Elite Dangerous

Oh Elite Dangerous... you held such promise, once! This game is a lot of things in 2026. It's still a procedurally generated "simulation" of the Milky Way Galaxy. It has a lot of ships, and they look neat and sound neater. But what were once a set of fairly balanced ships that you could reasonably purchase and outift with in-game currency have since given way to a handful of all-upside and no-downside power creep ships that are initally paywalled with real-cash "micro" transactions a la Star Citizen. Fully kitted out ships also remain for sale, again for real-cash, which allows you to skip the gameplay loops entirely (and honestly you might want to, more on that later). And that procedurally generated galaxy? Well, its still unfathomably massive. And for all intents and purposes empty. Back in 2016/2017 the game seemed to be on the up. There were these cool mysteries being sprinkled in amongst various star systems, involving two different alien races. You would be exploring a planet and stumble across ruins that would provide you with some backstory. You would be flying between planets in a system and get interdicted by a spooky alien ship that would drag you out of FTL, disable you, scan you and then take off. There was a big in-universe story event involving some important person being transported from one place to another in game in real time, with the character's fate being entirely in the player base's hands. The events were to be cannonized in a novella. Things were happening, the universe felt alive, felt populated by mysteries waiting to be discovered. And... well FDev wrapped 'em all up. The Thargoid War is in the past, with nothing to replace it. The Guardians story line eventually resulted in some upgrades and then fizzled out. Stuff stopped really happening. The once barren procgen planets now sometimes feature one of a handful of static "lifeforms" which amount to a barren rock with some space plants scattered around. Not an ecosystem, just like a group of "alien" looking trees. Its quite sad, they may as well be rocks. A paid DLC was launched to abysmal failure in the form of "space legs" which lets you walk around on the barren rocks and attack settlements in some of the worst FPS gameplay you'll ever come across. No planets with atmospheres though, just settlements on barren airless rocks for some reason. Smart. After all the intrigue and mysteries were left behind all that was (and is) left is just meaningless grind. The gameplay loops in this game have always been grindy at the best of times, but its been taken to a whole other level over the years. The tasks you're presented with just arent fun. And outside of ship combat they dont require anything approaching skill. It's meaningless busy work for its own sake. You can be a space miner! Which involves just staring at a rock and shooting it, having probes pick up the resources, then flying to a station to sell the resources before flying back to do it all over again, repeating ad nauseum for hours. You can be a space trucker! Literally just bounce between Point A and Point B, with the "hauling" interactivity happening entirely inside menus (so much of this game's interactivity exists in menus). You can do the same thing with "passengers" but its just a different set of words in a menu. Perhaps the most "active" gameplay loop is PvE or PvP ship battles. The PvP provides some variety due to the unpredictability of a human opponent, but the PvE all blends together into just another endless samey chore. That said, PvP requires very specific meta upgraded to the max. Which requires you to engage with tons of the other eye wateringly boring "gameplay" loops for literal dozens of hours. If you don't do the upgrades, you may as well not even try to PvP. In the open mode you're a minnow swimming the same seas with sharks, and they will devour you in seconds. Its best not to participate in the open mode in any capacity around popular places, because bored groups of seal-clubbers are waiting to gank any other human player they come across. Everything you do is in the service of hoarding currency and resources. None of the resources really "do" anything outside of act as proxies for in game currency or fill an "x number of these" requirement for an upgrade. And upgrade is about the only thing there is to do. You can gain currency and resources to buy and outfit a ship. Then "engineer" it (upgrade) in the most painfully drawn out process possible. But to what end? There's essentially no narrative structure to this galaxy. No story arcs, campaigns, universe progression, barely anything that can be classed as a raid or a boss fight (not nothing, but nothing to write home about). The entire set of gameplay loops is just in the service of buying and upgrading ships, but with nothing meaningful to do with any of it except min maxed versions of the incredibly boring "gameplay" to gain more resources you don't need. There's a couple other things to do that I'm glossing over. You can travel around to undiscovered star systems and scan them to get your name placed on them, and you can sell the scan data, but again for what ultimate purpose. Play long enough and you'll be a space billionaire with nothing to buy. You can do "powerplay" and declare yourself for one of the supposed political powers, but its ultimately about grinding the boring gameplay loops to change the name of who controls a system. There's no greater story driving any of it. You can "colonize" a system, get a station set up, even get a big ship called a fleet carrier which is essentially just a movable station. The latter is mostly meant as a resource sink to give players somewhere for their money and resources to go via upkeep. But none of these things provide you anything much different than any other station or someone else's carrier. Its ultimately just another object for you to land at. At the end of the day you'll still take off in your ship with nothing in the entire galaxy to do other than the same old pointless grindy make-work tasks. Gosh I wish this game would've had a glow up. Its genuinely cool to fly around and see a planet or a sun, take some screenies of your sick looking ship, "explore" the simulated galaxy. Its just a shame there's so little to do in it, and an even greater shame that what's there is just so utterly banal, repetitive, and extremely boring.

