Oh, what a pity - this game could have been so much more!

Granted that in its current state, Endless Space is still incredibly fun to play (I'd recommend starting a "Newbie" game just so you can really figure things out as you play) but the game also has three major flaws that seriously reduced its fun factor... at least by a notch. What are those flaws you may ask? Well, I was about to get to that.

Considering how massive the tech tree is in this game, the search function provided can be pretty useless since it doesn't really help when you look up certain phrases or words, such as "expansion disapproval" for instance, unless of course you already know which research you want to find. You may be forced to comb through everything manually because the search function isn't working as well as it should here.

I honestly don't get the logic behind this... at all.

By expanding rapidly, I was able to secure more income from all my outposts and hence, was able to eventually lower the tax rate so much until it's only a mere 5% (just enough to cover my upkeep plus a little extra). You'd think the people would be jubilant for having such a generous leader, but noooooes!

Apparently, they don't like having too many new systems added to the empire for some reason because the expansion disapproval for the systems within my empire vary between a whopping -50 up to an even more whopping -80 right now. Thank goodness my Empire Approval rating is super high - in the 100s :) - but still, I still don't understand why this is a thing in this game when it shouldn't be there at all.

Anyway, I personally enjoy expanding my empire... you know, trying to capture as many useful resources as I can and setting up outposts so I can defend my empire. That's actually quite the logical thing to do - more outposts/colonies = more places you can build ships concurrently. It's just simple math.

I had a 10-turns-long period early on where I was stuck with idling scouts and nearby systems that they, for some reason, couldn't get to. I've pretty quickly guessed that I'll need some sort of technology upgrade to access these systems but the game doesn't provide any sort of tip as to which one it is.

Even if you comb through the tech tree manually because the search function is useless here, you still wouldn't know which tech upgrade to get because the game doesn't specifically mention that those wisp-like lines you see are actually "wormholes". You may stumble upon the upgrade eventually but for me, I don't like waiting so I did a quick Google search and got my answer - Applied Casimir Effect.

I find this rather ridiculous as well. I've just started a new game where I play as the Horatio race. Their homeworld is an Arid planet and for some reason, I still get hit by an Approval Penalty (of -5) for starting on their homeworld. Thought they'd be comfortable living on their homeworld, but apparently not...


So, what about the pros? Surely they must be sufficient enough for you to recommend Endless Space even as you complain about the game?

And to that last question I'd say... yes, the game does have a lot of pros.

For one, I really like how detailed the tutorial generally is (but it still didn't mention about the wormholes though!) despite being a bit more on the text-heavy side. But that's okay since the game is released back in 2012 and interactive tutorial might not be as popular back then.

I also really like how huge and incredibly in-depth its tech tree is. Honestly, I doubt anyone is able or would be willing to completely research everything in the tech tree within a single game. It'd be insane!

The space battles in this game is fairly simplified - it uses a card-based (read: round-based) system. Though. it might take a bit for you to wrap your head around what you're supposed to do if you do decide to engage the enemy manually. It's very different from the 4x games that I've played where you get to control your ships and fight it out, RTS style.

However, I do get a nagging feeling that the AI is cheating some times. It's just like the AI can "know" which card I was about to use for my fleet and chose a card that can directly counter mine. Maybe it's just my overactive imagination, I guess :P

Oh and gorgeous graphics - let's not forget about that!

I might find more grievances/pros as I play the game but in spite of everything, I do find the game pretty enjoyable to play and am planning to sink even more time into it this coming weekend. It is a lot more "my speed" than some of the other (and usually older) 4x strategy games that I've played before... maybe with the exception of SoaSE. In fact, the game has left a pretty good impression on me that I'm curious to check out its sequel. Maybe the flaws I've mentioned here would be fixed in the second game... who knows? :P

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