It is a good game to get into the 4x genre. It has nice artwork, streamlined gui and got lots of free dlcs.
It isn't as complex as SOTS2 or similar games but that's not always a bad thing isn't it ^^

While Endless Space is a very very good game, the only flaws I see are the lackluster borderline-dull card based space combat; and the micromanagement level of large empires. In my opinion most 4x and turn based stragety games become tedious at endgame, this game falls into the same pit with limited automation abilities.

Fantastic music, very clean and simple UI.

Endless Space is what Master of Orion 3 should have been. That said, its main problem may be that it can best be described in relation to other games, and not so much on its own. It has a sprawling tech tree, planetary systems to develop, space battles, alien empires, powerful commanders: basically the whole mess that we have learned to associate with the 4X genre and love it for. But I have a hard time pinpointing what it does that goes beyond this point. It feels like its searching for its own niche with the interesting idea of the sentient currency that is Dust, but this fluff isn't matched to game mechanics that explore it; if I called it Credits, the game wouldn't really be all that different. I really want to see Endless Space create its own mark on the genre, something unique to it. The good news is that the developers have been expanding it constantly since release, with four free expansions out so far (though so far these are more 'additional content' and less 'gameplay changing'). So hopefully this uniqueness is something it will achieve in the near future.… Expand

AWFUL BATTLE SYSTEM THAT COMPLETELY RUINS A MAJOR PART OF THE GAME The battles are pre-render boring cutscenes and you have to use cards in battles. Why they made the battle system into something like Yu-Gi-Oh is beyond me. Tthe battles are a complete turn-off from my point of view As for the rest of the game (economy, colonization etc) fortunately it is better but everything you do in the game feels like a chore somehow. After playing some hours i got bored with the game. Does not have the same kind of addiction like MOO2 had it becomes "stale" after playing some hours with it… Expand

This is a nice game, but the combat system is done via cards which are selected in which you choose the type of attack or defense you wish to use for that phase. This game is pretty easy to learn and the different levels of difficulty provided will ensure many hours of enjoyment whether playing against the AI or in the multiplayer mode against other human opponents. For myself, the game has never crashed and I am glad to have bought this game as I consider it money well spent, but if you are more interested in having space battles with lone ships up to fleet size, then I suggest you try playing StarDrive. Both Endless Space and StarDrive are fantastic games and each offer a special type of space strategy gaming, which should be experienced.

Enjoy… Expand

A good and very promising game!

Lots of new original concepts and game mechanics. Very refreshing. Moreover the support of the dev is constant, the patch are quite regular with lots of new and free contents (free DLC).

Endless Space is a diamond with golden future.

Extremely good looking game and very customisable and overall enjoyable, few minor grudges with the game like it's extremely slow passed as it is a turn-based game but I personally can live with that, Amazing game, graphics and thanks steam for letting me buy it for 12e. All the people who enjoy strategy and space I recommend it to you!

I've purchased the game, based on some user reviews and the video content of game play. From what I see, it's a turn based game similar to Civilization 3. No graphic display of combat. I'm a bit disappointed and I feel a bit mislead by the video with regards to fleet combat. Combat is a bit like some card based game, use hero cards mixed with action cards and boom, win or lose after a click. Some of the game shows polish with art and concept, but there is no game beyond micro managing star systems and Pokimon style combat. I choose you Defence Frigate, use tactic 1 for +10% combat strength and use Captain card for a +15% bonus. Lets see, looks good, click and lose... Just glad it was on sale.… Expand

I think this game is perfect choice who want to pursue realistic SF. For example, 'Sin Of Solar Empire' and 'Galactic Civilizations' are not realitstic SF 4X games but RTS that mix some 4X. This game is not warfare game. This is real 4X game and you need some skills of diplomacy and management. I hope that 'Sins Of Solar Empire' learn this game and next one maintain balance.

Played this game recently and it wasn't too bad. I agree that there is a bit of lacking in the depth area, both in content as well as the races. The combat system was a bit redundant in that I grew quickly tired of the same battle cutscenes time and time again. The tech tree is just all over the place. And the AI pose little to no threat on a consistent basis. While this game did have some potential, it's replay-ability was pretty much in the shallow end.… Expand

It's okay. Really there's just not anything special about this 4X game. I wanted to enjoy it, but it ended up being really repetitive once I got the hang of the game. The same strategies are usually used to win every game, and there's not much difference. The maps are too small even at the largest size. I wish it were more entertaining, but it feels like it's missing too much.

