Star Ruler 2

 PC
Metascore
tbd

No score yet - based on 3 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. The Escapist
    May 13, 2015
    70
    Star Ruler 2 delivers a unique, fascinating experience despite its reliance on sometimes obtuse systems.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 54
  3. Negative: 11 out of 54
  1. sicclee
    Mar 28, 2015
    10
    One of the best games I've ever played, in any genre.

    The game is deceptively simple: colonize a planet, link it's resource, repeat and    One of the best games I've ever played, in any genre.

    The game is deceptively simple: colonize a planet, link it's resource, repeat and gain affinity. Design and build ships to defend and attack. It's easy to get started and fun to explore and fight. It's top down universe management is excellent for controlling your empire, but the ability to zoom in on ships makes battles rewarding and exciting. It's a blast to call fleets from the four corners of your empire to jump through FTL gates and converge on an enemy capital ship, then zoom in and watch them get annihilated.

    But there's a very complex under belly to SR2. resources create pressure on a planet, which influences what civilians build on your planet. These civ buildings are what provide you with affinity generation (labor, money, research, energy, influence and defense). Pressure limits are controlled by population, which is controlled by planet level. Linking resources from other planets increases planet level. Building up your planets is necessary to make sure you are utilizing your resources effectively. In order to build large, awesome fleets you're going to have to utilize labor and research at the cost of cash generation. The game is all about balance and macro-management.

    That being said, it's not a spread-sheet manager. The interface is intuitive and nicely done. The hud is customizable and the ship design is exciting (especially in multiplayer!) and well thought out. Every ship I've made is different, with researched techs enabling more specific purposes for the ship's systems.

    There's so much to explore. The diplomacy is inventive and I'll admit at first I wasn't interested in it but after a couple games I realized how powerful it can be. Being able to annex an enemy system once you win the vote in the senate is rewarding and fun. Calling for a patriotic surge from a planet under siege can buy you the time to get your capital ship into it's gravity well.

    Then there's energy, the wildcard affinity. It's used to activate awesome artifacts, cloak ships, prevent enemy escapes and a ton of other really cool abilities.

    The races are varied and unique. The way they utilize things like orbitals and FTL tech make every game feel special. One race requires a special material to build ships out of, another race can't grow population, only build it. There's a race that can't build on planets, but instead lives on orbitals in the gravity well. Each one is different and worth playing.

    But... Modding is what is going to make this game great. It's accessible and easy. There are already a few talented modders and once the game gets traction this community will be bustling with all new ship sets, game mechanics and god knows what. In essence, how do you make a great game even better? Make modding a focus. They've done it, and it rules.

    The bottom line is, if you like strategy games, you can't miss this. If you like space games, get it now. If you like massive battles, they got em. If you like sandbox games with a focus on building and design, this is probably for you.

    The game's so good I bought a copy for two friends. Get it. Get it now.

    One last note: The devs are awesome. They are active in IRC all the time, listen to feedback & act on it, and fix bugs asap. They are passionate and invested, like all devs should be.    … Full Review »
  2. Animorganimate
    Mar 29, 2015
    9
    I'm very surprised by Star Ruler 2. 4X space-strategies are my favorite genre of game, and even though Star Ruler 2 is different than the typeI'm very surprised by Star Ruler 2. 4X space-strategies are my favorite genre of game, and even though Star Ruler 2 is different than the type of 4X games I usually play (Distant Worlds is currently my favorite, but I've played almost everything else and enjoy MoO, GalCiv, Space Empires, etc.), SR2 is actually a breath of fresh air.

    The resource management and diplomacy are presented in such a unique way that at first I thought it would be too radical. Instead, I'm finding it to be a type of evolution for the genre that I hope to see implemented in other games. There are some things to consider when deciding if this is your type of $X game, however. SR2 is more combat focused and doesn't cater to the micro-manager lovers out there, but that's all a design choice and not necessarily a flaw. SR2 achieves what it sets out to do.

    I never played Star Ruler 1, so I'm not sure how different the sequel is from its predecessor, but I am loving SR2 and can't wait to sink many hours into it. Great job Blind Mind!    … Full Review »
  3. JonnysBeard
    Apr 11, 2015
    8
    If you want to learn a lot right here right now check out siccless's comment. Sums it up pretty good.

    It's an unique way to do things in an    If you want to learn a lot right here right now check out siccless's comment. Sums it up pretty good.

    It's an unique way to do things in an RTS but it all works pretty well. It's heavily macro orientated so don't expect any Homeworld like space fights.
    I would love to see some gameplay elements expanded but mod support is a key feature and you can access the community at any time from within the game.    … Full Review »
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