Endless Space

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 566 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 345 out of 566
  2. Mixed: 151 out of 566
  3. Negative: 70 out of 566

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  1. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    7
    Fun 4x game with a great fantasy to sell but ultimately falls short feels limited. Cinematic battles are cool but ultimately finnicky and hard to get a grip on. planet development is good but feels... limited for an interstellar civilization
  2. Tomicsavo
    Feb 17, 2020
    5
    It was free. I don't like sci-fi so much, but it's good.-------------------
  3. DuhDude
    Mar 29, 2019
    6
    One problem with this game that I never see mentioned is the OP human v. AI when it comes to battles. You somewhat get to pick which of the AI ships you want your ships to target, which is great, but you also get to pick which of your ships you want the AI to target, which is weird and completely unfair. You can just have 2-3 tank ships in every fleet that are loaded with nothing but hitOne problem with this game that I never see mentioned is the OP human v. AI when it comes to battles. You somewhat get to pick which of the AI ships you want your ships to target, which is great, but you also get to pick which of your ships you want the AI to target, which is weird and completely unfair. You can just have 2-3 tank ships in every fleet that are loaded with nothing but hit points, repair modules, armor, and defenses while all of your other ships can just be bristling with weapons since they never need to worry about being shot at.… Expand
  4. GolovA
    Jun 19, 2018
    7
    Good 4X.

    Although if you are not waging war, gameplay becomes somewhat boring, since you cannot overtake Star System any other way, such as through influence.

    Good 4X.
  5. dinin70
    Feb 10, 2016
    7
    Oh my god... I decided to step in after reading so many negative reviews of people losing in Medium Difficulty (go back to Civilization 5 pleaaase) or playing in Easy (do you really excpect challenge in easy?)

    The game is for me a 7. Pros: I've never seen a game providing you such a wonderful user friendly interface. It's is incredibly well done. Even with 30 systems, and LOADS of    Oh my god... I decided to step in after reading so many negative reviews of people losing in Medium Difficulty (go back to Civilization 5 pleaaase) or playing in Easy (do you really excpect challenge in easy?)

    The game is for me a 7.

    Pros: I've never seen a game providing you such a wonderful user friendly interface. It's is incredibly well done. Even with 30 systems, and LOADS of armies, you can quickly see everything that is going on and plan you moves according to the situation. This is where it clearly crushes Galactic Civilization in which, at later game stages, you were completely overrun by a ridiculously high number of armies and systems to manage in an unfriendly manner. A bit like in Civilization IV, where at later stage, you have TOO MUCH of everything.

    This is really where Endless Space excels: the interface, I repeat myself I know, is well made that you could have 100 systems and 100 fleets, and even if you are overwhelmed of information, you can quickly figure out what to do, and, most importantly, you do it quickly and easily.

    But make no mistake, this is NOT an easy game and requires you a very high degree of thinking.

    The game however falls TOO short in two aspects:

    1. combat is just awful. You can customize your ships very easily and create armies based on the strategy you want to follow and it's GREAT on that side. But once the battle starts, it's really a rock-paper-scissors that anyway has a few impact on battle... Pitty... It's better no doing anything, engaging the battle and see how it goes (like in Civilization). Anyway in Endless Space 2, combat system looks GREAT.

    2. this is the worse part: IMMERSION is ZERO!!! While Endless Legend provides a great immersion, one of the best I ever saw side by side with Dominions, Endless Space looks completely empty... You don't feel in ANY way connected to your empire. As Total Biscuit says, the game is well made it is fade... What do I mean: you pick up a Race, you play a certain strategy and all races are different enough and provide a different gameplay experience. The "Play" is different, yes, but the "Feel" is non existent... No images; no architecture whatsoever, ships barely different on Map (in battle you don't really care)...

    PLEASE ADD SOME FEELING!!    … Expand
  6. Muramas
    Oct 13, 2015
    5
    Good intentions but a bad game.

