Alongside the might of Firaxis Games’ Civilization 6 and the vastness of Paradox Interactive’s Stellaris and Crusader Kings 3, the 4X games of Amplitude Studios have always had a special place in my heart for their more unique, romantic approach to the world of strategy games. While its “strategic space opera” Endless Space 2 has long been beloved by many, however, some of its DLC was anything but. Now, though, both the base game and its Awakening add-on have been given hefty upgrades, and you can get it all at a big discount in this Steam sale.
Following on from the first game and its fantasy follow-up Endless Legend, Endless Space 2 sets you as the leader of your own civilization in the vastness of space. Way back in the heady days of 2017, our Endless Space 2 review found a game “brimming with evocative storytelling and wonderful design of races and creatures” that manages to offer a “more streamlined and deceptively accessible” spin on the genre. While it was at times lacking a little in depth, our reviewer Robert Zak noted that this is a common trend among many of the best 4X games, and something Amplitude could build on.
There was a lot of hope that the DLC would do just that, and several of the early offerings did, bringing new factions to the table and more. Yet its final faction bundle, Endless Space 2 Awakening, ended up falling rather short, with players delivering the add-on pack a ‘mostly negative’ rating via its Steam reviews.
Today, however, the team at Amplitude Studios has “truly exciting news for fans of Endless Space 2,” as it delivers a fresh update with extensive combat rebalancing for the base game and Awakening. Even better, a big Steam sale saving means now’s a great time to jump in for the first time and discover it for yourself.
“Many players felt that the content of this DLC [Awakening] did not live up to its promise,” the team explains, “so we knew big changes had to be made. While we were working on that, we also took the opportunity to overhaul the balance of space combat.” Amplitude has been testing its changes on a beta branch, so they should be pretty honed in at this point, and it hopes the rebalancing will “encourage more varied tactics and fleet compositions as well as strategic counterplay.”
As for Awakening, there have been adjustments to make the Academy Empire feel less relentlessly oppressive, while opportunities to interact diplomatically with the Academy have been expanded. The Nakalim faction, meanwhile, has been expanded dramatically – Amplitude admits that it “was not living up to the promise of awakening an ancient empire” in its old form, while the new-look Nakalim “should improve the feeling of reclaiming old glory.”
Endless Space 2 is on sale for 75% off on Steam until Thursday March 21. That means you’ll pay just $9.99 / £8.74 for the base game if you buy it now. Its paid DLC is also all on sale for 50-75% off, or you can get all the core add-ons in the Endless Space 2 Definitive Edition bundle for 77% off, meaning you can expect to pay just $24.01 / £20.33 for the lot.
If that’s not enough to keep your interstellar desires quenched, take a look through the best space games for even more star-hopping satisfaction. Or browse the best grand strategy games for plenty more large-scale faction management.
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