- Deep and complex strategy gameplay
- High replayability
- Hybrid RTS and 4X gameplay
- Game is very difficult
- UI is unintuitive and dated
- Steep learning curve
Emotions
Players are thrilled by the game's dynamic and unpredictable gameplay, large-scale battles, and deep strategic elements. The complexity and depth of the game, along with its engaging narrative and impressive visuals, contribute to a highly exciting experience.
The steep learning curve and lackluster tutorial, along with the game's high difficulty and brutal AI, cause significant frustration. Additionally, issues like a poor user interface, frequent bugs, and language localization problems add to the frustration.
Players feel a strong sense of satisfaction from overcoming overwhelming odds and achieving victory after hours of brutal gameplay. The deep and complex gameplay, along with the rewarding experience of mastering the game, contributes to this satisfaction.
The game's complex and difficult gameplay, steep learning curve, and exceptional AI provide a significant challenge. Players appreciate the serious brain power required at higher difficulties and the asymmetric conflict mechanics.
Players appreciate the game's detailed unit descriptions, strategic depth, and inspiring music. The unique and challenging gameplay experience, along with the game's depth, customization options, and frequent upgrades, are highly valued.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 89% · Negative 11%. Score: 11 / 100
Verdict
Needs Significant Improvement
Summary
The game suffers from several critical issues including the lack of an in-game manual, a language barrier for non-English speakers, technical issues, and a steep learning curve. These factors significantly impact the user experience, making it challenging for new players to get into the game without extensive external resources. Score: 10 / 100
Top points
- Lack of In-Game Manual - High
- Language Barrier - Medium
- Technical Issues - High
- Steep Learning Curve - High
Positives:
- The game offers a highly sophisticated and deep strategic experience, blending elements of 4X, RTS, and tower defense genres. Players appreciate the complexity and depth of the gameplay mechanics.
- The game offers tremendous replayability due to its strategic depth, constant changes, and configurability. Players appreciate the customization value and endless possibilities.
- The AI in the game is noted for its unique and challenging behavior, providing engaging and crafty opponents. The AI's dynamic responses and complexity add to the gameplay experience.
- The game features a wide range of ship types, unique abilities, and technologies. This variety adds to the richness of the gameplay and strategic options available to players.
- The game is praised for being a decent and engaging RTS game, offering emotional depth and originality. It is particularly recommended for hardcore RTS fans.
Negatives:
- The game is frequently described as very difficult, complicated, and challenging. Players mention that it is very time-consuming and complex for the sake of being complex.
- The user interface is often criticized as unintuitive, difficult, and dated. Players find it terribly clicky and lacking a high-level UI.
- The game has a steep and unforgiving learning curve. Players mention that it is very high and can be overwhelming for new players.
- The graphics are described as simple, simplistic, and sometimes lackluster. Players mention that they can be uninspiring and dated.
- Players report frequent bugs, balance issues, and performance problems. The game can crash and require task manager to close.
Gameplay:
- The game combines elements of real-time strategy (RTS) and 4X strategy, offering a unique blend of genres. Players can enjoy both large-scale battles and deep strategic planning.
- The game features complex and adaptive AI behavior, offering challenging and unique interactions. The AI's craftiness and character traits enhance the gameplay experience.
- Players can employ many different strategies and play styles to win, adding to the game's replayability and strategic depth. The variety of challenges keeps the gameplay engaging.
- The game offers different difficulty levels, catering to both casual and hardcore players. The AI progress mechanic affects the game's difficulty, providing a dynamic challenge.
- Players must make careful and long-term strategic decisions, including scouting and resource management. Key choices and capturing specific systems are vital for success.
Performance:
- The game runs well on low-end laptops and older systems, indicating good optimization for less powerful hardware.
- Players report various crashes, including when parking the game in the background, black screens, system cursor appearances, and game freezing requiring task manager to close.
- There are performance issues during large-scale battles and on the largest map settings, causing crashes and slowdowns.
- The game features beautiful visuals during intense fleet battles, highlighting its strong graphical performance in specific scenarios.
Recommendations:
- The game is highly recommended for fans of strategy games, particularly those who enjoy complex and deep gameplay. It is praised for its challenging and unique mechanics, making it a must-play for RTS and 4X fans.
- The DLCs for the game are highly recommended as they add a lot of valuable content. Players are encouraged to buy the game along with all its DLCs for the best experience.
- The game is considered worth its price, especially when on sale. It frequently goes on sale, making it an affordable option for those looking to try it out.
- The game is built for a very niche audience, particularly those who enjoy deep strategy and can tolerate some bugs and balance issues.
- Players are encouraged to check out the expansions and the Kickstarter for the new version to stay updated and support the developer.
Miscellaneous:
- The reviews discuss the efforts and challenges related to localizing the game. This includes translating the game into different languages and adapting it to various cultural contexts.
- Players mention that the game requires a considerable amount of time to progress and fully enjoy. This could be a point of contention for those with limited gaming time.