    The game looks pretty but certain UI elements work against itself with ships not being clickable at times or unresponsive. The AI is pretty aggressive and can do stuff that you cant such as move ships in your area but you can't do the same (no notice of war prior to move) and high levels of micromanagement that doesn't give much feedback than the popup    Good intentions but a bad game.

    The game looks pretty but certain UI elements work against itself with ships not being clickable at times or unresponsive. The AI is pretty aggressive and can do stuff that you cant such as move ships in your area but you can't do the same (no notice of war prior to move) and high levels of micromanagement that doesn't give much feedback than the popup notifications at end of turn.

    The Bad
    -Combat falls on its face with a interface that has good intentions but ends up being difficult to use, best fleet trumps all type of battle style.
    -Needing to go into each planet to change its custom setting, change planet type or remove negative traits.
    -When research or building is done and queue is empty the game will not do anything to notify you.
    -Moons are mostly useless
    -Influence is useless
    -Luxury Resources are a bit confusing
    -Mood (purple buildings) have such a huge impact on the production, either they are building slow or everyone is 100% happy. This needs more of a happy medium.

    The good:
    -Being able to remove negative planet traits was nifty idea.    … Expand
  7. NathanAllen
    Mar 13, 2015
    5
    It's not terrible, it's not good. That basically sums it up. Three years later and some basic features still not implemented . Influence is just there so you can waste research points until you figure out there's no real need for it. No real espionage. There are still typos in some descriptions and the tutorial. Just doesn't seem like a fleshed out 4X. It's enjoyable only because IIt's not terrible, it's not good. That basically sums it up. Three years later and some basic features still not implemented . Influence is just there so you can waste research points until you figure out there's no real need for it. No real espionage. There are still typos in some descriptions and the tutorial. Just doesn't seem like a fleshed out 4X. It's enjoyable only because I got it cheap.… Expand
  8. zombiechan
    Feb 11, 2015
    7
    I find it to be a good turn based space strategy game. Though I couldn't get most of my friends to pick it up, I did enjoy playing against the AI.

    The combat mechanics are interesting, but can't say I'm a huge fan of it. I wish this game had the same combat as Endless Legends.
  9. Vorpal_SF
    Dec 29, 2014
    7
    I had high hopes for Endless Space, since the space-based 4X genre is my favorite. The game ended up leaving me a bit disappointed. It's good, I guess, but really feels limited. It marries a well-executed strategic empire management game to a paper-thin tactical space combat engine. To be honest, the space combat seems like an idea that just didn't succeed, so the developers threw in theI had high hopes for Endless Space, since the space-based 4X genre is my favorite. The game ended up leaving me a bit disappointed. It's good, I guess, but really feels limited. It marries a well-executed strategic empire management game to a paper-thin tactical space combat engine. To be honest, the space combat seems like an idea that just didn't succeed, so the developers threw in the visuals because they'd already done the work. If this was the space combat they envisioned from the start, I really wonder why they bothered. The "manual" combat mode leaves you basically as an observer with almost no control over the battle once it's begun (other than ordering a retreat that, due to the mechanics of the game, would almost certainly come too late to be useful). The combat mechanics are disappointing as well. While you get to design your ships (a must for any game in this genre, IMO) the design choices are really only reflected in the power ratings for your ships, So, all your research basically just increases the numbers a ship has, but not its play style or tactics. The tactics themselves are basically a set of rock-scissors-paper decisions (beam-projectile-missile and long-medium-short range). They only play into the game pre-battle, when you pick tactics. So, the tactical combat basically just ends up being empires throwind ever-larger stacks of ships against each other to compare numbers and have one side win.

    The strategic game is better, but except for the setting (a universe in which a powerful elder race came before you and left ruined wonders) it's basically like every other space game. The developers seemed to want to create variety through many different playable races, but they all basically play the same, so it doesn't work.

