Endless Space 2

A beautiful, deep and fun experience that will take hours from your life… but you won’t regret it.

If you're looking for a replayable sci-fi strategy game to grab a hold of your man hours, then Endless Space 2 will provide you with all you desire. Endless Space 2 sets a new and beautiful benchmark for the 4X genre, masterfully laid out and something future 4x developers will enjoy learning from.

Despite a bit of a misstep regarding space battles, I have very little to complain about when it comes to Endless Space 2. Any bugs or other technical frustrations I had in the Early Access have disappeared with the full release, which also includes a whole new Faction that I can’t wait to play.

Endless Space 2 doesn't sugarcoat the 4x experience, and it can be daunting when you realize that all 600 icons on the screen have a tooltip you need to read to make just this one decision. Despite all that complexity, none of it seems unnecessary, which means every one of those tooltips has essential information.

This is a deep sci-fi 4X extravaganza. Loads of beautifully and sometimes very subtle connected game systems make this the most atmospheric and most complex 4X in recent years.

Endless Space 2 offers hundreds of ways to play, an interesting player-driven narrative experience, and above all the addictive turn-based gameplay we've grown to love.

Endless Space 2 is probably the best videogame ever created by Amplitude Studios, a 4X strategic game with an incredible personality, a deep (and unusual, for this type of productions) storyline, and an almost flawless gameplay. A real gem.

Quotation forthcoming.

Even though I wish that Endless Space 2 had fully controllable battles and smarter AI opponents, this is still an amazing game that you will be exploring for hours.

A modern take on the cult classic Master of Orion. The drawback is that while it offers almost perfectly executed traditional 4X gameplay, it fails to throw anything fresh on top of it. [07/2017, p.40]

Endless Space 2 is one of the very best 4X games money can buy, specially if you like space related stuff. The only drawback is the lack of accessibility for newbie players who might find it hard to get aboard.

This is one of the deepest strategy and management games we've ever played, and it delivers everything 4X fans can ask for.

Fans of 4X gaming cannot really go wrong here. Endless Space 2 is a well-crafted game, that is expansive in all the right places, precise where it needs to be, complicated in an engaging way and truthfully, wonderful to look at. It’s also, after a bit of a time-investment (the tutorial is well-structured in this regard), pretty welcoming to any curious passers-by. Endless Space 2 has that special, addictive, one-more-turn quality about it. There is real style here, and a hell of a lot of substance to back it up.

If you love the 4x genre, you will love Endless Space 2.

Endless Space 2 is an amplified journey across the galaxy, it doesn't reinvent the 4x strategy style, but everything it does, it does well.

Endless Space 2 is a great 4X strategy game that is almost guaranteed to improve. While not free of bugs, including a few large ones, it's a title that oozes character. Each and every game offers the flexibility to play the way you want to and adapt as you please, while offering some excellently told stories with every game also offering a fresh emergent story to boot.

Fans of 4X games set in space will be pleased to know that Endless Space 2 is a real high-quality product. It's well made as well as engrossing. That's it. I really hope that Amplitude's new game wins the same acclaim as another successful cosmic strategy, Stellaris.

Endless Space 2 brings 4X to life with a gorgeous presentation and a host of new approaches to a well-established genre. While a few bugs remain, Amplitude has patched the game twice in the last week. By all accounts, Endless Space 2 is easily one of the best examples of the genre.

There's a lot to like here if you give it a chance, and even if strategy isn't your preferred genre, you might find that it's worth your time to give ES2 a shot.

While many of the main gameplay mechanics remain like the original, many smaller changes have been made to improve the overall gameplay experience. The UI is wonderful and the varied faction mechanics allow for a good amount of replay ability. There are plenty of joyous empire building moments to be had in Endless Space 2 and it also contains a good level of strategic depth especially in multiplayer.

With a much improved tutorial advisor, fantastic graphics, and race specific storylines, Endless Space 2 is a galactic adventure worth having.

Good 4X game with some interesting changes, but it can't surpass the predecessor due to a lack of innovations and the old-fashioned presentation.

Huge space strategy housed within a gleaming shell. It'll keep you boldly going for months. [Aug 2017, p.74]

Some may prefer the accessible Master of Orion, some may want the complexity and diversity of Stellaris. Bur for now Endless Space 2 is my first choice: challenging, suspenseful and sufficiently versatile, but still accessible enough, so I don’t tumble into one failure after another.

A perfect example of how the 4X strategy can be comprehensive, and yet remain clear and accessible to beginners. If you ignored the genre or it started to bore you, this is the reason to give it another chance. [Issue#274]

Endless Space 2 is a glorious (and graphically awesome) iteration of the tired 4X formula. There are some interesting innovations that can lead the genre a little further together with some quirks in the interface that can lead to frustration for the more advanced players.

