Endless Space 2 Will Take Back the Stars

Per its Steam Early Access page, Endless Space 2 is a "turn-based, 4X space-strategy," and, while that's a relatively short phrase, my eyes glossed over about halfway through. It sounds intimidating, but I've been through this before.

A few month's ago, I reviewed another 4X Grand Strategy Space game called Stellaris. Headlines around the internet all read something along the lines of "Stellaris makes space great again," which I'm green with envy having not come up with something nearly as clever. But for all its flash and depth, it has nothing on Endless Space, the sequel to which seems poised to reclaim its throne atop the 4X space game kingdom.

It's as if Stellaris was a relief pitcher or a second-string basketball player, just good enough to give the starters a rest every now and then. But the coach is blowing the whistle on Paradox Interactive. "Go win us the game, Amplitude Studios."

For the record, if someone told me a year ago that I'd be the resident space-related 4X expert – or "4Xpert," if you will – I would have told them to quit stargazing. But here I am, GameRevolution's official astronaut, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Endless Space 2 puts you in the shoes of an emperor trying to control, explore, research or financially dominate space as we know it. Play as one of four factions (in the current build), each with their own specialty. Especially in the early access build, they won't do much hand-holding, so space is yours to explore. Research your desired tech, expand your influence and be wary of other life forms.

Just starting Early Access, Endless Space 2 has all the addictive qualities of any other fully completed 4X game, enticing you with its twists and turns, instilling a distinct "maybe just one more turn" attitude. And that's the best part. As fun and addicting as it is now, Endless Space 2 is only going to add more to beef up the experience, including more victory conditions, more factions from which to choose and, most importantly, multiplayer functionality.

So while an Early Access game inherently can't usurp the power of a fully released, critical and commercial success, it can certainly put one on notice. It was easy for a game like Stellaris to feel like a space simulation rather than a space game with an end goal, which is where Endless Space 2 succeeds so well. While a full playthrough of Endless Space 2 can take about 4-6 hours, in my experience thus far, that time goes by so quickly because every second that goes by, your opponents get a second closer to beating you to the finish line. It truly feels like a marathon, but without forgetting how rewarding those 26.2 miles actually are.

Their decision to bring turn-based gameplay back to Space 4X was also surprisingly well-received by me. Stellaris was real-time, but they also gave you a pause function in offline play. Endless Space 2 provides a little more structure so you don't have to spam the spacebar every five seconds to think about what you're going to do next.

For the moment, too, it seems to be one of the smoother Early Access experiences out there, as it truly seems like they're just trying to add more content, rather than get the game in a working state. Endless Space 2 could pass for a fully released game, given its performance. Granted, I'd be disappointed with the lack for victory conditions and galaxy variety, to name a few, but it certainly runs like a finished game should – it certainly runs better than Mafia III on PC.

I can only imagine that, as time passes, and I think about all the great 4X Space Grand Strategy Games I've reviewed, and will undoubtedly review in the future given my newfound niche as a games writer, Endless Space 2 will be my go-to memory for the height of the genre. Stellaris who?