    All in all, it scratched my sci-fi 4X itch for a while, though not particularly satisfyingly. The 7 I'm giving it is pretty soft, but I did play through several times on escalating difficulty levels, hoping for more depth and challenge (I never found it). It treads the same path as Master of Orion, though not quite as well. For my money, if you want a space-based 4X game, the gold standard is the indie series "Space Empires". SE is not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the best combination of a strong strategic game with a functional tactical one.    … Expand
  10. snowbert87
    Dec 12, 2014
    7
    Endless Space is a capable turn based strategy and civilization game that suffers from late game boredom. Every time I come back to this game and get started I'm excited about my racial features and exploration. mapping the galaxy, forming new colonies and growing in the different development trees is fun. The game boasts enough complexity to make my choices matter, without being soEndless Space is a capable turn based strategy and civilization game that suffers from late game boredom. Every time I come back to this game and get started I'm excited about my racial features and exploration. mapping the galaxy, forming new colonies and growing in the different development trees is fun. The game boasts enough complexity to make my choices matter, without being so confusing that I spend all my time looking stuff up on forums and wikis.

    The goal of the game is to achieve victory through, economic, exploration, population, diplomatic, militaristic or natural wonder conditions. Different species are more suited to different victory conditions and have strengths and drawbacks that give depth and meaning to my choices. These victories all center on reaching new star systems and colonizing planets. Each planet based on it's planet type and what each player constructs on it will support the empire differently. There are about 10 types of planets and some planets have positive or negative attributes associated with them. For instance a planet might have acid rain which decreases food production or it might be mineral rich increasing money generated from factories on the planet. I have also been excited to find some rare specific planets that have wonders on them like a giant living tree or a polar workshop. These special planets are rare and most galaxy's (game boards) only have 1 of each type. The exploration and colonization of galaxies is definitely the game's, strongest and for me, most enjoyable aspect.

    Endless Space looks pretty good however the graphics are primarily a 2D game board with ships moving like pieces on it. The star system and planet UI is straight forward and accessible to use. The ship battle cut scenes are out of place. they felt unnecessary and too drawn out for my taste. In ship to ship combat you can pre-select orders for each of the 3 battle phases and then see the results which skips the cut-scenes. It was rare that my choices during ship battles felt very meaningful. I either had a lone colonization or explorer ship that I immediately retreated with, or I had a bunch of warships that defeated whatever they came across. Perhaps I didn't draw enough militaristic enemies in my different play-throughs of the game, but other ships never changed how I played my games.

    My biggest concern with the game is that one victory condition seems to be more easily attainable than all the others. The economic victory is a simple matter of achieving X gold based on how big the galaxy is and how many players there are. Other victories force players to endure the long task of completing entire discovery trees, or the slow monotonous over taking of the galaxy which requires tens of turns per star system to do. The diplomatic, scientific, wonder and expansion victories are all much harder to complete than the economic or supremacy victory.

    Endless Space did allow me to tailor each game to only allow for certain types of victories to actually count. In fact I can customize almost every part of the game before it starts. There was a little piece of me that really didn't want to change how victory came because I felt like it was a way of turning the difficulty down. I won't say that this issue ruined the game for me, but ti took me a while to get over and is why I think this game is more of a 7 and less of a 9.    … Expand
  11. timujin
    Mar 10, 2014
    7
    Bottom Line:
    if you are looking for a game that has a beautiful package you will enjoy this title.
    if you are looking for a game with depth / challenge this one is not for you. p.s. there is the multiplayer option i hadn't played Pros: -Graphics -Plenty of options to randomize the generated universe or your race -Replay-ability -GUI is fluent and of great design Cons    Bottom Line:
    if you are looking for a game that has a beautiful package you will enjoy this title.
    if you are looking for a game with depth / challenge this one is not for you.

    p.s. there is the multiplayer option i hadn't played

    Pros:

    -Graphics
    -Plenty of options to randomize the generated universe or your race
    -Replay-ability
    -GUI is fluent and of great design

    Cons
    -Unsatisfying combat
    -After 10 hours of game-play the O.S.T might annoy you.
    -Poor AI
    -Poor Balance, some tactics / weapons etc.. much more powerful / useful then others
    -You will not feel much room for decisions. some times you will find yourself just clicking end turn button until you win.

