Also movement outside the paths is very slow, and not really practical most of the time. Somewhat soon, you can research a tech that lets you fly in open space, but you must have a target system (you can’t just move one ‘hex’ north like you can in Civ). Initially ships can only move along pre-set paths between stars, and some star systems aren’t connected at all. Speaking of travel, it’s done very well in ES2. Sometimes even if you want peace, too many people are around you initially, or you want war but the star lanes to travel are terribly long and its just not possible. Because of the tech advantage, I had bigger/better ships, and eventually those fleets and heroes gained enough experience from successful combat to return to the offensive and capture/burn more territory.ĮS2 is very flexible like that, in that there are truly multiple ways to play and win, and not all of it is under your control. That was working great until three sides all attacked me, and then the game became a desperate struggle to hold my borders and repel fleets as they were coming in. In a second game I picked a more expansion/war focused race, and used a very heavy military technology focus to be aggressive and go after others. When we finally came into contact with a race that preferred war, together we were simply too strong and they didn’t go after us initially, and when they finally did declare war, we were able to counter-attack them easily. We still competed for star systems, as well as for completing the shared quests that occasionally pop up, but overall the game played to both our strengths. The result was a mostly peaceful game, with us eventually allying. In one game I was playing a peace-loving race, and the closest other major player was also peace-loving.

Each turn is still about moving units, building new colonies, building upgrades and ships at those colonies, and conducting warfare and diplomacy, but what you focus on will depend on who you are playing, as well as who you are facing. How they settle new planets is different, how they run their governments, what heroes and tech they have, etc. In ES2, much like Legends, each of the races/factions is far more unique than in Civ. They play like a game of Civ, but you don’t play them like a game of Civ, if that makes sense. What I like most about the Endless 4X games is that they are a good combo of feeling the same, in a good way, while also introducing some unique elements that really keep the game feeling fresh. It’s a good 4X strategy title, especially if you liked Endless Legends (basically the fantasy version of Endless Space). I played Endless Space 2 (ES2) during its free weekend last week, and picked it up on Monday before the sale ended.

Endless space 2 tips on ground combat