Advisors at the End of the Universe

I loved this game! Although a bit complex at first, the game runs almost perfectly and is supposed to be getting constant updates. I definitely will recommend to anyone who loves micromanaging or just anyone who wants to try another type of "conquer the world" (well in this case universe) type of game.

I was given a review copy on the condition I write an honest review, focusing on constructive criticism. After playing the game I think, at the risk of seeming like an access journalist, that this game deserves my recommendation. Conditionally. Summary: Advisors at the End of the Universe (AEU for short) is a somewhat indirect 4X game akin to Master of Orion but played in real-time, the most comparable game of this sort being The Last Federation, by Arcan Games. The premise is that you are an advisor guiding an interstellar empire to one of five types of victory, most of them peaceful. You directly choose what facilities (as well as WMDs and agents) are built, what technologies are researched, and what your empire’s culture will be. Everything else, particularly colonization, trade, and war, is handled by the AI. Gameplay is short, more like a MOBA than a 4X; a long playthrough will take around 40 minutes, similar to Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, but only if you’re doing any good. Otherwise you’ll lose mercifully fast. Problems: In its current state the game lacks user friendliness, which for a $10 casual game can be a deal breaker. The specific issues are below. • Missing features: no guide to which keys do what; no in-game tutorial or tech/trait encyclopedia; not enough mouseover text or instructions for the user interface or advisors. • Bugs: the game occasionally freezes for no reason. (There were more, but those got fixed.) • Charts and readouts take up so much of the screen that I can barely see my empire, and the status log is unclear as to what’s going on. • It’s possible to choose cultural traits that cancel each other out, which wastes scarce trait points. • Gameplay often feels luck-based, dependent on how the other empires do and where I’m starting out. I can build facilities and set up whatever defenses I can, but could suddenly be trounced by a giant empire. • Some of the word choice is non-intuitive; for example, each facility (called Large Scale Projects, or LSPs for short) cost a certain number of points to build, but points are called “uses.” Positives: In spite of this games problems, which I trust will be fixed in short order, AEU has a lot to recommend for gamers. • Whatever problems there are will be fixed as you read this review, in fact, many of the ones in my first draft were feed in less than a week. I even put off posting this review specifically to play an improved version of the game. • It’s very simple to get into and play, and actually fun once I know what I’m doing, or what I’m supposed to do to survive. • The graphics are very retro; not just polished SNESesque sprites but something out of a Commodore game. Such simplicity helps me immerse myself in the management of an empire. More functionally, the high-contrast color scheme makes everything easy to find as well. If nothing else, it’s different than the usual ocean spectrum I’ve come to expect from sci-fi games. • The pace is fast, meaning I can win a game in less than an hour, and even losing doesn’t feel like a frustrating waste of time. It also eases learning the fine details of the game in spite of lacking an encyclopedia or tutorial. • The chip tune music is something I can listen to for hours. Well, minutes since I won’t be playing for very long. Regardless, it’s pleasant ambiance. • The game’s made by a person rather than a AAA publisher, meaning there’s no corporate buffer systems (aka BS) getting between feedback and the programmer. The game even has an inbuilt Discord link specifically for feedback. This game isn’t a cash grab: it’s a work of art and love. • Which means there are more features coming!

I've been a fan of RTS's and other strategy games before I was even in school, starting out with Age of Empires and various flash Tower Defense games. I've always enjoyed the gleeful feeling of winning these because you need to get beaten down a few times unless you know the game properly; You're not likely to win by pure luck. And that's exactly the case; You will be beaten to a pulp the first few times you play. There's no going around it. It's taken me five hours of gameplay (About 10 matches) before I finally found a good build order and way to use my agents to build things for me so I can win a single victory; Dominating my enemies via warfare and buying them out. Which may I say is quite the nice touch. You're not just destroying millions in planetary disasters and conquest at all times, you can be buying them out because they aren't fully equipped economically. That way you don't need to just focus on military. The main thing to enjoy about Advisers is that it's a mixture of semi-idle and micro-managing your agents and advisers to build things for you so you do not need to click on each territory you own to build something, send in a spy or inflict a plague on your enemy. Do you want to put Mining Centers all over your territory? Use the advisers and tell them to build one as soon as you have enough resources. Simple enough, but still quite entertaining to see, especially when your territory grow thanks to some well-placed spies tricking a rival to go to war with you, just so you can destroy them with superior military power. It's however, lacking in the meantime a few minour and majour things that are being worked on. Sockets had just launched at the time of the review (11/08/2019). They do not have any effects yet, but you can still obtain them through the drop system. The music does get repetitive, but more music is going to be composed as well. Like many other early access games, it is being worked on, but the game is incredibly fun nonetheless. It is still in Early Access with a few things missing or lacking, but overall the game is quite enjoyable and makes you feel so ecstatic that you have won. With an overall rating of 7/10 if I were to give it a number, I can heartily recommend this to anyone who enjoys strategy games and planning how to destroy our opponent. I am curious to see where it goes next and how it will be improved.

P gud. Not bad, has some things that may need some tweaks, but otherwise good game.

Good game