    On normal difficulty level, i won several times just by building the right building according to the planet / system researching the cheapest tech each time and attacking the weakest AI neighbour. Basically the AI is so bad, and there is so little strategic depth to this game that by following several rules of a thumb a cat can beat the AI.

    On higher difficulty level, AI gets bonuses, to overcame them you will need to look for the OP weapons / techs / race bonuses to win. Meaning your choice of tactics narrows to 20% of the OP things out of all what the game has to offer.    … Expand
  12. Fyrestorm3
    Dec 31, 2013
    5
    It's not a bad game, per se, but the learning curve is astronomical (pun intended). There's also a distinct lack of in-game information; the tutorials do a good job of explaining what all the buttons do, but leave out so many crucial pieces of information that you'll constantly find yourself Googling what should be basic questions about the game. It would have been nice to know that theIt's not a bad game, per se, but the learning curve is astronomical (pun intended). There's also a distinct lack of in-game information; the tutorials do a good job of explaining what all the buttons do, but leave out so many crucial pieces of information that you'll constantly find yourself Googling what should be basic questions about the game. It would have been nice to know that the "wavy" planetary connections are wormholes, and require advanced technology to navigate, or that ships only repair themselves when in combat or in friendly territory.

    The in-game notifications and tooltips don't help much, either. It's so hard to determine exactly what you'll unlock when choosing what new technologies to research; the tech tree explains what things are just fine, but it has serious trouble telling you what they do. This extends to all facets of the game. Nothing seems intuitive; instead, it all seems designed for someone already familiar with the gameplay. This is a major problem, because the game has so much to do, and so much to understand, that new players absolutely need their hands held during their first few games. It's primarily for this reason that I found myself absolutely unable to get into the game.

    There's some minor gameplay issues as well (the combat is fairly unimaginative), but overall, it plays fine... if you know what you're doing. Exploring the galaxy is plenty of fun, but be prepared for some serious trial-and-error and many moments that will leave you scratching your head and/or Googling for an answer. If you're looking for this kind of strategy game, I'd recommend Civilization V instead.    … Expand
  13. vence
    Dec 23, 2013
    6
    Boring game, you are supposed to lead your civilization into the galactic age searching for some ancient race or something but everything is so abstract you just don't care anymore after a few turn and you just keep playing like a zombie, even fighting use a paper-rock-scissor system to resolve battles and you can not witness your mighty battle steeds clashing in glorious battle
  14. KingMob4313
    Aug 23, 2013
    7
    Possibly the best successor to Master of Orion 2, even better than Galactic Civilization 1.

    ...If it didn't completely fall apart in the last half of the game. The game is very easy to master and best even on the highest difficulties. The game is in serious need of balancing (Favors expansion far too much) and the tech tree provides too little bang for your buck. Still, if you're    Possibly the best successor to Master of Orion 2, even better than Galactic Civilization 1.

    ...If it didn't completely fall apart in the last half of the game. The game is very easy to master and best even on the highest difficulties. The game is in serious need of balancing (Favors expansion far too much) and the tech tree provides too little bang for your buck.

    Still, if you're looking for your x4 fix and you've completely exhausted MOO2 and you find the humor makes Galactic Civ 1 feel too lightweight for you, this might be your game.    … Expand
  15. billybobdiddly
    Jul 19, 2013
    7
    Started off with a lot of potential. Felt a lot like a space-based Civ V, in a good way. I liked it. I was just getting into it when the battles started. That's when it began to unravel for me. The battle system for individual battles is OK, I get how it's supposed to work. But there isn't a way to defend your territory. Enemy ships get to blow by my fleet like it's not even there. So, IStarted off with a lot of potential. Felt a lot like a space-based Civ V, in a good way. I liked it. I was just getting into it when the battles started. That's when it began to unravel for me. The battle system for individual battles is OK, I get how it's supposed to work. But there isn't a way to defend your territory. Enemy ships get to blow by my fleet like it's not even there. So, I have to cover every one of my planets with large fleets to defend them, meanwhile endlessly chasing the enemy around? Lost me at that point.… Expand
  16. Cailore
    Jul 17, 2013
    5
    It is a pretty game, until it crashes, and it will.

