Distant Worlds 2

Game doesn't make any sense. If you want to watch a game get played for you then I guess this is the game for you? Essentially the "AI" of the game manages the day to day items and you can create your own fleets to do what you want with, but everything else is at most a quick, "you should do this do you approve?" question on the side bar. There wouldn't be any reason not to just approve whatever it asks of you, not sure why I the player am even needed...

Great game. Large progress since the release in summer 2022. The learning curve for this game is quite brutal, but there is adequate third party information on forums, as well as in game encyclopedia which can provide adequate information. The exploration part of this game is extremely satisfying. The focus of this game is more on tactics and ship/base design and less on diplomacy and empire building, as opposed to Stellaris.

The game crashed several times. The biggest issue is it's unnecessarily complex. So many windows and buttons and options etc. Very hard to keep track of every detail. Automating half your game so its playable seems silly. Master of Orion, the game all these games spawned from was complex but not so much as it too all your time to just cycle through windows. Very steep learning curve here.

Pick your depth. This game can 100% play itself or you can delve right in to the intricacies. The game does need a lot more in the way of explanations. Although the devs did a good job explaining a lot of the info, there is still a lot more left unexplained. Fighting with the ai is a problem too, as the ai can be making decisions that your not even aware of; turning your reasonably positive cashflow into a deficit.

The concept of the Emperor's Throne Space Simulation has been an elusive Holy Grail of strategy game design. This game is the closest that you are going to get in the current era. The genius of the game is that you can customize what you want to keep a firm grip on and what you want to automate. Personally I take a hands on approach to the military side and let my minions in the private sector build my war machine. The game requires some investment in learning the systems, nuances and eccentricities but the payoff is more than worth it. I'm still discovering new synergies and interactions after over 200 hours. The game is constantly improving: new factions, new content, better automation AI. This is a really wonderful space empire simulation. I highly recommend it. The hours will pass while you mine rare resources, design your ships, crawl up the massive tech tree and crush your enemies. The new Shakturi expansion looks to bring a serious end game challenge to the late game which is very welcom. 10/10

Private/Civilian ships and investments is great and something other games should implement, but the game is too clunky and buggy to be worth it. you need to automate a lot of aspects but you don't always have the options to instruct the ai to do what you want.

I built a $4000 computer just to play this game (the game crashed on my old computer so i thought i needed upgrades) and I still cant play anything other than the smallest map with the smallest amount of stars without the game crashing halfway through.

RIP Distant Worlds 2. We are gathered here today to mourn the premature passing of our once cherished time sink, so violently ripped from our grasp on 25 October 2025. Nay, it is not the wasted, unfinished, unloadable, 450hrs of time for which we mourn today, but the manner in which it was lost. For the authourities that be, do not acknowledge the passing or the fraud committed upon our community. Perhaps the phoenix will rise from the ashes again one day, but for now we say "ashes to ashes...dust to dust" and soldier on with life. Amen. Do not believe the lies contained within the stated recommended specs. The update changed them dramatically as well as adding untold bugs. If you play on a PC with anything at or under recommended you will only be able to play postage stamp size maps, not DW2. Don't buy this unless you have 12 core 3Ghz CPU, 32 Gb RAM, and RTX4060 (or equivilant) and have lots of patience to find ways around the bugs (I did find workarounds for most of them fairly quickly). Thanks........now back to DW:U on GOG :)