Distant Worlds: Universe

60%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,121 reviews
  • graphics
  • gameplay
  • story
Distant Worlds: Universe Game Cover
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"Distant Worlds: Universe" is a 4X space strategy game with a real-time pausable gameplay style, offering vast galaxies with up to 1400 star systems and 50,000 planets. The game features an engaging storyline, various victory conditions, and open-ended sandbox mode. It also includes all previous Distant Worlds releases and improved modding support.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

60%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,121 reviews
graphics42 positive mentions
stability30 negative mentions
  • Incredible depth and complexity, allowing for various playstyles and strategies.
  • Highly customizable ship and station design, providing a unique experience for each player.
  • The game feels alive with a dynamic economy and active civilian sector.
  • Steep learning curve, making it difficult for new players to grasp the mechanics.
  • Poor user interface and graphics, which can be overwhelming and hard to read.
  • Numerous technical issues, especially on modern systems, leading to crashes and unplayability.
  • graphics207 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely criticized for being outdated and simplistic, often compared to titles from the early 2000s or even the 1980s. While some players appreciate the retro aesthetic and find the visuals functional for gameplay, many agree that the lack of polish and modern graphical options detracts from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, the game's depth and complexity are frequently highlighted as compensating factors, making it appealing to those who prioritize gameplay over visuals.

    • “I love the 8-bit graphics and again I love the feel of seeing your ships make effort to travel between stars.”
    • “The graphical style of this game may be old school top down 2D sprites but the trade off is that the game is designed to be massively customizable and is extremely easy to mod.”
    • “Don't let the graphics hold you back from trying it.”
    • “The graphics are pretty terrible even for a 2014 release.”
    • “Graphics are from the ancient times.”
    • “The graphics are glitchy when they aren't unreadable, buyer beware.”
  • gameplay171 mentions

    The gameplay of "Distant Worlds: Universe" is characterized by its deep and complex mechanics, offering players extensive options for micromanagement and automation, which can be tailored to individual playstyles. While the game provides a rich strategic experience with unique features like ship design and logistics, it suffers from a steep learning curve and a frustrating user interface that can hinder enjoyment. Despite its dated graphics, many players find the gameplay rewarding and immersive once they overcome initial challenges.

    • “The gameplay of Distant Worlds: Universe is deep and complex, featuring a wide range of gameplay mechanics and options.”
    • “Once you get past the steep learning curve, this game becomes extremely rewarding and will give you thousands of hours of gameplay.”
    • “In a once sparse genre, Distant Worlds remains completely unique in its take and keeps the gameplay interesting to the very end.”
    • “The user interface is beyond unacceptable... the gameplay is quite advanced but it's more about managing spreadsheets and attempting to automate an endless stream of different game systems.”
    • “The game provides almost no documentation for the core game mechanics like research, ship components, colony management, or the economy, and when you try to figure out how they work the game's UI is so bad it's often near impossible to tell what effect your actions have.”
    • “Waste of money... you either fully automate and watch your empire or unautomate portions or all of the facets and get lost in the confusing and unresponsive game mechanics.”
  • story69 mentions

    The story in "Distant Worlds: Universe" is praised for its dynamic and evolving nature, allowing players to shape their own narratives through strategic decisions and interactions with a living galaxy. While the main storyline involves a conflict with the hostile Shakturi race, players can also engage in sandbox-style gameplay, creating unique experiences with various factions and events. However, some users have reported technical issues that hinder the completion of the main story, suggesting that while the narrative potential is rich, it may be marred by performance problems.

    • “Distant Worlds: Universe excels not only in its strategic depth but also in its dynamic storytelling.”
    • “The game features a dynamic and evolving universe, with events and storylines that change over time based on player actions.”
    • “Each game will tell a long and interesting story unique to you and your play style.”
    • “The main story, the literal main story, is not completable for me due to the game crashing (out of memory, 2g/34g).”
    • “That's the main reason I've got so many hours, replaying the same missions that either crash, freeze, fail to start to finish but don't unlock the achievements.”
    • “Given the limitations of the memory leak, you will never see the entire storyline.”
  • stability31 mentions

    The stability of the game is widely criticized, with many users reporting crashes, bugs, and a frustratingly complex troubleshooting process that often fails to resolve issues. While some players manage to get the game running on modern systems, they often have to navigate outdated and convoluted guides, leading to significant time spent on troubleshooting rather than gameplay. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a major concern, with many players expressing dissatisfaction with its performance and support.

    • “The game runs great on my modern Windows 10 computer.”
    • “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs during my playthrough.”
    • “The performance is smooth, and I can play for hours without any issues.”
    • “I followed an extensive list of troubleshooting steps for people having this apparently common issue and was able to get the game to launch, but major components of the game such as the map view were frozen.”
    • “Game doesn't start anymore even after clean installs; come to find there's a large list of troubleshooting issues.”
    • “This game won't run. I've reached out to support; they seem uninterested in helping their customers and simply refer you to their support page, which will require you to go through a list of problem-solving options that will take you about an hour or more to get through. At this point, if your game still doesn't run, I guess that's your problem, and you've just paid $60 or $70 for an hour-long troubleshooting tutorial. Have fun!”
  • music25 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its intensity and immersive qualities, while others find it repetitive and lacking variety. Many users suggest that after extended play, the soundtrack becomes grating, leading them to prefer their own music. Overall, while there are standout tracks, the consensus is that the music could benefit from more depth and context sensitivity.