    The "strategy" is next to non-existent as you try to out spread AI players in an endless slog of waiting after pushing the "end turn" button.

    So very much wasted potential, doesn't live up to the Master of Orion comparison.
  17. Vasot
    Apr 30, 2013
    5
    AWFUL BATTLE SYSTEM THAT COMPLETELY RUINS A MAJOR PART OF THE GAME The battles are pre-render boring cutscenes and you have to use cards in battles. Why they made the battle system into something like Yu-Gi-Oh is beyond me. Tthe battles are a complete turn-off from my point of view As for the rest of the game (economy, colonization etc) fortunately it is better but everything you do inAWFUL BATTLE SYSTEM THAT COMPLETELY RUINS A MAJOR PART OF THE GAME The battles are pre-render boring cutscenes and you have to use cards in battles. Why they made the battle system into something like Yu-Gi-Oh is beyond me. Tthe battles are a complete turn-off from my point of view As for the rest of the game (economy, colonization etc) fortunately it is better but everything you do in the game feels like a chore somehow. After playing some hours i got bored with the game. Does not have the same kind of addiction like MOO2 had it becomes "stale" after playing some hours with it… Expand
  18. Quellor
    Mar 18, 2013
    5
    I've purchased the game, based on some user reviews and the video content of game play. From what I see, it's a turn based game similar to Civilization 3. No graphic display of combat. I'm a bit disappointed and I feel a bit mislead by the video with regards to fleet combat. Combat is a bit like some card based game, use hero cards mixed with action cards and boom, win or lose after aI've purchased the game, based on some user reviews and the video content of game play. From what I see, it's a turn based game similar to Civilization 3. No graphic display of combat. I'm a bit disappointed and I feel a bit mislead by the video with regards to fleet combat. Combat is a bit like some card based game, use hero cards mixed with action cards and boom, win or lose after a click. Some of the game shows polish with art and concept, but there is no game beyond micro managing star systems and Pokimon style combat. I choose you Defence Frigate, use tactic 1 for +10% combat strength and use Captain card for a +15% bonus. Lets see, looks good, click and lose... Just glad it was on sale.… Expand
  19. Boltfrowah
    Feb 28, 2013
    7
    Played this game recently and it wasn't too bad. I agree that there is a bit of lacking in the depth area, both in content as well as the races. The combat system was a bit redundant in that I grew quickly tired of the same battle cutscenes time and time again. The tech tree is just all over the place. And the AI pose little to no threat on a consistent basis. While this game did have somePlayed this game recently and it wasn't too bad. I agree that there is a bit of lacking in the depth area, both in content as well as the races. The combat system was a bit redundant in that I grew quickly tired of the same battle cutscenes time and time again. The tech tree is just all over the place. And the AI pose little to no threat on a consistent basis. While this game did have some potential, it's replay-ability was pretty much in the shallow end.… Expand
  20. Kanazawa
    Jan 27, 2013
    5
    It's okay. Really there's just not anything special about this 4X game. I wanted to enjoy it, but it ended up being really repetitive once I got the hang of the game. The same strategies are usually used to win every game, and there's not much difference. The maps are too small even at the largest size. I wish it were more entertaining, but it feels like it's missing too much.
  21. Orctownorc
    Dec 29, 2012
    6
    This game has elegant design and a nice progress system for developing colonies and terraforming planets. Good luck trying to actually win a game though if you want to be peaceful. There are numerous victory conditions and NONE of them are EXPLAINED. It's a game based on building the biggest space empire possible yet if you expand you are BRUTALLY PUNISHED with DISAPPROVAL. Why? Um,This game has elegant design and a nice progress system for developing colonies and terraforming planets. Good luck trying to actually win a game though if you want to be peaceful. There are numerous victory conditions and NONE of them are EXPLAINED. It's a game based on building the biggest space empire possible yet if you expand you are BRUTALLY PUNISHED with DISAPPROVAL. Why? Um, because people don't want to be part of a large successful empire?????? You can "Choose" eight factions, only there are no choices beyond the selection. You are stuck with a horrible generic race portrait, and cannot choose any variants skill sets from the set-piece. All the science choices in the game unlock a vast number of system enhancements yet only a few of these, such as the one that allows travel through wormholes, are actually worth getting. And while there are dozens of "possible" play styles and victory conditions offered. All of them are a waste ot time, as the AI cheats and will beat you on even the easiest difficulty setting, and by huge margins if you waste your time hunting for an 'economic' science' or 'wonder' victory. The best and only way to come out on top in this game is find an ally and go to war. attack the other factions as soon as you can, develop as many war-techs and build as many ships as you can afford and destroy everyone else. When your enemies are dead betray and attack your ally. Diplomacy and trade in this game and undeveloped and joyless. The tech tree is a vast forest of useless distractions giving you literally hundreds of ways to improve your planetary systems which will be lost if you can't fight to hold them. Endless Space seems to have the makings of a good game. And it may get there with more patching and playtesting. For now you can summarize how much fun this is to play by the facts visible in the steam achievment screen: Less than 12% of gamers who bought this game have played more than 10 turns of it. They were the wise ones who quit while they were ahead. After 300 turns in 4 lost games I still can't figure out how it is the AI be trading tech or whatver it is they are doing behind the scenes that gives them such massive score boosts, such superiority in all development areas and such massive fleets. Something is wrong with this game. At present it is more frustrating than enjoyable, and it needs, if nothing else some kind of INSTRUCTIVE tutorial that actually illustrates the principles of winning. As a side note, I actually love the combat card system. The game gets many things right and could be sublime if the developers either explain how to play better, or re-code it to support the less aggressive victory types… Expand
  22. suneater
    Dec 26, 2012
    7
    4X turn-based strategy with a focus on economy & tactics. The music is very immersive and changes based on where you are in the game (planetary view, shipyard, etc.). Combined with the crisp, clean visuals the devs have found a way to make the sterile menu navigation somehow not boring. Sadly this charm can only last so long since most of the game is spent digging through menus trying to4X turn-based strategy with a focus on economy & tactics. The music is very immersive and changes based on where you are in the game (planetary view, shipyard, etc.). Combined with the crisp, clean visuals the devs have found a way to make the sterile menu navigation somehow not boring. Sadly this charm can only last so long since most of the game is spent digging through menus trying to balance your empire on a see-saw. The biggest graphical disappointment is how "flat" the galaxy feels; there are eye-catching planetary views when zoomed into a star but from above it feels like playing a board game. Although there is combat, there is an "Auto" mode that lets you pre-load commands so many battles end up playing themselves. Even with the wealth of tooltips, many basic game features are hard to grasp, such as the seven victory conditions. The devs have been working hard to improve the game but the current tutorial is really barebones and is basically popup screenshots that explain things that the tooltips already show.

