StarDrive 2

« StarDrive 2 does not dethrone Master of Orion 2 as the best 4X game in space ever made, but damn it gets close. It is almost as deep, it almost has the same rich atmosphere and almost that same inspired gameplay. That may not sound uplifting, but considering the bar we’re looking at, “almost” is a staggering achievement. No one has ever got - this - close. »

« Close to greatness, needs an end game. Like the original Galactic Council. [June 2015] »

« Stardrive 2 is an extremely ambitious title which I’d strongly suggest for fans of compulsively intricate gameplay. »

« Though its one-track mind and ruthless AI takes some getting used to, the robust mechanics, great interface and presentation are an incredibly impressive feat from a one-man studio, while sensational shipbuilding and fleet battles prove incredibly satisfying. »

« If you’re looking for a fun, clever little strategy game, you could do a lot worse than pick this up. »

« StarDrive 2 is a good 4X game with very inspired gameplay moments. »

« A better weapon balance, more victory conditions, more diplomacy options and ground assaults that are not at least completely soporific - there is still a lot that could be improved. »

« As it was with the first game, the future of StarDrive 2 depends on a single man – its main developer known as Zero. If he’ll give the game enough polish, it may become sparklingly brilliant. But the rough-cut diamond we have today deserves 73, and not a point more. [June 2015, p.74] »

« The game is good, with unique mechanics from **** 1. Unfortunately, game experience is often ruined by bugs, fleet battles that go at 1/2 fps even with a good pc setup, and shows a game that is now tested. From the concept, I like it, from the execution, it's far from a professional game on Unity, game crashes often. »

« Better than the first game, still not nearly as good as it could have been. It's trying to be a successor to Master of Orion, and it keeps getting closer and closer with each game - but it still isn't there yet. He also seems to have a problem with actually finishing his games, releasing them well before promised features are implemented - and then NEVER IMPLEMENTING THEM (thats why it's a 6 instead of a 7). The actual game play was improved over the first one... buuuut, the AI is still pretty bad (but better than in the 1st game) and UI is better. You will see people in the reviews complaining about tough AI. Ignore them, they are bad at the game. The AI is only tough on your first run through. After that, you should be able to beat it on the 2nd hardest difficulty with only few to moderate problems. Following that, beating it on the hardest difficulty is pathetically easy. Spoilers: Build missile ships. The AI's laser ships will never get within range to hit you, making battles stupidly lopsided in your favor. I was consistently destroying massive armadas with a handful of ships. The worst part was the attempted humor by whoever wrote the galactic robot/news guy. Holy crap was that irritating and cringe worthy. I hope the developer fire whoever did that, or alternatively hire someone who can actually write if he did it himself. »

« I do heavily enjoy this game. But I find it limited. I also find that its bugs make it unplayable. Here i am, 5 hours into a game, I've just lost 3 fleets and 2 planets. No no, don't misread, i wasn't defeated in battle. The enemy flew off the map and i was faced with a choice. let the battle play out, or end the match and sacrifice the match. I gave the first match like this 15 minutes, and no conclusion came. I am currently playing out the third match like this as i edit my review. Zero, the dev, has no intention of releasing a finished game, or even a playable game. This is just a cash grab by him. Why would i claim such? well **** 1 wasn't particularly improved, but was just left as he started the project for SD2. The last patch notes Ive seen was released Nov 24, 2015. The game is on sale today for 7.49 usd. It isn't worth $2.00 usd. Fix this game Zero. I am ashamed to admit I actually thought you'd continue to support this game. »

« This game is not finished and never will be. It has many, many problems. It looks decent at first, but play on if you must - the farther you advance the more obvious and game - breaking the problems become. There has been no significant improvement after the first two weeks of release until now - more than 4 months later. It is the developer's second game and the second time the developer has released an unfinished mess and then walked away - after calling his customers insane morons and many other names both in his forums here and on twitter. Buyer beware. »

« He didn't finish his first game, and he didn't finish this one. I honestly don't know why I thought it would be different this time around. He's a scammer, plain and simple. »

« Good first impression was ruined by insane amount of bugs and game incompleteness overall. Even no end screen, game just hangs on global map after last enemy elimination (the only victory condition). Ground combat is a joke. 12 FPS in mass battles on i72600k/GTX970/8Gb ram system. No desktop crashes, thanks for that, yet bugs are everywhere. Even after 5-6 patches and 7 (seven) weeks since release. Bugs known on first day still there. And what disappointing most, developer playing games instead of fixing bugs. A LOT. Right now he just officially abandoned patching to play Witcher 3. Doubt it will be even properly patched someday, not to mention any development. »

« Review is current per ver 1.1a With the latest patch fixing many gameplay and bug issues this is NOW a awesome game with a ton of potential. Best tactical space combat in any 4x game. Combines the best parts of Moo, Moo2, Gal Civ and other 4x games. -1 point for bug/ things need to be patched or fleshed out (occasional Crashes) and fixed but with future mods an patches this game with last years of fun. »

« **** 2 starts out with the enticing possibility that it really is a modern answer to MOO/MOO 2. It doesn't take very long to discover this isn't quite the case. The AI isn't just ultra-aggressive but also cheats more than just about any game in recent memory. Forget about winning - its impossible to even keep pace with the computer. And that's on the "easy" setting. Many aspects of the UI are vague and difficult to figure out as well as lacking polish and even the most basic of "smart" features. There are all sorts of side missions that recruited NPCs offer but they require playing an annoying turn-based tactical game ala Front Mission or **** at least you have a chance of beating them if you're careful. That's about the only victory you can hope to see in **** 2 past the first couple of random encounters with space crystals or pirates. Even the galaxy maps aren't very friendly. If you have multiple fleets around a star its sometimes impossible to click on one of them because they display in the exact same position. There are a fair number of rough edges all round. Want to start a game with a custom race? That's a crashin'. Actually winning a space battle in hands-on mode (i.e. non-auto combat)? That's a crashin' more often than not. All that having been said, this is still an impressive effort from a small indie developer. The game probably just needs a bigger team and about another six months in the oven. The devotion to the 4X perfection of MOO2 is hugely appreciated and I have hopes that **** 2 will be made playable in the near future. Right now its a bit of a mess. Sidenote: there's some bathroom language in at least one NPC dialog which seems totally out of place in a game like this (and most games, if I'm honest). »