I thought I wouldn't ever really return to the joy of turn based strategy from the 90s. Games had moved on. However Amplitude makes one of the best attempts I have ever seen at modernizing the glory. Its not quite Civilization, but for an small developer's first try? It's awesome. I'm being honest with myself and rating this a nine. I'm tempted to give it a 10 like others just because I want to see endless space 2 so bad. This is a GREAT start to what could be an epic series. I got it cheap on Steam promo, now I want them to release something else so I can give them the full price they deserve.… Expand

A good strategy game with some interesting concepts implemented to make it an enjoyable experience. I did find that poor tutorial a sticking point for me at first, but once you get the hang of things its a good game. Watch a youtube tutorial or play your first game on easiest mode just to figure stuff out while you do not care about victory. The card game which is part of the space combat is an interesting twist which can either give you an advantage or disadvantage depending on what you and your enemy plays. If you catch this game for $10 or under it is well worth it providing you like turn-based strategy games.… Expand

This review is accurate as of January 2013 and includes only single player. To give a background the only space 4x games i've really enjoyed were alpha centauri and the galactic civilization series. I've tried others and have never found them to be very engaging. I have enjoyed every civilization game since the beginning although V held my interest the least. I have enjoyed other similar 4x titles, but games like europa universalis tend to be to complex for my liking.

Pros:
9 pre-made factions plus 1 reskin. I've seen complaints about the factions being bland, but I feel each faction has a very distinct playstyle that it encourages
the ability to make a custom faction
complete control over the galaxy you play in. Choose the shape, size, density level of systems, abundance of resources, pirate strength (or existence) etc.
the tech tree is very interesting in the way it is laid out. 4 trapezoids with the small ends all around a central point with the tree growing wider the further away it is.
Decent graphics with low requirements. I play on a laptop from mid 2010
Once understood the combat system actually does a good job of building tension.
The game has free addons that the studio continues to develop (The game shipped with only 8 races) There is a special xmas event that has been added (you can disable it if you like) and the community actually votes on what features will be included in upcoming releases. This level of developer support is amazing I would say the game is worth getting based on this alone to help make a statement to the industry.

Cons:
No Demo!
The tutorial is better than when it was released, but still leaves something to be desired. As you'll only use it once it isn't a big deal.
The graphics aren't the same quality as a AAA title, but they are adequate. There are no cut scenes which some people may find as a turn off, but that isn't why I play 4x so it doesn't bother me.
The combat is card based, and at first seams very luck based, but i'll go into combat more at the end.
Custom factions use a base race as a template. This includes racial bonus, ship design, and portrait.
The ship visuals do not change based on their weapon and armor load outs. During the combat animations weapons actually just fire from the side of the ship, it looks a little silly.
The game tends to end abruptly. I'm often surprised by the game ending and have to take a minute to figure out what victory condition was achieved.

Combat:
I've seen numerous complaints about combat not being tactical enough, or the entire game being card based. Both of these are false. The combat is handled by choosing a tactic (based on cards) that you have researched. your ships then carry out those orders. You can select your cards before battle if the battles happen to quick for you, or you can select them as the battle plays out so you can react to how the battle is going. It is only not tactical in the sense that you can't control each ship individually, but you do decide the tactics your army will use for each phase of combat (long, medium, and short). Also, each weapon type performs in a unique fashion compared to the others, and the armors behave differently as well. You can learn what ship types your opponent has, or what tactics they typically employ and modify your fleets and/or tactics to counter them. It is only in situations where you are way ahead or behind in tech that the outcome is a given. Lastly if you are finding the battles tedious to watch you can select all your cards, then auto battle. The battle will play out in about 10-15 seconds showing you which cards where played by you and the opponent and the outcome.

