Review for Endless Space 2. Game for PC and Mac, the video game was released on 18/05/2017
Some time ago we tried Endless Space 2 and it convinced us in many respects although not all. We had been able to appreciate, in some way, the humility of the developers who had decided to slowly release the game through a series of updates and without promising seas and mountains.
This strategy was the result of the mistakes of his time and that is of when No Man's Sky he had deceived everyone with what was later called "misleading advertising". Amplitude Studios, by virtue of this he did not advertise the title beyond belief and this may have depended on two factors. The first we mentioned before, that is, not wanting to create hype for a game that in the end could have easily disappointed as others, secondly it could have been so since the developers knew that the game would not sell like hot cakes.
Of the two alternatives which one is the most plausible for Endless Space 2? Probably a mix of both. Amplitude did well not to promise anything more than what was in its strings and its availability, but at the same time it could have given us a little more. The developer is no longer very young, he has many successful titles behind him and a publisher like SEGA (which is no small feat), so a lot is expected.
Endless Space 2 tries to please everyone, wants to please many and beat the competition of titles such as Stellaris, Master of Orion, Polaris Sector. All titles released last year and which, for one reason or another, did not fully convince and did not prove to be the final 4x. The problem is that too Endless Space 2 fails to establish itself as the ultimate turn-based space strategy.
Perhaps the main flaw lies in wanting to please too many but it must also be said that the player is free to set up his game as he sees fit. Lore lovers will be able to read entire books during the game but will not be forced to do so, thanks to the quests with a minimal style text that does not bother.
Although the quality of the graphics is excellent but not excellent, and in any case far from the expressive capacity of Endless Legend, you will not find any inaccuracies of any kind in it. The polygons are well made and the planets may seem painted to you: this happens because Endless Space 2 also focuses on a highly sought after artistic sector. When we colonize a planet with one of our civilizations, a very short cut-scene will start (but we could also call it gif due to its appearance) which will show the arrival of our probe on the surface and the whole scene will look like a concept art made with watercolors.
Moving on to the actual game, one cannot be silent on the high level of difficulty. The tutorial (as often happens lately), although not incomplete, is too verbose and sensitive to clicks. If you accidentally click while one of these help texts and introductions to the game mechanics scrolls, it will disappear, leaving you with a big gap. In Endless Space 2 the tutorial is highly recommended, at least for those who have never played other Endless titles.
As for the HUD it must be said that this is very reminiscent of the minimalist one of Endless Legend as well as the tree of the skills of the Heroes is practically identical to the latter title. This denotes little innovation since the only thing not present in Endless Space 2, and present instead in its predecessors, are the hexagons of the map. Clearly, as this was a game set in the cosmos, the hexagons would have been ridiculous.
A big demerit goes to the overall design of the models. There are not. If you expect to see beautiful spaceships flying in your space, give up all hope. There are only vectors, the shape of the spaceships is segmented. Basically you will only see the skeleton of the spacecraft. Nothing else. Something more could be done, okay the "minimalism" that is so fashionable in recent years, but this of Endless Space 2 it's just a trick to save time and money, nothing else.
A different speech must be made instead to the sublime soundtrack and the stunning effects. If something is not "seen" in Endless Space 2, for sure it will be heard. The ears will be pampered by a beautiful soundtrack, sometimes post-rock and sometimes environmental, able to relax, without ever raising the tone too much.
Finally, having to talk about the general gameplay, it cannot be said that Endless Space 2 it is not fun, indeed, even if the amount of factions to some may not seem very high, at least those present are so different from each other and endowed with considerable depth for history and design that you can specialize in the use of only one of them.
It's fun, even if the game really takes off after quite a few turns (around 50). A small problem was encountered in very advanced game sessions, when you exceed a thousand game turns, Endless Space 2 slows down the frames to freezes in some uncomfortable cases.
Yet, despite there are numerous flaws, how can we not say that this video game is, artistically speaking, a masterpiece? The depth of all the panels, starting from the huge and well-structured one of the Research up to the Political one in which the parties battle to obtain consensus and modify the inclinations and bonuses of our empire, is a characteristic that alone it is worth the price of the game which, for once, is not excessive at all and is completely cheap. Endless Space 2 it is a deep and challenging game from all points of view but too simplified in appearance.
On balance, with Endless Space 2, we are faced with an artistic masterpiece that sins of presumption in its purely technical realization. Those who want an immense, immersive and always new game world, with a lore to make anyone pale and captivating writing supported by a disturbing soundtrack will have found bread for their teeth. Those who, on the other hand, want a game with perfect mechanics could be burned, provided that all the beauty that is inside Endless Space 2 cannot conquer it.
► Endless Space 2 is a Simulation game developed by Amplitude Studios and published by Sega for PC and Mac, the video game was released on 18/05/2017
