Political denomination and leadership is directly tied to how your empire manages its resources and is one of the better ways of engaging you with the direction your population wants you to take them. Empire elections are another cool part of the meta, letting you control not only the system of government your empire employs but how often (or if at all) new leaders are elected. Discovering anomalies on random planets can reveal intriguing factoids about its nature as well as providing a random benefit to your cause. The mish-mash of systems provides some interesting steps along the way. As you research new technologies through spending science points, newer research, abilities and buildings open up, allowing you to further increase your empire’s size and capability. In turn, that system will run through its build queue more efficiently than one that contributes little to no industry. A desert planet might be inhospitable for some without the necessary technologies, but once it can be colonized could provide an industrial boost. Empires colonize worlds in different systems, with each planet offering varying levels of support to different parts of your economy. Resource management makes up a large portion of how you run your empire. Actions will have consequences elsewhere and mindlessly clicking buttons will undoubtedly lead your empire down a dark path.
How you go about things from here is largely up to you, but from the outset, it’s important to learn how each of the game’s systems work. Once you’ve chosen your race and set up your game type, of which there is some customisation in terms of the types of quests given, how victories can be obtained and the map layout, you’re thrust into an unknown galaxy with nothing but your home system and the wide open of Space to explore. Others, like the Sophons, can colonize planets in any system they find, but must first set up an outpost for a number of turns before it can become fully colonized. These vines can take time to stretch out from their home system to the target, but once fully wrapped, can colonise any safe planet instantaneously. The Unfallen, for example, is a pacifist race that uses something called Celestial Vines to encapsulate new systems, a requirement for colonization of new planets. Each has a unique ability, or ‘faction affinity’, which changes up slightly how that empire plays throughout a game as well as signposting their political tendencies. Players start by choosing one of eight empires. You can do this through diplomatic means, through conflict or through various other means. But despite the game’s depth, it’s gorgeously communicative UI and beautiful presentation, the poor end game and lack of a defining mechanical or narrative hook makes Endless Space 2 a merely decent space explorer instead of a fantastic one.Įndless Space 2, like many others, is all about discovery, conflict and the progression and ultimate survival of your empire throughout a procedurally-generated galaxy.
Endless Space 2 ticks all these boxes, managing to do so without drowning the player in technical jargon. But all that happens behind the scenes, with the good ones wrapping it all in an easy-to-read interface and some light story beats to keep things interesting as they move along. It comes with the territory they’re system-laden games that lean heavily into logic, maths and resource management, often to a depth that can cause the eyes to heavily glaze over. 4X games have had an air of impenetrability about them for as long as I can remember.
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