If people are claiming that this is just a card game with a 4x skin then they are only interested in combat. If you enjoy other aspects of 4x then rest assured this is far more then "just a card game"

The last thing I want to mention is about the story. It is true that there is no inherent story, but stories in 4x games are often odd creatures requiring your "persistent" civilization to restart the tech tree, lose your entire military, and rebuild your economy from the ground up for every mission. I tend to look at each play through as its own story. If you require something to motivate you there are achievements, some of which can be very difficult to accomplish.

TLDR: This is a good space 4x game. It is not perfect, but in my opinion it is a contender for best space 4x game on the market right now. If you are still on the fence go try the demo for star ruler. http://starruler.blind-mind.com/ If you like it get that, if not, get this.… Expand

This game has elegant design and a nice progress system for developing colonies and terraforming planets. Good luck trying to actually win a game though if you want to be peaceful. There are numerous victory conditions and NONE of them are EXPLAINED. It's a game based on building the biggest space empire possible yet if you expand you are BRUTALLY PUNISHED with DISAPPROVAL. Why? Um, because people don't want to be part of a large successful empire?????? You can "Choose" eight factions, only there are no choices beyond the selection. You are stuck with a horrible generic race portrait, and cannot choose any variants skill sets from the set-piece. All the science choices in the game unlock a vast number of system enhancements yet only a few of these, such as the one that allows travel through wormholes, are actually worth getting. And while there are dozens of "possible" play styles and victory conditions offered. All of them are a waste ot time, as the AI cheats and will beat you on even the easiest difficulty setting, and by huge margins if you waste your time hunting for an 'economic' science' or 'wonder' victory. The best and only way to come out on top in this game is find an ally and go to war. attack the other factions as soon as you can, develop as many war-techs and build as many ships as you can afford and destroy everyone else. When your enemies are dead betray and attack your ally. Diplomacy and trade in this game and undeveloped and joyless. The tech tree is a vast forest of useless distractions giving you literally hundreds of ways to improve your planetary systems which will be lost if you can't fight to hold them. Endless Space seems to have the makings of a good game. And it may get there with more patching and playtesting. For now you can summarize how much fun this is to play by the facts visible in the steam achievment screen: Less than 12% of gamers who bought this game have played more than 10 turns of it. They were the wise ones who quit while they were ahead. After 300 turns in 4 lost games I still can't figure out how it is the AI be trading tech or whatver it is they are doing behind the scenes that gives them such massive score boosts, such superiority in all development areas and such massive fleets. Something is wrong with this game. At present it is more frustrating than enjoyable, and it needs, if nothing else some kind of INSTRUCTIVE tutorial that actually illustrates the principles of winning. As a side note, I actually love the combat card system. The game gets many things right and could be sublime if the developers either explain how to play better, or re-code it to support the less aggressive victory types… Expand

4X turn-based strategy with a focus on economy & tactics. The music is very immersive and changes based on where you are in the game (planetary view, shipyard, etc.). Combined with the crisp, clean visuals the devs have found a way to make the sterile menu navigation somehow not boring. Sadly this charm can only last so long since most of the game is spent digging through menus trying to balance your empire on a see-saw. The biggest graphical disappointment is how "flat" the galaxy feels; there are eye-catching planetary views when zoomed into a star but from above it feels like playing a board game. Although there is combat, there is an "Auto" mode that lets you pre-load commands so many battles end up playing themselves. Even with the wealth of tooltips, many basic game features are hard to grasp, such as the seven victory conditions. The devs have been working hard to improve the game but the current tutorial is really barebones and is basically popup screenshots that explain things that the tooltips already show.

Endless Space is a highly customizable sandbox in space that offers you many unique ways to conquer the galaxy (or not at all; you can disable all victory conditions). A work in progress worth picking up if you can handle the difficulty and steep learning curve.… Expand

Just would like to point out that the developer has continued to make not just bug fixes but enhancements to the core game and seems to be doing a pretty solid job in this regard. Even if this game gets a 7ish score initially, I think this dedication to their game should bump its value to an 8.

I felt this game could have used more micromanagement. Most similar to Master of Orion III. I played both Master of Orion two and three, and while MoO II was an excellent game, 10/10 would play for the rest of eternity, MoO III fell short. Why? No micromanagement. Same thing goes for Endless Space.