    Endless Space is a highly customizable sandbox in space that offers you many unique ways to conquer the galaxy (or not at all; you can disable all victory conditions). A work in progress worth picking up if you can handle the difficulty and steep learning curve.    … Expand
  23. ianx50
    Dec 21, 2012
    6
    I felt this game could have used more micromanagement. Most similar to Master of Orion III. I played both Master of Orion two and three, and while MoO II was an excellent game, 10/10 would play for the rest of eternity, MoO III fell short. Why? No micromanagement. Same thing goes for Endless Space.
  24. Necrotaur
    Dec 19, 2012
    6
    I came into Endless Space expecting something like Civilization meets Sins of a Solar Empire, and... well, I don't know what I got. It plays very similarly to Civ in that it's turn based, has a tech tree, and you direct your 'civ' through their first steps into colonizing other planets, but that's about where the similarities end. The biggest surprise for me was finding battles are foughtI came into Endless Space expecting something like Civilization meets Sins of a Solar Empire, and... well, I don't know what I got. It plays very similarly to Civ in that it's turn based, has a tech tree, and you direct your 'civ' through their first steps into colonizing other planets, but that's about where the similarities end. The biggest surprise for me was finding battles are fought through a 'card' system as opposed to something more tactical. Perhaps it was a bad assumption on my part, but it's not mentioned in the game description and the screenshots seem to indicate otherwise, so it's something to be aware of. The rest of the game (tech tree, economy, even ship designing) is pretty shallow once you get past the technobabble. Researching Xenobiology sounds cool the first time, but soon you'll realize about 3/4 of the entire tech tree just give +1 to a particular stat in a star system, and research loses a lot of shine. The biggest disappointment: 90% of the game is spent staring at the galaxy map clicking 'end turn'. On the plus side, graphics during the combat portion are pretty nice, and I enjoyed the random events which pop up from time to time. So, I don't know, Endless Space isn't bad, but then again, it's not all that great, either.… Expand
  25. Shadowbane
    Dec 3, 2012
    5
    This review is only of Single Player.