Endless Space 2 is one of the strongest 4X games in recent memory, even if it's not the deepest.

Endless Space 2 is the rare 4X game where the writing is better than the strategy—though the strategy is still pretty decent.

The performance, happiness and stability issues drag down a game that could have received a perfect score. If I had a choice, I’d roll back to the previous patch to at least have a stable game again, but that’s not an option. Fortunately there are ways to win the game without having a large portion of the map in your back pocket. When the turns are processing, battles are resolved smoothly and revolts remain manageable, Endless Space 2 is an absolutely magnificent game. There is so much to discover, so much to do and so many different ways to do it, it’s dazzling when you get started. But once you have the basics under control and start noticing the many intricate ways in which the game allows you to manage and fine-tune your empire, it is hard not to be impressed.

Where other 4X titles lean towards a more utilitarian presentation, Endless Space 2 starts with a great 4X game and layers on good art, great writing, and excellent UI design. There's a wide variety of play in the available factions and a deep political system that underpins the entire thing. The combat disappoints and the AI could use some improvement, but Amplitude is known for its expansions and improvements. What's here is already a 4X class act.

Endless Space 2 is an amazing sci-fi strategy game, with an impressive art style and a lot of options to rule your own galactic empire.

Endless Space 2 is the quintessence of the 4X genre. Despite confusing menus, some bugs and some issues with its combat system, it offers a deep and complex gameplay, and a captivating experience.

One of the best sci-fi strategy games ever made, with an impressive amount of storytelling variety and accessible controls.

Outstanding depth and tactical challenge have been preserved, although not at the expense of the strong storytelling needed to emphasize the sense of awe and wonder in galactic exploration that’s always been a huge part of the genre’s appeal. Amplitude has done a masterful job combining these two elements into a single game, where the quests and strategy and politics and economy are all tied into a whole much greater than the sum of its parts.

Endless Space 2 bolsters Amplitude’s reputation for superb, unique 4X faction design. The interwoven narrative and management mechanics produce a universe within which its easy to lose yourself, but some lingering bugs suggest the game may have launched prematurely.

Just as Endless Legend and Civilization V are now far superior to how they started, so can Endless Space 2 be. It’s odd to talk of foundations in something so markedly floaty and space-based, so perhaps it’s better to think of this as an outpost, plonked down on a planet waiting to be colonised. It’s a fertile planet, sure, but one that’s yet to be fully exploited.

Endless Space 2 is the game that the fans of the 4X genre wanted and expected. Not only it is great for the most experienced players, but also has a style that is perfect for newcomers.

A beautiful and capable 4X game, with memorable personality that's seemingly calculated down to the pixel level. It doesn't deviate much from the genre's norms, but it delivers a generally satisfying 4X experience with only a few missteps in combat and diplomacy. Provided you're also okay with tackling a steep learning curve, it's also a satisfying entry point for the genre.

Gorgeous grand strategy with atmosphere, depth and replayability—but it needs more time to reach its potential.

A truly deep and compelling 4X game that will keep players busy for hours. What it's lacking in ability to pick up and play, it makes up for by delivering a beautiful experience for those who are willing to keep at it until they understand it all.

A charming title with a breathtakingly good interface, Endless Space 2 is a clear improvement over its predecessor.

Every race has its own narrative, but it doesn’t work like it did in Endless Legends: tasks feel disjointed and random, and there’s no victory by completing the storyline. Procedurally generated quests are even more arbitrary, and Academy storyline can’t quench thirst for good storytelling on its own. [Issue#221, p.90]

There's much to recommend in Endless Space 2, and its art and writing has the potential to open up a complex genre to a new audience, but there's no escaping the fact it'll be a better game in six months. [Aug 2017, p.116]

Long and enjoyable, Endless Space 2 offers the user a deep experience full of options and with thousands of objectives to achieve. It is also difficult and very, very slow.

Endless Space 2 offers great political and administrative mechanics, but lacks compelling warfare and diplomacy systems.

Endless Space 2 really pushed the boat out with great animations and pretty decent graphical elements, but the constant performance issues do detract from the overall experience. I would recommend you check out a few gameplay videos before jumping in unless you’re a 4X fan. The game takes a lot from titles like Stellaris when it comes to politics, but stops short of being a great overall strategy game. If Amplitude pushed the envelope a bit further with a more nuanced political spectrum and ditched the turn-based aspect, I could have seen myself loving this game. But at the moment, it's just adequate.