This is just a virtual card game. Steam advertises this as some kind of RTS or action oriented game, when in reality you make a huge litany of small decisions in order to counteract the means by which the deck of cards hits you when you have to face other empires. The lack of ingame information is also infuriating. After spending a couple hours watching youtube tutorials, the faction I chose apparently didn't like missiles. No matter how large or how vast a fleet I made, I would just watch it get blasted to smithereens by two paltry and insignificant pirate ships. Space combat is entirely dictated by who draws a better card. If you try to employ any kind of strategy, logic, or common sense the card just smacks you in the face with "sorry about your luck, your vast armada just got blown to bits by a couple lowly pirates". This is by far one of the most regrettable purchases I have ever made on Steam.… Expand

I came into Endless Space expecting something like Civilization meets Sins of a Solar Empire, and... well, I don't know what I got. It plays very similarly to Civ in that it's turn based, has a tech tree, and you direct your 'civ' through their first steps into colonizing other planets, but that's about where the similarities end. The biggest surprise for me was finding battles are fought through a 'card' system as opposed to something more tactical. Perhaps it was a bad assumption on my part, but it's not mentioned in the game description and the screenshots seem to indicate otherwise, so it's something to be aware of. The rest of the game (tech tree, economy, even ship designing) is pretty shallow once you get past the technobabble. Researching Xenobiology sounds cool the first time, but soon you'll realize about 3/4 of the entire tech tree just give +1 to a particular stat in a star system, and research loses a lot of shine. The biggest disappointment: 90% of the game is spent staring at the galaxy map clicking 'end turn'. On the plus side, graphics during the combat portion are pretty nice, and I enjoyed the random events which pop up from time to time. So, I don't know, Endless Space isn't bad, but then again, it's not all that great, either.… Expand

This review is only of Single Player.

I am going to start this review off by simply going through a match adding in the ups and downs. You begin by going through and either picking a race to play or creating your own. I found the premade races to be a bit generic, with only a few fresh races. Upon creating m own race I ran into m first few disappointments. 1st: Your race will have the generic ship look of one of the premade races of your choice. You will not get to customize your races ships past conforming to a premade race style. Also your picture/portrait will also have to be a premade races portrait. Both of these things slightly irritated me from the start as my United Federation of Planets had no style of it's own. Moving on during race creation there is a ton of traits/skills/cultural things you can add to your race or take away. You can also use this system to give advantages or disadvantages to your home planet. I found this system to be very creative and well though up. You can even going into the negative in some aspects to get a higher bonus in others. Getting into the game I noticed the GFX were ok, the menu system and interface was easy enough to use as well. The tutorial while somewhat bland did indeed show me the basic ins and outs of the game systems. I will also add that the story line was non-existent. You just in a galaxy with a whole bunch of races who apparently just want to beat the other race or something. You then start playing with a couple ships to colonize and scout other systems out. One of the first positive things I found was that if you had a colony in a system you could use that planet to colonize other planets in the same system this is a boon as I would not have to build a ship for each planet. Early phase of the game is basically a scramble to colonize as many systems as you can, and to explore as much of the galaxy as possible. Each solar system that has not been explored by any factions has some sort of exploration event. These events tended to bore me as I seemed to always get the same one aka finding another scout ship out of magic land. Also it is worth noting when you meet another race early on you start as cold war status. This basically means they kill every ship of yours they see until you or them research peace through the research trees. Some reason every1 is just out to kill each other in this galaxy for no reason. During the mid game you will be focusing on upgrading solar systems and planets. Every planet can be exploited in one way be it for food (farms) labor (factory) money (called dust, and you never get a good explanation of exactly what it is) or science. Solar systems get a large amount of upgrades that require money, and labor. You can unlock better planet exploits and better solar system upgrades through the research trees. During mid game you are bound to get into combat. There is always one race that hates you no matter what, and you will be forced to smash their face or give them something for peace (even if your stronger) First off let me tell you there are only 6 ship visual designs per race. There is absolutely no ship visual custom designs. So no matter what you watch the same 6 ships no matter what weapons or armor you put on them. During combat you can see the different weapons in action, but this only amounts to a different color missile or a blue laser instead of a green. The combat is visually appealing, but slow and tedious. When you go to war and you have 4+ battles each turn you will quickly learn to hit the auto button (Might I add the auto fight still takes about 45 seconds of watching a blue bar fill). The combat system used cards to attacks/def bonuses. You opponent can counter your cards with their own. You start with about 6 cards and more can be researched through the tech tree. This system while original is utter horse **** So many times I went into a fight with a superior force only to be countered every time by the computers cards and loose my fleets. Also you only have 30-45 seconds to pick your first card, you don't have enough time to make a correct choice before the battle begins and you miss out. It boils down to pick as fast as you can and prey. The research trees are my next topic. To be frank it blows. Research is all over the map. If you want better weapons do down the combat tree, if you want bigger ships you gotta go down the exploration tree. If you want more ships in a fleet to kill your enemy with number you gotta go down the diplomacy tree..... What this amounts 2 is you either balance you tech out and play the same way every game of you get stomped. If you focus your combat weapons and def you will get destroyed by bigger ships in larger fleets. If you focus on big ships, you will be destroyed by larger fleets of ships with better weapons. If you just want large fleets then you will die to bigger ships with better guns.… Expand