    I am going to start this review off by simply going through a match adding in the ups and downs. You begin by going through and either picking a race to play or creating your own. I found the premade races to be a bit generic, with only a few fresh races. Upon creating m own race I ran into m first few disappointments. 1st: Your race will have the    This review is only of Single Player.

    I am going to start this review off by simply going through a match adding in the ups and downs. You begin by going through and either picking a race to play or creating your own. I found the premade races to be a bit generic, with only a few fresh races. Upon creating m own race I ran into m first few disappointments. 1st: Your race will have the generic ship look of one of the premade races of your choice. You will not get to customize your races ships past conforming to a premade race style. Also your picture/portrait will also have to be a premade races portrait. Both of these things slightly irritated me from the start as my United Federation of Planets had no style of it's own. Moving on during race creation there is a ton of traits/skills/cultural things you can add to your race or take away. You can also use this system to give advantages or disadvantages to your home planet. I found this system to be very creative and well though up. You can even going into the negative in some aspects to get a higher bonus in others. Getting into the game I noticed the GFX were ok, the menu system and interface was easy enough to use as well. The tutorial while somewhat bland did indeed show me the basic ins and outs of the game systems. I will also add that the story line was non-existent. You just in a galaxy with a whole bunch of races who apparently just want to beat the other race or something. You then start playing with a couple ships to colonize and scout other systems out. One of the first positive things I found was that if you had a colony in a system you could use that planet to colonize other planets in the same system this is a boon as I would not have to build a ship for each planet. Early phase of the game is basically a scramble to colonize as many systems as you can, and to explore as much of the galaxy as possible. Each solar system that has not been explored by any factions has some sort of exploration event. These events tended to bore me as I seemed to always get the same one aka finding another scout ship out of magic land. Also it is worth noting when you meet another race early on you start as cold war status. This basically means they kill every ship of yours they see until you or them research peace through the research trees. Some reason every1 is just out to kill each other in this galaxy for no reason. During the mid game you will be focusing on upgrading solar systems and planets. Every planet can be exploited in one way be it for food (farms) labor (factory) money (called dust, and you never get a good explanation of exactly what it is) or science. Solar systems get a large amount of upgrades that require money, and labor. You can unlock better planet exploits and better solar system upgrades through the research trees. During mid game you are bound to get into combat. There is always one race that hates you no matter what, and you will be forced to smash their face or give them something for peace (even if your stronger) First off let me tell you there are only 6 ship visual designs per race. There is absolutely no ship visual custom designs. So no matter what you watch the same 6 ships no matter what weapons or armor you put on them. During combat you can see the different weapons in action, but this only amounts to a different color missile or a blue laser instead of a green. The combat is visually appealing, but slow and tedious. When you go to war and you have 4+ battles each turn you will quickly learn to hit the auto button (Might I add the auto fight still takes about 45 seconds of watching a blue bar fill). The combat system used cards to attacks/def bonuses. You opponent can counter your cards with their own. You start with about 6 cards and more can be researched through the tech tree. This system while original is utter horse **** So many times I went into a fight with a superior force only to be countered every time by the computers cards and loose my fleets. Also you only have 30-45 seconds to pick your first card, you don't have enough time to make a correct choice before the battle begins and you miss out. It boils down to pick as fast as you can and prey. The research trees are my next topic. To be frank it blows. Research is all over the map. If you want better weapons do down the combat tree, if you want bigger ships you gotta go down the exploration tree. If you want more ships in a fleet to kill your enemy with number you gotta go down the diplomacy tree..... What this amounts 2 is you either balance you tech out and play the same way every game of you get stomped. If you focus your combat weapons and def you will get destroyed by bigger ships in larger fleets. If you focus on big ships, you will be destroyed by larger fleets of ships with better weapons. If you just want large fleets then you will die to bigger ships with better guns.    … Expand
