Endless Space 2 is far and away an improvement on the original release that kicked off the whole setting (at least, to my knowledge). By taking what they learned from Endless Legend and adapting it back to the stars, Amplitude have managed to make a 4X game that only hasn’t eaten more of my time this year due to there being far more titles coming out. Balancing politics, diplomacy, warfare, trade, research, development, and the empire as a whole, it’s hard to imagine that this came out in Early Access the same month that Civ 6 released proper.

Starting out on a single planet of a star system leaves a lot of room to grow, and as you do so, your empire will soon start to take a different path than expected. Decisions must be made that will influence the direction your people go, such as whether to hunt down a group of bandits or absorb them into the empire. Each offers two or three choices that result in distinct bonuses, with the biggest being the United Empire’s ability to crown a new emperor that completely overhauls how their race’s mechanics work. This is adding onto the already-radical changes that each race has over one another, such as buying out worlds with Dust (the setting’s currency) instead of food or being able to spend Influence to purchase ships and improvements instantly. There’s a playstyle for almost everybody to be had, even if it’s not immediately visible.

Naturally, I don’t think any game is without its flaws, and Endless Space 2 still has one or two. In my experience, the empire choices gently railroad you down a certain path, such as research or combat. Due to this, and how the political system works, you will definitely find it a bit hard to “shift gears” past about the early-middle stages of any match. I’m also more than a little disappointed that battles remain relatively “hands-off” instead of something like the tile-based combat we saw in Endless Legend. Ground battles work in much the same way, and while it keeps turns moving briskly no matter the size of your multiplayer group, I felt that it was one of the biggest points that could have been improved upon in a sequel. Both of these relatively minor complaints are not enough to ruin the experience by any means, which means that it’s definitely still a solid recommendation in my book.

Endless Space 2 is far and away an improvement on the original release that kicked off the whole setting (at least, to my knowledge). By taking what they learned from Endless Legend and adapting it back to the stars, Amplitude have managed to make a 4X game that only hasn’t eaten more of my time this year due to there being far more titles coming out. Balancing politics, diplomacy, warfare, trade, research, development, and the empire as a whole, it’s hard to imagine that this came out in Early Access the same month that Civ 6 released proper. Starting out on a single planet of a star system leaves a lot of room to grow, and as you do so, your empire will soon start to take a different path than expected. Decisions must be made that will influence the direction your people go, such as whether to hunt down a group of bandits or absorb them into the empire. Each offers two or three choices that result in distinct bonuses, with the biggest being the United Empire’s ability to crown a new emperor that completely overhauls how their race’s mechanics work. This is adding onto the already-radical changes that each race has over one another, such as buying out worlds with Dust (the setting’s currency) instead of food or being able to spend Influence to purchase ships and improvements instantly. There’s a playstyle for almost everybody to be had, even if it’s not immediately visible. Naturally, I don’t think any game is without its flaws, and Endless Space 2 still has one or two. In my experience, the empire choices gently railroad you down a certain path, such as research or combat. Due to this, and how the political system works, you will definitely find it a bit hard to “shift gears” past about the early-middle stages of any match. I’m also more than a little disappointed that battles remain relatively “hands-off” instead of something like the tile-based combat we saw in Endless Legend. Ground battles work in much the same way, and while it keeps turns moving briskly no matter the size of your multiplayer group, I felt that it was one of the biggest points that could have been improved upon in a sequel. Both of these relatively minor complaints are not enough to ruin the experience by any means, which means that it’s definitely still a solid recommendation in my book.