Astraeus
The next generation game for fans of Eufloria. While more abstract, gameplay consists of missions resembling Homeworld’s tactical map. A true, addictive crack gem. 4X whittled to the bone. A virtuoso use of VR.
– Real player with 408.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Asynchronous Multiplayer RTS Games.
Pretty fun game concept, not too hard, not too easy. The campaign is really just a tutorial and ends after about 2 hours which you can keep going if you want. All in all it’s an interesting concept
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy
TL,DR: It is rough around the edges, but it is a worthy implementation of the board game and does scratch the itch for playing it, when you can’t get a real game going. It takes some getting used to.
Longer:
So, I have been waiting for a way to play this game ever since I first came across the boardgame. I have so far only tried the single player version.
The good:
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It is a mostly faithful adaption of the board game’s base game version
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AI is competent enough to make for some interesting games, especially if you are still on the low or middle part of the learning curve
– Real player with 47.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Asynchronous Multiplayer Space Games.
While the game is mostly implemented correctly I can’t recommend the video game version of this over the boardgame exception as a single player training tool to learn how the different alien races play. I’ve played multiple games online in real time while voice chatting with my friends and we’ve lost count of the number of times the game will locally desync. This leaves the players on the line unsure if their friend is just thinking critically about his next move, or unaware that it’s even their move. The usual fix is that you can just close and reopen the game to rejoin the game session. However, twice now the game has kicked a player out after round 7 and they’ve been unable to see the private game listed in the game lobby. Obviously, whether a game can be completed or not is a huge turn off from even thinking about starting an online game.
– Real player with 42.2 hrs in game
Conquest of Elysium 5
Conquest of Elysium 5 is the next iteration of the past CoE games with more content, and with nearly the same (pixel art) graphics that were used in Civilization 2. They have gotten a little better over the years, but not much. If you played CoE4, there are three new factions, new modding tools, and new “Planes” within each map to conquer. The biggest difference for me from the previous version was not just that there was more to conquer though, it is that the “more” that exists is also now much more accessible. More on this below:
– Real player with 193.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Asynchronous Multiplayer Turn-Based Strategy Games.
I love this game, I never get tired of it. It strike the perfect balance between complexity and accessibility.
– Real player with 167.9 hrs in game
Dominus - Multiplayer Sim Turn Based Strategy
Dominus: collect technologies, troops, and heroes with unique abilities as you build up a powerful tribal civilization and out-think your opponents in 4 player simultaneous-turn-based battles.
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Simple and quick to learn, even if you have no experience in turn-based games
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Set in a lush fantasy world of floating islands, savage tribes and raw elemental magic
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You are the warlord of a tribe bent on survival, expansion and ultimate domination
Revolutionary Simultaneous-turns system:
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All players plan their actions at the same time
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Then watch the results unfold in a cinematic action scene
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Skillful play is about predicting enemy moves and actions
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This leads to a lot of suspense, crazy bluffing and mind games!
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Also makes combat highly skill-based and tactical, without being overly complex
We’re currently in beta, keep track of us on Discord and be the first to find out the exciting features we have planned- taking this insanely fun core gameplay and transforming it into a huge multiplayer world of clans, empires and adventure!
We’re racing to deliver the game on steam as quickly as we can, don’t forget to add us to your wishlist to stay updated!
Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim
If you’re interested in Ozymandias, please wishlist, follow us and download the demo! :)
At the dawn of history, Bronze Age kings built the first empires. Strategize their rise to power in a uniquely streamlined 4X.
DISTILLED DESIGN
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Focus on strategy over tactics, we’ve stripped the busywork out of 4X gameplay.
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Combat abstracted via innovative Power system so you need only move armies and fleets.
HISTORICAL MAPS
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8 handmade maps charting Bronze Ages around the world, empires in real-world locations.
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Empires are tagged from ‘Easy’ to ‘Very Hard’ to reflect their unique challenges.
COMPETITIVE AI
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Data-driven AI system, flexible enough to succeed in any environment.
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Streamlined ruleset is inherently AI-friendly so no ‘AI cheating’ required.
MULTIPLAYER
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Players take their turns simultaneously so there’s no waiting around.
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Choose to play ‘live’ (short turn timers) or ‘asynchronous’ (long game timers).
Shadow Empire
Shadow Empire is an incredibly crunchy 4x planetary empire simulator. That’s the short version. Please also note that I purchased my copy on the Matrix site about a week before the Steam release, and I have basically been playing it non-stop since then.
A word of warning. If you are not into highly complex 4x games, you might as well stop reading now.
Still with me? Good. Here’s the TLDR. If you can imagine Civilization, Total Annihilation, Railroad Tycoon 3, and Mad Max: Fury Road all getting together and somehow producing a baby, then you aren’t too far off the mark. Shadow Empire is a love letter to those deep, complex 90’s-era strategy games that have become almost extinct in the mainstream today. Even the quaint and simple graphics reflect this. Remember when games like this came with a big instruction book? Well, this thing’s E-manual is 365 pages long. Three. Hundred. Sixty. Five.
– Real player with 930.9 hrs in game
tl;dr: Mechanics excellent, usability middling poor, visual style atrocious. It’s one of a kind. If you can stomach its looks and a lot of micromanagement, get it.
I’ll not even start talking about the positives, because that would leave me with no time to play the game any longer. Instead, here’s what’s bad.
UI is a sin. Functional, but as ugly as it can be without forcing you to turn your head in disgust. I’ll say no more on the subject, let’s just state that the screenshots, which almost dissuaded me from even giving the game a try, are carefully selected to show its more presentable views. Apart from its aesthetic shortcomings, it’s also cumbersome, inelegant, and sometimes buggy. And you need to pay very close attention to every part of it, because much important information is presented in very unassuming ways.
– Real player with 850.0 hrs in game