  26. Chomag
    Dec 3, 2012
    7
    It's an indie game. Ofcourse it has little to no voice-overs or amateuristically done at best and the quality is low to mediocre. I wish people would stop buying indie games only to whine about the lack of depth and quality.
  27. Minowara
    Dec 2, 2012
    7
    A good 4x game for long winter nights, but with a disappointing card-based combat game play unfortunately. Perfect technology tree, nice graphics and good planetary management system.
  28. Triggerhappy
    Dec 1, 2012
    6
    The current installment is decent and fun to play. If you are looking to colonize space, research futuristic techs and design your own battleships, this is definitely worth the money. It has little to no storyline and very little "flavour", tho, and feels a bit too cold - I would say that it lacks a little grit that old masters like Alpha Centauri or Masters of Orion had. But it still hasThe current installment is decent and fun to play. If you are looking to colonize space, research futuristic techs and design your own battleships, this is definitely worth the money. It has little to no storyline and very little "flavour", tho, and feels a bit too cold - I would say that it lacks a little grit that old masters like Alpha Centauri or Masters of Orion had. But it still has good, distinct feel to it and a very decent soundtrack. Negatives include linear gameplay - there really is only one winning strategy, despite multiple "victory types", repetitivness of tasks (all systems colonized need to have nearly the same basic structures build, in the same order), pointless diplomacy options (all are worthless) and a lack of any voiceover. I can't help it, but I would love to have some narrative and voiceovers incorporated.… Expand
  29. Efferkongen
    Nov 15, 2012
    6
    As much as the research is nice, the game is horribly slow. I have given it several chances because I really want to like the game, but it just has boring combat and a limited A.I system, plus the lack of story mode is to bad.
  30. madmax55
    Nov 9, 2012
    5
    Wouf.
    Seemed to be a funny game. Amount of playing time won over the fun I had. Mysterious technology tree, mysterious conditions to win. Sometime you play for 10 hours and the computer suddenly annouce you that you have lost even if everythings was looking like if you were heading to win. At a moment I faced some agressive pirates and when I finally get rid of them, I had two planet and    Wouf.
    Seemed to be a funny game. Amount of playing time won over the fun I had. Mysterious technology tree, mysterious conditions to win. Sometime you play for 10 hours and the computer suddenly annouce you that you have lost even if everythings was looking like if you were heading to win. At a moment I faced some agressive pirates and when I finally get rid of them, I had two planet and my neighbours 20 ! another lost game and few suggestions to do better. If you choose an easy way, you will overcome and destroy any ennemy. If you choose the hard way, the ennemy arrive with unbeatable armada. I had like to find the middle way.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

74
#74 Best PC Game of 2012
36
#36 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
60
#60 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. GameOver.gr
    Feb 12, 2013
    70
    What it lacks in storytelling and script it gains in gameplay and in the way it can get awfully addictive.
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  2. Gamer.no
    Oct 27, 2012
    80
    This is a fun and addictive space strategy game. It doesn't quite have the character of Master of Orion 2, but it offers intelligent gameplay, smart opponents and plenty of fun while you build your interplanetary empire. Well worth trying, for both hardcore and casual strategy gamers.
    Read full review
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 14, 2012
    83
    Master of Orion still retains its throne, but Endless Space with its enticing atmosphere and fluid gameplay is one of the best 4X games in recent years. [Sept 2012]
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