Distant Worlds: Universe

 PC
Distant Worlds: Universe Image
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 97 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: Distant Worlds is a vast, pausable real-time 4X space strategy game. Experience the full depth and detail of turn-based strategy, but with the simplicity and ease of real-time, and on the scale of a massively-multiplayer online game.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. GameWatcher
    Jun 12, 2014
    90
    It's a challenging and complex game packed with features that allows you to choose just how you want to play it, while accommodating a wide variety of play-styles and strategies.
  2. PCGamesN
    Jun 27, 2014
    90
    An exceedingly complex, infinitely rewarding space strategy game. It’s made me more excited about the genre than any other game of its kind since Galactic Civilizations II.
  3. Digitally Downloaded
    Jun 17, 2014
    90
    Distant Worlds: Universe is a corker. But make no mistake: while it’s not as forbidding as some Grand Strategy games, patience and a degree of head-scratching will be required. But it’s worth the effort. It’s enormous, complex and – above all – fun.
  4. Gamer.no
    Jun 18, 2014
    90
    An already great game returns as one of the best space strategy games ever made.
  5. IGN Italia
    Jun 2, 2014
    79
    A one-of-a-kind 4X, Distant Worlds blends epic scale and macromanagement. The Universe release doesn't bring a lot of new content, but is a nice wrap-up nonetheless.
  6. Eurogamer
    Jun 30, 2014
    70
    While Distant Worlds may be a paragon of its style, I can only recommend it to a select few: those with beefy computers and plenty of time to really dig into the meat of this stunningly elegant and impressively wide-ranging bit of software.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 22
  3. Negative: 4 out of 22
  1. Animorganimate
    May 23, 2014
    10
    Distant Worlds has ruined me for other space-based 4X-strategy games, which is a genre I love more than any other. I try to go back to GalCivDistant Worlds has ruined me for other space-based 4X-strategy games, which is a genre I love more than any other. I try to go back to GalCiv and MoO once in a while, but nothing matches the scale and minute level of control that Distant Worlds offers. I'll be playing this for years to come.… Expand
  2. Legimon
    Sep 7, 2014
    10
    One of the best 4X games I´ve ever played. Together with the very active modding community this game means endless fun for hours. AlreadyOne of the best 4X games I´ve ever played. Together with the very active modding community this game means endless fun for hours. Already played 240 hours since i bought it a couple of months ago.

    I was lucky to find it by accident. Would miss it badly now.    … Expand
  4. alienrenegade
    May 26, 2014
    10
    If You are a fan of MoO, Endless Space, Space Empires or any other great 4X sci-fi You should definitely buy Distant Worlds: Universe. ThisIf You are a fan of MoO, Endless Space, Space Empires or any other great 4X sci-fi You should definitely buy Distant Worlds: Universe. This game is a true gem in this genre and with the modding capabilities added in the last expansion You can play this game in Mass Effect, Star Trek or other themes. Definitely the best 4X sci-fi game ever created.

    TL:DR
    Totally must have for any 4X sci-fi fan!    … Expand
  5. Dasmike
    Jan 11, 2015
    9
    This is one of the few games that I have ever paid full price for, and I must say, it should be regarded as one of the best additions to theThis is one of the few games that I have ever paid full price for, and I must say, it should be regarded as one of the best additions to the 4x genre ever produced. Considering the size of the development team (basically one guy), the wealth of features, and its sheer replay value, there is literally no reason that a 4x fan shouldn't pick it up. As other reviewers have noted, it has Windows UI support, which turns out to be surprisingly convenient as you can easily import/export designs and saved games. It's highly moddable, and the community takes full advantage of this, with almost every major Sci-Fi franchise represented on the official forums.

    The learning curve is steep, as the game has many mechanics that are not fully elaborated upon by the manual or the tutorials. Speaking of which, the tutorial is one of the reasons I decided to knock off one point, as it really does not prepare a new player for even a very easy game. In the same vein as the venerable but tragically obscure Space Empires series, users have the option to tweak their designs down to individual components on the ship. However, unlike Space Empires, you are unable to define where a component will go, only that the ship is equipped with it. But that is alright, as there are a host of other variables to take into consideration when designing.

    Another outstanding feature is the presence of a private sector. Rather than being forced to micromanage every tiny aspect of your Empire's economy, your spaceports will automatically build commercial vessels that do not cost anything, and yet the tax revenue generated by the trade routes they establish with other colonies, both owned by you and by the AI Empires, can be truly enormous. There is one potentially game breaking exploit though, that has yet to be resolved. You can redesign commercial vessels for the private sector, so if you equip them without any armor or weapons, your profit margins from tax revenue will predictably rise. If those vulnerable ships are destroyed? It costs you nothing, and as a bonus, those ships are "insured," meaning the AI will pump out a replacement without so much as a fuss. There are lots of other little tricks like this that can be applied to government funded ships that will send your economy through the roof and make you a galactic superpower in short order.

    Much has been made of the automation capabilities of the AI, and this is generally great for new players, but the AI design templates are suboptimal, so you may find yourself redesigning literally everything. Also, never allow the AI to decide how many military vessels or ground troops to build, as you will go bankrupt in short order.

