Distant Worlds 2, the tried and tested of a very complex 4X strategy
Distant Worlds 2
Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship sportsgaming.win. His mission is to explore strange new worlds in search of new forms of life and new civilizations to boldly arrive where no one has gone before! To write a trial of Distant Worlds 2, a title so complex, but so profound, that it presents itself as the definitive space 4X.Complexity
Distant Worlds 2 is very complex Just to make it immediately clear what are we talking about, the first time we started Distant Worlds 2 it took us over half an hour not to figure out what to do once we got into the game, but just to set up the game. The number of modifiable parameters is really impressive, so much so that if we started to list and explain them all we would consume all the remaining space of the article and probably we would not even be able to include many menus. You can really decide everything, from the type of galaxy in which we will play, to the number of stars from which this will be composed, passing through more minute aspects such as those relating to the relations between the factions, to the economy of our galactic empire, to internal politics. and starfleet management. Despite the presence of detailed explanations for each entry, the implications of some settings still remain a mystery until you have played for a few hours and you have begun to understand how the various systems and their relationships work, in relation to the choices made by the player.This is to make you understand that the entry curve of the Code Force title is very steep, probably the steepest that we have encountered in a title published in recent years, even among the strategic 4X.
A lot of complexity is definitely not a defect, but a precise design choice (the lead designer of the game is an ultra enthusiast of the genre). Having said that, it is good to be prepared for what awaits us once the game starts, because if, as we hope you understand, even the generation of the game is not everyone's business, the rest of the experience oscillates between the sublime and the tiring. . In short, to get the best out of Distant Worlds 2 you have to have a great desire to apply and this we feel we can say even if we have not yet had the opportunity to try the final version.
Mastery
Each planet has its own card When you start taming the interface and understand the principles that govern the various game systems, at least the fundamental ones, Distant Worlds 2 becomes an incredible experience, from which we have struggled to detach ourselves. The player's goal is basically to build a galactic empire, managing every single aspect of it, from the economy to military power, passing through internal politics and diplomatic relations with the other races that populate the universe. Honestly, we don't even try to describe all the game menus, because there are so many of them and there are so many information boxes, which really touch every single aspect of the simulation, that it would be simply impossible. We do not dare to imagine the challenge of having to write the manual ... Let's take for example only the summary screen of a single spaceship, in which we not only find the summary of dozens of characteristics related to the aircraft, but also those related to design (for example the gradation of the color) and those of the individual equipment, which of them affect the general performance, for example by altering the speed curve or the range of the weapons.The spaceship editor is very complete Considering that it is possible to retouch any aspect of each single ship, using the integrated editor, you will understand that the overall level of customization of the fleets is enormous and that the latter is not it has only an aesthetic value, but it concretely affects the gameplay, even if only because you can spend hours there, especially when you are at the beginning of your career as lords of the cosmos. Of course it is possible to ignore everything and use the preset templates, but that's not the point, because the same level of detail is found in every element of the game. Let's take the galaxies: not only does each planet have its own card with details relating to extractable raw materials, the possibility of colonization and so on, but the same applies to every object visible in the star map. For example, is a planet surrounded by asteroids? Well, every single asteroid has its own card with its own values.
A universe of possibilities
Space is full of surprises Which makes Distant Worlds 2 one of those titles where the player feels that he is the complete master of the game, so much so that he feels enormous satisfaction when he reaches some goal and that he cannot blame anyone when he suffers a scorching defeat. In terms of things to do we are on the side of a classic 4X. On our own we spent the hours of gameplay that we dedicated to exploring the galaxy and evaluating the artificial intelligence of the CPU-led factions, really reactive and cunning. For example, in one case we tried to force the destruction of a rival faction by employing our entire space fleet against single targets. We thought we would win smoothly, because we had a lot of forces and an advantageous position, but we were thrown off guard by sudden attacks on colonies we had left unguarded, thinking that they were covered by the fact that our brute strength would force the enemy to rally forces to defend yourself.There is a lot of text to read in the game In Distant Worlds 2 everything has to be planned with great care and the choices you make have to be considered. You can try a bit of everything but, especially from the medium game onwards, you need to keep an eye on all the elements in order not to suffer losses and to progress at the right pace. The game map helps in this, which offers a sort of graphic summary of the relationships between our colonies and between our empire and the adversaries, as well as an immediate representation of the effects of our decisions (trade routes, presence of the fleet, diplomatic relations and so on). Of course, you have to learn to read the immense number of icons visible on the screen well, but the game is worth the candle, as they say, because the more you become masters of the interface, the more all the possibilities offered by the gameplay emerge.
The essence is that the experience as a whole has really involved us a lot, net of a technical side that seems anything but exciting, and we can't wait to play the final version of the game, which we will not fail to review. .
Distant Worlds 2 amazed us with the amount of game systems it is capable of integrating together, apparently with great success (we'll see in the final version). Of course, this makes it a very complex title, even by strategic standards, but after you have mastered it (or at least begun to understand it) it still seems to be satisfying and able to give the player that total control of the game that is lacking in many. other competitors. Definitely to keep an eye on.