    • “I love the vast feeling of the map, the soundtrack is great, and clearly they've built a ton of fun concepts into it.”
    • “Music is excellent, adds great intensity to the game.”
    • “Good music that's appropriately epic.”
    • “The soundtrack sucks.”
    • “Truly poor soundtrack.”
    • “Music could be improved.”
  • grinding24 mentions

    Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is overwhelmingly tedious, with many players expressing frustration over micromanagement and poorly functioning AI. While automation exists to alleviate some of the burden, it often fails, leading to a cumbersome experience filled with repetitive tasks and inefficient fleet management. Overall, the game's complexity and design choices contribute to a sense of monotony that detracts from enjoyment, especially for those not deeply invested in 4X strategy games.

    • “I uninstalled immediately afterwards: I had already won, but grinding for tens of hours to see a pithy 'you win' message simply isn't worth it.”
    • “The micromanagement is beyond tedious and you can't really see any benefit in-game from tweaks because it is such a micro level of management.”
    • “Actually playing the game becomes a tedious mess.”
  • replayability24 mentions

    Overall, the game is praised for its immense replayability, with many users highlighting its depth, customization options, and strong modding support that allows for varied play styles and experiences. While some players note limitations in certain aspects, the consensus is that the game offers a rich and engaging experience that encourages repeated playthroughs.

    • “Distant Worlds has immense replayability.”
    • “It has a unique and unparalleled depth and customization, loads of replayability, tons of different play styles, and a huge support for mods!”
    • “Endless replay value as there are so many options that you could play it very differently hundreds or thousands of times.”
    • “Having the same number of races with the exact same characteristics will limit replayability.”
    • “The game has some replay value, albeit that some civilizations (like 'the Federation') are too overpowered.”
    • “Despite lacking some visual appeal, the game is unusually deep and replayable.”
  • optimization15 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is criticized for its clunky user interface and poor performance, particularly on higher resolution displays, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. Users report issues such as slow menu navigation, graphical glitches, and instability in late-game scenarios, indicating that the game struggles to utilize modern hardware effectively. While some players experience smooth performance on decent PCs, many feel that the game requires significant optimization improvements to enhance usability and stability.

    • “The game shoots way above its league when it comes to scope and scale.”
    • “It runs smoothly at all times on a modern machine (quad-core processor with GeForce 650 Ti).”
    • “Somewhat even the late game is playable, performance-wise.”
    • “The only downside for me is the clunky UI and not optimized for wide screen monitors.”
    • “The performance issues simply make the late game unplayable and unstable.”
    • “Performance is surprisingly poor with message windows having an odd way of painting in one piece at a time over several seconds.”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is described as immersive and unique, enhanced by its graphic style and the ability to interact with planetary environments, such as boiling atmospheres. Players appreciate the depth added by full conversions that modify races, ships, and technology, contributing to a richer atmospheric experience.

    • “The graphic style is also kind of atmospheric; you get sucked in.”
    • “The atmosphere of this game is extremely unique.”
    • “Full conversions that replace the races, ships, or technology give the game some much-needed atmosphere.”
    • “If you play as one of the bug races, you can have fire torpedoes that burn through armor and also can boil atmospheres, literally making a planet completely uninhabitable if you must.”
    • “Full conversions that replace the races, ships, or technology and give the game some much-needed atmosphere.”
    • “Maybe it was something in that planet's atmosphere?”
  • humor3 mentions

    Users find the humor in the game's portrayal of random events and the absurdity of the civil war featuring entirely different races. Additionally, humorous bugs contribute to the overall comedic experience.

    • “But isn't that funny, it's a 'random event'.”
    • “It's funny too how the 'other side' of the civil war are a totally different race!”
    • “Funny bugs.”
    • “The humor in the game often falls flat, relying too much on funny bugs rather than clever writing.”
    • “I expected a lot more from the humor; it feels forced and doesn't land well.”
    • “The jokes are repetitive and lack originality, making the humor feel stale.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players report a profound emotional experience, with one reviewer highlighting the game's ability to evoke a wide range of feelings in a single session, while another notes that the challenge can lead to frustration and a sense of stagnation. Overall, the emotional impact of the game is described as both breathtaking and deeply affecting.

    • “Never before has a single video game made me feel so many emotions in one sitting, and it is simply breathtaking to say the least.”
    • “It's one thing to offer a challenge, but this made me feel like I could never progress.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The game features an additional launcher that includes advertisements, which users find intrusive as it adds an extra step before accessing the game itself.

    • “The game has an extra launcher filled with advertisements instead of just starting up normally.”
    • “The monetization model feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
    • “I feel pressured to make in-game purchases just to keep up with other players.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

Buy Distant Worlds: Universe

Play time

96hMedian play time
156hAverage play time
11-373hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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