Best game that resembles real life where I buy an expensive vehicle then end up spending most of my time paying for it's upkeep

I used to love this game. Elite Dangerous was once one of the best space simulators ever made. I still remember the wonder I felt the first time I launched into space, jumping from system to system, staring at the full explorable galaxy map, and setting off on long voyages into the vast unknown. I played as a hauler, moving goods from one location to another. It was simple, but deeply fulfilling. As I built my reputation, I earned better parts, more cargo space, better ships, higher payouts, and the ability to travel to distant systems. Back then, the progression felt rewarding. I remember starting with tiny payouts of only a few thousand credits, and by the end of my last playthrough a few years ago, I was earning millions per mission. It felt like my time and effort mattered. I recently reinstalled the game hoping to relive that nostalgia, but unfortunately, I was very disappointed. This once-beloved game has become painfully grindy. Now even allied factions only seem to offer a couple hundred thousand credits instead of the millions they used to. Many of the missions require you to spend credits to purchase or locate goods yourself, which takes away from the simple hauling gameplay I loved. The old-school hauling experience feels like it is gone. I have a Type-9 Heavy with around 640 cargo space, but I often end up hauling maybe 200 goods for what feels like scraps. The reward just does not match the ship, the effort, or the time invested anymore. I had heard people say the developers drove this game into the ground, but I didn't want to believe it. Sadly, after coming back, I understand why people feel this way. Goodbye, Elite Dangerous. You are the ex I used to love.

I've been gaming for over 40 years, and somehow Elite Dangerous slipped past me until now. I started out thinking it was just another space game, but it has turned into one of the most relaxing and rewarding experiences I've had in years. I'm currently about 1,500 light-years from inhabited space on my first real exploration expedition. Every jump is a mystery. Some systems have nothing but stars, while others reveal dozens of planets, alien life, and worlds where I'm the first person to ever set foot. Landing on an untouched planet, driving an SRV across the surface, and collecting DNA from alien plants while knowing no one has been there before is an incredible feeling. The game doesn't hold your hand. It expects you to learn, make mistakes, and slowly become a better explorer. That learning curve can be frustrating at first, but it makes every discovery feel earned. The graphics, sound, and sense of scale are unlike anything I've experienced. Sitting alone in deep space with nothing but the hum of your ship and a billion stars around you creates moments that are surprisingly peaceful. Elite Dangerous isn't a game for everyone. If you need constant action, you may lose interest. But if you've ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what it would feel like to explore the unknown, this game captures that feeling better than anything I've played. Highly recommended for explorers, dreamers, and anyone who enjoys creating their own adventure rather than following someone else's story.