    One other minor niggle that I have is that the tech tree, while extensive, does not favor a wide variety of play styles. There is one type of late-game beam weapon, one type of late-game missile weapon, and one type of late-game propulsion, etc, that is superior to all of the race-specific unique types. This means that your ships will be mostly identical between games, and I find this unfortunate because the mid-game tech tree is actually more diverse than late-game.

    Either way though, I still heartily recommend this game, because even though it may look graphically outdated, and doesn't have multiplayer, it stands well above its AAA rivals and mostly rewards a cerebral, rather than formulaic approach that is so unfortunately common amongst its more graphically pleasing peers. If the caveats I listed above don't seem like a deal breaker to you, then I guarantee you that this game will be on your hard drive for years to come.    … Expand
  6. Icemania
    Jun 20, 2014
    9
    A couple of years ago I found this game by pure chance. After many years of playing almost every Space 4X I was desperate to find somethingA couple of years ago I found this game by pure chance. After many years of playing almost every Space 4X I was desperate to find something better and luckily I found it ... Distant Worlds is best in class and it's since become my most played game. It's a huge relief to see it on Steam because it's ready for Prime Time.

    A couple of key things to keep in mind before you purchase:

    1. This is a massive game and it will take some patience to get over the initial learning curve. You can choose what to automate and what to control, so start with manual control in one or two of your favourite areas only (e.g. for me it was research and fleets) and build from there.

    2. Once over the learning curve hump, if you like this type of game, you'll probably be hooked. In time you will find more layers of the onion to peel away. My game strategies were still evolving 100's of hours later.

    3. It's a real time game but you can pause to make it feel somewhat like a turn based game and to help keep your massive empires under control. As a result don't be put off by real time if you prefer turn based games.

    4. The graphics are average. If this is your primary driver this probably isn't your game. But if you want plenty of massive battles you'll get them.

    5. There is a massive array of setup options and as a result the game has significant longevity.

    6. The Universe release has greatly expanded mod capability. I don't play with many mods but Distant Worlds has some good ones.

    7. The Developer has a long track record of providing support and patches. This game will continue to improve ...

    If this sounds like your type of game then I recommend it highly.    … Expand
  7. BufordTJustice
    Jun 13, 2014
    9
    Distant Worlds: Universe is an amazing "living galaxy" 4X strategy game. Thinking of it as Europa Universalis in Space comes maybe closest toDistant Worlds: Universe is an amazing "living galaxy" 4X strategy game. Thinking of it as Europa Universalis in Space comes maybe closest to describe it in one sentence. It is in real time, but can be paused ant any time. You can also freely set teh pace of the game. Its options for customization are unique: there is a vast amount of options to customize the game to your liking: size of the galaxy, aggressiveness of the enemies and pirates (which can be turned off completely), colonisation range limits ("sphere of influence"), tech progression, "age" of the galaxy and so on. I am not aware of any other game that allows for so many options.
    Basically, your goal is to expand, to colonize other planets and to rule the galaxy. But this game is so huge in scope... Simply set yourself any goal you want. You can also turn off victory conditions.
    If you want, you can control any tiny little bit of your empire: diplomacy, fleet formation, ship design, space station building, colonisation activities etc. But what makes this game so valuable and is that you can also decide to fully automate one section of your empire. You don't want to deal with ship design? Then let the AI do it for you. This freedom of choice between manual control and automatisation let's you even configure a game mode, where you automate your whole empire and just control a single fleet - play as an Admiral!) or a single ship (play as a captain!). The possibilities are endless.
    With Universe, DW has een four expansions an has reached a high level of perfection. However, it is not for everybody. You need to have time and the willingness to undergo the learning curve. I recommend to check out some Let's Plays on Youtube, to see if the game is for you. he atmosphere it creates is simply amazing.
    it is also noteworthy that the whole game is made by one guy, who gives an amazing support and is stilll patching this game with a high frequency. The community on the Matrix forums is very pleasant.    … Expand
  8. JaysWay
    Dec 17, 2014
    0
    I was a new player for Distant Worlds and i gave up after watching more than 6 hours of crappy tutorials & gameplay.
    I didn't even managed to    I was a new player for Distant Worlds and i gave up after watching more than 6 hours of crappy tutorials & gameplay.
    I didn't even managed to folow 1 of those from the start, because the development progresses differently during gameplay.
    The game is over documented like a 30 yo text base game, and doesn't show new players what it's all about. To me it seems like some programmer is trying to create a game that cannnot be understand by normal people who love space games, he's just trying to annoy us ! Well, SCREW THIS WANNABEE SPACE GAME, it has lost me ( and i'm sure a lot more people )    … Expand

See all 22 User Reviews

Current PC Games

Full List »
89 Resident Evil 2
85 Total War: Three Kingdoms
84 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
82 Metro Exodus
81 Anno 1800
80 My Friend Pedro
79 Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
79 Dauntless
78 They Are Billions
78 Tropico 6
78 Descenders
74 Dawn of Man
73 RAGE 2
71 The Sinking City
71 ASTRONEER
69 Tannenberg
60 Jump Force
59 Anthem
54 Crackdown 3
51 One Piece: World Seeker
All Current Games »