however, a niche game and always will be. It follows its own path within the space sim genre and is very different in feel, aim and effect to EvE or the X games, and this may throw some players until they get a handle on the Elite-style gameplay.
    As previously mentioned, the game will benefit from post-release development (which is relatively common these days for large-scale multiplayer games), so if you're looking for a fully featured game, I'd say leave it for perhaps six months before buying it. If you're happy to get in early and be part of the game as it grows and unfolds, then go for it. What is there right now is solid, stable and immensely playable even though there is plenty more to be added to it.
    A    … Expand
  23. dmstubbs
    Dec 16, 2014
    8
    Been looking forward to this for 20 years. It's not perfect but with more development to come this is going to be fantastic.

    Looking forward to when the storyline starts.
  24. Mattyboy1509
    Mar 23, 2015
    10
    To be honest I am a fanboi but I do have to say up until 1.2 a slightly embarrased fanboi who didnt play it that often. However its now good and shaping up to get even better. Although you do have to actually find a thrill in drifting among the stars and being in space ! I do luckily.
  25. kifriman
    Dec 16, 2014
    10
    This is a true sequel to original Elite, absolutely Fantastic! Frontier have created the whole Milky Way galaxy to our playground! The graphics are incredibly beautiful, you can feel the scale of the galaxy when flying around in your ship. You start with small ship and begin to earn credits to get bigger ship to match your play style, it can be a pirate ship trying to steal cargo fromThis is a true sequel to original Elite, absolutely Fantastic! Frontier have created the whole Milky Way galaxy to our playground! The graphics are incredibly beautiful, you can feel the scale of the galaxy when flying around in your ship. You start with small ship and begin to earn credits to get bigger ship to match your play style, it can be a pirate ship trying to steal cargo from others while avoiding bounty hunters that want to cash in bounty on your head or you can carry cargo and trade them between star systems to get better price than you paid for it. The choice is yours!… Expand
  26. rupok93
    Dec 22, 2014
    9
    The game is great and FD are adding more and more content by the day. Explore space, trade rare goods, do some bounty hunting, smuggle some goods you pirated, buy new ships, etc. Its about the journey not about how fast you can grind to an anaconda ship. Some people on here are mad the game isn't casualized, the game doesn't hold your hand AT ALL!. There are normal tutorials like docking,The game is great and FD are adding more and more content by the day. Explore space, trade rare goods, do some bounty hunting, smuggle some goods you pirated, buy new ships, etc. Its about the journey not about how fast you can grind to an anaconda ship. Some people on here are mad the game isn't casualized, the game doesn't hold your hand AT ALL!. There are normal tutorials like docking, and combat but thats it. You have to figure out the game mechanics yourself and that is very rewarding once you do. Whether you saw some guy on reddit post about best mining locations or you met a commander(real player) tell you about a rare trading route, its all very cool to figure these things out that aren't labeled "GO TO THIS OBJECTIVE".

    What I suggest to new players is to ask around what actions get a bounty on your head because a lot of new players expect the game to be unforgiving when they come in but its not... You can easily amass 100k worth of bounties cause you did illegal things. Ill list some things that get you bounties:

    Some tips to avoid bounties:
    - If you are not in an "anarchy" govt system (you can check govt, factions,etc in the galaxy map) attacking clean ships (you can check this after scanning them) will net you a bounty, killing them gives you a much bigger bounty.

    - If you find goods laying around and pick them up getting scanned by federal security ships will net you a huge fine for carrying stolen goods, thus to sell these you should go to a place with low security (check galaxy map) or there are specific manuevers to smuggle them into stations (one is to be around 7km away from entrance of station and very fast go in the station doors because once you are inside fed ships cannot scan you). You sell goods like this at the black market under the "contacts" tab in many stations.

    -Do not do the missions which as you to kill civilian or trading ships, these net you a bounty far bigger than the payout, the only reason to do these is to get higher with the specific group that is giving you the mission.

    Some early game tips for new players:
    - Do hauling missions when you first start out under the "bulletin board" in stations, these are quick easy and safe starting money.

    - ALWAYS ALWAYS ask for docking permission from stations before going in otherwise they WILL SHOOT YOU after a given period. To do this go under your contacts tab on the left UI of your ship and clicking on the station, ask for docking permission. Check which dock number you are assigned and land there, take out your landing gear (L on pc) before landing. trying to land in wrong one will land you infraction and get you killed.

    - DO not shoot near stations, they will kill you instantly. You will see a message saying that a place is a "no fire zone".

    -Before jumping to another part of space you have to retract hardpoints (weapons,landing gear, cargo hold) otherwise you cannot jump. you can check if landing gear and cargo hold are out on the bottom right. U is to deploy or retract weapons. Also you cannot jump if you are "mass locked" meaning you are too close to a station, keep getting further away until you are not mass locked anymore.

    -When you are buying parts for your ship check your power consumption on the right, if your power consumption exceeds supplied, your ship will turn off stuff like life support or shields when deploying things like weapons ( you can sort of get around this by setting unneeded things to lower priority on the right UI but its better to get a bigger powerplant.

    -when you are buying parts check your FSD jump distance, this laden is when your cargo is at max, unladen is when its not. Make sure you don't make this too low and can't jump anywhere (check galaxy map to see how far things are. You can increase this by buying lower mass parts, better thrusters or by getting a better fsd drive.

    - REMEMBER TO REFUEL. You can buy a fuel scoop which lets you get fuel by going close to starts but its very dangerous. you can refuel at any nearby stations. IF you run out of fuel to jump in deep space with no station nearby, you are screwed. Just self destruct on the right otherwise you will just die a slow painful death.

    Thats all I can think of for now. Hopefully it helps a new ED player looking on here for reviews.
    GOOD LUCK COMMANDER!    … Expand
  27. frontiertales
    Dec 21, 2014
    9
    Just downloaded the game a bit late to get the mercenary edition but got the advantage of a group of friends already with beta and gamma experience, so got tons of help etc.

    Suffice to say I am really sad I took this long to get the game...
  28. tomgoossens
    Dec 22, 2014
    9
    A game for people who do not need hand-holding, Elite: Dangerous is a worthy successor in the old Elite line of games. Start with a small ship and a handfull of credits and explore the universe.
  29. twobeers
    Dec 23, 2014
    10
    Been waiting 20 odd years since Elite II for this and its epic. It will only get better with more content, Ignore the refund moaners watch the youtube videos and judge for yourself.
  30. JL11
    Dec 29, 2014
    9
    This is the most fun I have had in a PC game in years. Elite has that "just want to play for a few more minutes until it is 4:00 in the morning factor". While more content is needed it is fun as it is and Frontier is hard at work with addition free content and eventually paid add ons, such as first person and planet landing. I highly recommend Elite Dangerous.
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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.
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