Title: 81 hours in and I finally get it Rating: Recommended Hours Played: 81.0 hrs I am 54 years old. I have been playing video games since the late 70s. I have seen every space game come and go, from Elite on the BBC Micro to Star Citizen's never-ending crowdfunding campaign. So when I say this game surprised me, I mean it. I bought Elite Dangerous on a sale with low expectations. I thought it would be pretty but shallow. And for the first 10 hours, I wasn't sure. The learning curve is a wall. The tutorials are basic. The game throws you into a Sidewinder and basically says "good luck." But I stuck with it because something felt right. The way the ship moved. The hum of the reactor. The sheer silence when you cut throttle in deep space. Now at 81 hours, I am hooked. Not in a frantic, addicted way. In a slow, comfortable way. Like learning to sail or flying a small plane. You get better because you have to. The game does not hold your hand and that is a relief at my age. I am tired of waypoints and quest markers and NPCs telling me I am the chosen one. Here, you are nobody. Just a pilot with a loaned ship and a galaxy to figure out. Let me break down why this works for me. The sound design is the best I have ever heard. And I have heard a lot. The frame shift drive charging up never gets old. The way your canopy cracks when you get too close to a star. The computer voice telling you about a planetary scan. It all feels physical. Like you are inside a machine that has weight and risk. Play with good headphones. Do not skip this. The scale is not a gimmick. It is a tool. When you fly 200,000 light seconds to a station, that is not a loading screen. That is you committing to the trip. You check your phone. You make a cup of tea. You watch the star get bigger and bigger until it fills your whole screen. It forces you to slow down. At my age, I appreciate that more than I expected. The grind is real but people misunderstand it. Yes, it takes a long time to get the big ships. But here is the thing. If you only care about the Anaconda, you will burn out and hate the game. If you care about the journey, about running trade routes, about dodging pirates, about that one time you barely made it through the mail slot with no shields and 10 seconds of air left, then the grind is just the story you are living. I have a Caspian Explorer now. It took me 70 hours. I earned every credit and I remember most of the trips that got me there. Who should buy this? Buy it if you like games that expect something from you. Buy it if you ever looked up at the night sky and felt small in a good way. Buy it if you do not need constant explosions and cutscenes to stay interested. Do not buy it if you need action every five minutes. Do not buy it if you hate reading third party websites. Because yes, you will need Inara and EDDB and a few other tools outside the game. That is just how it works. It is not a flaw. It is part of the experience. I have not seen the aliens yet. I have not engineered a single module. I have only visited maybe 200 systems out of 400 billion. And I still feel like I got my money's worth. That is rare for a game these days. If you are on the fence, wait for a sale if you want. But buy it. Give it time. Let it teach you its rhythm. It is not for everyone. But if it is for you, it will stick with you for a long time. One last thing. The audio team deserves some kind of award. I do not say that lightly. o7 -CMDR Saint Cold

无官方汉化，进游戏还黑屏，那么多年都不加中文，怀疑是否是一款带有明显的种族歧视游戏

I rarely write reviews despite frequently relying on them for my game purchases. I wanted to write and say that this is by far one of my most favorite games of all time. Beyond this PC copy I have probably played hundreds of hours of Elite on console. But I also wanted to say I understand others perspectives as well. I also want to highly recommend that everyone purchase the DLC as the original game no longer receives content updates or the bulk of the active playerbase. I know many people write of this games various glitches and instability, I'd 100% suggest that you nerf your video settings a little bit. Don't go above 30 fps you really don't need it unless you are used to extremely high refresh rates, all higher Hz adds extra computation overhead that you just don't need. 30 fps on this game is incredibly smooth... you have so much mental stimulation from everything going on that it is very difficult to see "choppiness" unless you are used to staring at high Hz refresh rates 24/7. A lot of in game issues seem to be fixed after lowering the refresh rate in my experience but this could be a system-specific issue on my part. This game definitely has a steep learning curve... there is truthfully so much to do that I understand how some may be just completely turned away from this game out of frustration. Because of this, I would very much recommend YouTube/game wiki research before diving in. Also this game is MUCH easier with a controller or desktop HOTAS/joystick setup. To my understanding the popular manufacturers for HOTAS/joysticks still are Logitech and Thrustmaster with the former being on the lower end of the cost spectrum. When you first start out I highly recommend starting with basic tasks and mission contracts such as data/item transport, gathering exploration data, alien genome mapping (only applicable to DLC), and potentially salvage operations if you're feeling up to a bit of light stress, although if you are poor at flying I wouldn't recommend the last one until you are as it many times requires good flying skills. I wouldn't recommend going into bounty hunting or other hostile contracts like data heists or smuggling. Atleast not until you get a far better ship than what you started off with. All in all this is a great game with a lot to do and a steep learning curve. This isn't for the casual gamer. This is hardcore nerd stuff and I personally love it... but it isn't for everybody. Try your best to get a good handle on your opinion of the game within the return window but I think youll find this is a great game if you are one who likes deep lore, boundless open world maps, and countless opportunities for fun with your online buddies. Cheers folks, hope my review helped someone in some way.