It's an indie game. Ofcourse it has little to no voice-overs or amateuristically done at best and the quality is low to mediocre. I wish people would stop buying indie games only to whine about the lack of depth and quality.

A good 4x game for long winter nights, but with a disappointing card-based combat game play unfortunately. Perfect technology tree, nice graphics and good planetary management system.

Now this game has a very acute taste. For those who wan't to buy this game and have seen the steam trailer I say to you "It's not really like that". Part of the trailer is accurate, but it forgets to show the painstakingly long period of time where it's basically you clicking next turn and research this. Plus the actual gameplay fighting scene/battle... WHICH, I would have never called it that. It is a strategy game and multiplayer but it is a pointless game. Which is anything but addictive. I played it on the normal setting's it provides as default and to but it nicely, "IT WAS CRAP". I played it for over 4000 turns to see if it was any good and i unlocked everything off the tech-tree and it was useless. The game requires multiplayer to make it the slights entertaining, but that was only because i was chatting to them on Skype. The only thing you can do on this whole cheap, crapy knock-off of "Civ" is, inhabit planets, choose what you would like to do on the planet, explore the universe which after 150 or so goes is done. Then there is the battle stage which you still only get to click buttons!!!!!!!!. To summarise this game I would say buy Civ 5 or any other strategy game that isn't this S**t piece of a game. It makes me so mad that i fell for that stupid cinematic trailer. What a waste of £27 or £23 for those who buy the normal edition. DON'T BUY THIS GAME. unless you like crapy repetitive stuff.… Expand

I do not accept the argument "Your playing wrong, don't just have fun exploring and colonizing planets while defending yourself. That isn't how Endless Space is meant to be played, and we won't LET YOU play it that way"!

There is a concept in most of these games of "corruption". As your empire grows bigger, you need to spend more to maintain it. I made it 1/2 way through one game before my economy went from 1 or 2 planets out of 25(ish) having problems with major problems with corruption to my entire empire crashing... in ONE turn (and the game was then unplayable).

I was researching (and building) people-placating technology at about a 4-1 ratio compared to everything else.

If I can't expand my empire and enjoy myself without the game breaking, it isn't worth playing. I wish I could get a refund from Steam for this turd.… Expand

The current installment is decent and fun to play. If you are looking to colonize space, research futuristic techs and design your own battleships, this is definitely worth the money. It has little to no storyline and very little "flavour", tho, and feels a bit too cold - I would say that it lacks a little grit that old masters like Alpha Centauri or Masters of Orion had. But it still has good, distinct feel to it and a very decent soundtrack. Negatives include linear gameplay - there really is only one winning strategy, despite multiple "victory types", repetitivness of tasks (all systems colonized need to have nearly the same basic structures build, in the same order), pointless diplomacy options (all are worthless) and a lack of any voiceover. I can't help it, but I would love to have some narrative and voiceovers incorporated.… Expand

Nope. Not a game you want, whether or not it's a Steam Free Weekend this weekend (11/30/12-12/2/12). Yuck. It's like intergalactic Risk: It's slow, you can't figure out what to do, and basically, it's not a game I want in any way, shape, or form.

It must be in Spanish or another language.. It's only in English, If it had been free to play, I wouldn't have been disappointed. I like games based in the space