ENDLESS™ Space 2 - Awakening Review Summary

Nakalim faction is well received and Academy adds engaging mechanics, but Academy is unbalanced and DLC offers little despite post-patch improvements, so buy only on sale.

Nakalim faction well received: The Nakalim faction is praised for being interesting, fun, and uniquely designed, with a cool aesthetic and story. Players enjoy the challenge of mastering their relic-based mechanics and find them competitive when enough relics are found.

Academy adds engaging mechanics: The Academy is praised for adding depth and interesting mechanics, such as bidding for roles, customizing behavior, and competing for control. It is seen as a fun, interactive addition that enhances gameplay for all factions, especially in multiplayer.

DLC improved after patches: The DLC is now considered fixed, playable, and a worthy addition after the Re-Awakening update and subsequent patches. The updates addressed previous issues, rebalanced problems, and improved faction interaction, making the DLC safe to buy.

Nakalim relic mechanic engaging: The relic-based mechanic is unique and provides strong bonuses to heroes and fleets, such as significant damage and health increases. Relic hunting and quests are neat, and collecting relics can cover science needs and make the faction competitive.

DLC worth the price: The DLC is considered worth the price, even if the additional challenge isn't enjoyed. With the ESG Mod and academy expansion disabled, it becomes a very good expansion pack, and the major and minor races are cool.

Academy faction is unbalanced: The Academy faction is considered overpowered, especially in the early game, with fleets that are too strong and attacks that unbalance the game. This makes the faction annoying and detrimental to gameplay.

DLC adds little content: The DLC is considered weak and not essential, adding nothing significant to the game. Players feel it does not justify its cost or provide meaningful new experiences.

Nakalim AI is useless: The AI is unable to play the Nakalim effectively, making them a weak opponent and reducing the challenge. This is a significant issue for players who enjoy facing competent AI.

Academy is interactive faction: The Academy is an NPC major faction that players interact with for approval, rewards, and roles. It acts as a resource sink, requesting donations and offering positions that grant various benefits.

Academy roles provide powerful rewards: Players can bid for roles like Fleet Admiral, Legal Advisor, Envoy, and Librarian, each granting unique advantages such as control of a powerful fleet, extra laws, diplomatic resources, or intelligence. The Spear of Isyander role specifically grants a temporary powerful fleet.

Nakalim rely on relics: The Nakalim's core mechanic revolves around collecting relics scattered across the map, which provide research, bonuses, and hero enhancements. Without these relics, their science output is crippled, making them weak in the late game.

Academy expands aggressively: The Academy actively colonizes systems, competes for control, and can block trade routes, making it a significant map presence. It often expands faster than players, especially on lower difficulties, and can be aggressive during elections.

Nakalim start with advanced tech: The Nakalim faction begins with technologies from the first two tiers already researched, giving them an early head start. However, this comes with a severe science penalty, making them reliant on relics to progress.

DLC causes bugs and crashes: Players report that the DLC introduces new bugs and crashes, negatively impacting the overall experience.

Buy only on sale: A significant portion of feedback suggests waiting for a sale before buying, as the DLC is considered overpriced for its content. This applies to both positive and negative reviews.

Positive recommendations exist: A minority of reviewers recommend the DLC, praising its mechanics or overall quality. These positive views are often conditional on sales or specific playstyles.

Faction-specific value: Some reviewers find value in the DLC for the new factions, particularly the Nakalim, but only for dedicated players. The faction content is a highlight for some, but not enough to justify full price.

Conditional purchase advice: Some reviewers suggest buying only if you are a hardcore fan or respect the developer. The DLC is seen as optional for casual players.

Community fair range: $3.00 - $5.00.

The DLC's early game is ruined by overpowered Academy fleets and broken mechanics, making the game frustrating and unenjoyable from the start, with no later improvement.

Friction: Overpowered Academy fleet in early game; Indestructible Academy home system; Infinitely re-spawning fleets; Buyable fleet destroys early game balance; Nakalim science handicap; Gamble mechanic in early game.

Balance Critic: Engages with multiplayer and AI challenges, analyzing faction strengths and weaknesses. Motivation: Maintaining game balance and fair competitive play. Stance: no buy.

Achievement Hunter: Focuses on achievement-specific runs, often using version rollbacks or specific strategies to secure unlocks. Motivation: Completing all achievements and unlocking every in-game milestone. Stance: no buy.

New Content Enthusiast: Explores new content, experiments with different playstyles, and enjoys the novelty of added features. Motivation: Experiencing fresh factions, mechanics, and gameplay variety. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The user reviews for Endless Space 2 DLCs contain no evidence of real-money microtransactions, pay-to-win mechanics, or predatory monetization. The 'buying' actions mentioned are in-game features using game resources, not purchases with real currency. The feedback centers on DLC quality, bugs, and balance, which are outside the scope of monetization analysis. The game appears to be a one-time purchase with traditional DLC expansions.

DLC improved post-launch: Multiple reviews note that the DLC received major updates and patches after its initial release, fixing many issues. The community and modders contributed to these improvements.

Mods fix DLC issues: Players suggest using mods like the ESG Mod to rebalance or disable the Academy. These mods are seen as necessary to make the DLC enjoyable.

DLC can be disabled: Players can turn off the DLC via the options menu, but they cannot get a refund for the money spent. Some reviewers have disabled it and will not reactivate it.

Nakalim faction compared unfavorably: The Nakalim faction is compared to the Necrons from Warhammer 40k, but reviewers say it does not feel like them. It is also compared to other factions like the Empire, Hissho, and Horatio, and found to be worse or more monotonous.

Outsourced development criticized: The DLC was outsourced to NGD Studios, which also created subpar expansions for Endless Legend. This is seen as a reason for the initial poor quality.