French Version : Honnêtement, Elite Dangerous n'est pas un jeu pour tout le monde. Il ne vous prend pas par la main. Il vous donne les clés d'un vaisseau, vous lâche dans une galaxie à l'échelle 1:1, et c'est à vous de tracer votre route. Les premières heures sont exigeantes. Mais l'investissement en vaut largement la peine. J'ai passé des centaines d'heures à optimiser mes routes commerciales aux commandes de mon Lakon Type-8, et à scruter les classes spectrales pour ne pas tomber en panne de carburant lors de mes expéditions... C'est ce qui rend ce jeu unique : la courbe d'apprentissage est abrupte, mais la satisfaction d'enfin maîtriser tous les systèmes de son vaisseau est incomparable. Visuellement et au niveau du design sonore, c'est une claque monumentale. Même après 1 200 heures, le grondement d'un saut en hyperespace ou l'approche d'une étoile continuent de me donner des frissons. La liberté est totale : commerce, exploration, combat. Vous écrivez votre propre histoire. Une mention spéciale à la communauté. Dans un univers aussi vaste, croiser des joueurs prêts à traverser la moitié de la galaxie pour vous secourir parce que vous avez mal calculé votre saut, c'est précieux. Bref, si vous avez la patience de vous y plonger, c'est un chef-d'œuvre absolu. English Version : Honestly, Elite Dangerous isn't for everyone. It doesn't hold your hand. It hands you the keys to a ship, drops you into a 1:1 scale galaxy, and leaves you to chart your own course. The first few hours are tough, but the payoff is massive. I’ve spent hundreds of hours optimizing trade routes at the helm of my Lakon, scrutinizing star spectral classes to avoid running out of fuel during deep-space expeditions. That’s what makes this game unique: the learning curve is steep, but the satisfaction of fully mastering every system on your ship is unparalleled. Visually and audibly, it’s a monumental achievement. Even after 1,200 hours, the roar of a hyperspace jump or the sheer scale of a star on approach still gives me chills. The freedom is absolute: trade, explore, fight. You write your own story. A special mention goes to the community. In such an immense universe, finding players willing to cross half the galaxy to rescue you because you miscalculated a jump is incredibly precious. In short, if you have the patience to immerse yourself, it is an absolute masterpiece.

idk. the developers clearly arent playing the game. they just create new methods to suck money and time out of players. with the intention to get them addicted. predatory, scummy, FDev - new player onboarding for an MMO that exists 10 years? ha! none! nothing! - controls with mouse-keyboard are... not ideal. - the "game" cannot be played without using 3-rd party tools. - BGS. background game simulation with price, supply/demand and other changes once a day. without tools to get info in-game, *chef's kiss* - predatory tactics to get players addicted with weekly limits, total caps - 60+ hours of grind for components to upgrade 1 ship (yea, just the grind for 1 ship). if you want to experiment with ships, well, you're looking at few hundreds hours of BS grinding for materials (fun, right?) - FPS gameplay is just trash. bullet sponges of AI with no intelligence that all rushes into your FOV to spam you with bullets - rewards for FPS gameplay are... well... grindy - every update introduces new manipulative mechanic to waste your time - operations and merc coins... a new "weekly" mechanic, predatory, poorly designed, intended to get players to spend 6-20 hours a week just to purchase 1 ship part. not a recipe, not a unlock, 1 time purchase of 1 ship part. (the upgrade is 6+ hours with runs for materials and engineering)

I missed playing this game Elite Dangerous is an open-ended spacecraft simulator, where you can choose your playstyle and change it whenever you can. Play for as a fighter, space-miner, explore the unmapped universe (only 7% of the stars are mapped, how crazy is that), research xenobiology, become a tour-operator, an anti-xeno spearhead, or a freighter/smuggler. I played combat initially, now I find my peace as a miner, and I'm planning to get one ship for tearing through powerplay fights, one for fast bounty hunting and one for exploration when I'll get rich-enough. Also I want to get a ship ready in case the Thargoids make a comeback. This game has the best atmosphere a spacegame can offer (sound design is genius and lighting is awesome). Planets aside cause they are kind of empty dull landscapes. The game is a liveservice MMO even if it doesn't feel like it at first. The story evolves and new events are really exciting. You can play online but also in private games with friends or solo without any limitation. The negative points to me are : - players are not guided in the beginning - initial control mapping is LAME, you have to customize your controls otherwise you will not enjoy the main aspect of the game - community goals aren't incentivised enough for casual players - There are not enough spacecrafts in my spacecraft games ! Probably my prefered space-sim. As a general space game i'd put it before X4:Foundations, No Man's Sky, Star Citizen (pretender), Space Engineer, Cosmoteer, Hardspace:Shipbreaker, Space Haven, FTL, Everspace (1 & 2), and Starpoint Gemini Warlords. Yes I enjoy space games.