Galactic Civilizations II: Endless Universe
- December 2, 2011
- Stardock Entertainment
- 227h median play time
Get on Steam"Galactic Civilizations II: Endless Universe" is a turn-based strategy game that allows players to build and lead their own space empire. Explore and colonize new planets, research technologies, and engage in interstellar warfare or diplomacy with other civilizations. This edition includes the expansions "Dark Avatar" and "Twilight of the Arnor," adding new races, abilities, and storyline.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Classic and solid example of the 4X genre with well-designed gameplay.
- Highly customizable ship design and unique tech trees for each race enhance replayability.
- Engaging and addictive, with a lot of fun elements like diplomacy and random events.
- The lore is weak and feels derivative, lacking depth compared to other games.
- The user interface is dated and can be cumbersome, making navigation difficult.
- Frequent crashes and bugs, especially in late-game scenarios, can disrupt the experience.
- gameplay70 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is characterized by its depth and complexity, offering a rich turn-based strategy experience with extensive customization options and unique mechanics for different races. While some players appreciate the immersive and strategic elements, others criticize the outdated graphics, micromanagement issues, and opaque mechanics that can hinder enjoyment. Overall, the game provides a solid foundation for strategy enthusiasts, though it may require a steep learning curve and could benefit from modern updates and improvements.
“The gameplay is very deep and it takes some time to learn the game mechanics; however, it is much more in-depth than Endless Space 2.”
“This is a great example of a 4X game, with a wide variety of customizations and solid gameplay.”
“Excellent turn-based sci-fi strategy with tons of replayability and open-ended gameplay.”
“The game also has a bad mechanic of building starbases that take a ton of parts and takes far too much time dealing with them.”
“Opaque game mechanics that need trawling through ancient websites to figure out how it works under the hood.”
“Gameplay 4/10 this was probably the hardest category to rate overall, the game is highly repetitive and a little too simple for my tastes... aside from gold, there is no real resource system, and the fog of war in this game is unbearable.”
- graphics58 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered dated, reflecting its age, yet they remain serviceable and even respectable by some players' standards. While some reviews note a lack of polish and modern flair, others appreciate the game's ability to support newer resolutions and the overall aesthetic for its time. Ultimately, many players emphasize that the depth of gameplay and strategic elements outweigh the graphical shortcomings, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre.
“The graphics are good, even by today's standards.”
“I do appreciate that Stardock has updated the game to support newer monitor resolutions and some other graphic settings.”
“The graphics are fine for a 4X even today and scale well to modern resolutions.”
“The graphics were definitely bad.”
“Unfortunately, it is similar to MOO3 but with worse graphics.”
“However, I just couldn't get past the horrible graphics and UI.”
- story22 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the interesting twists and long campaign, while others find it tedious and unimportant compared to gameplay mechanics. Although there are multiple story-driven campaigns and a sandbox mode that allows for unique experiences, many players suggest that the narrative is often overshadowed by the game's mechanics and prefer to focus on gameplay rather than the story itself. Overall, the story is seen as a decent attempt but not essential to the enjoyment of the game.
“Interesting story - long campaign.”
“Love the storyline of the campaign and the endless and limitless times you can play this and it be different every time!”
“It has an in-game ship editor, the ability to watch battles in 'movie style' real time, a skirmish mode, and an interesting story-driven campaign.”
“The devs did put some effort into putting a story behind all the crazy stuff that happens in these games, but… Jesus, is it boring.”
“Seriously, just ignore the story mode.”
“Unless you really like a game without a plot or point, avoid this one.”
- replayability19 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its exceptional replayability, with many reviewers highlighting the depth of customization options, including the ability to create unique races and playfields. The presence of distinct tech trees for each alien race and various victory conditions further enhances the replay value, making it a standout choice for fans of strategy games. Despite its dated graphics, the game's content and complexity provide a rich and engaging experience that encourages multiple playthroughs.
“You can make your own races and customize the playfield, so each game can be different, so there's lots of replay value here.”
“Few space empire sims can boast of every alien race having its own tech tree, and this increases replayability tenfold.”
“With tons of replayability and a campaign to create a mood, for any civ gamers or 4X lovers, this is a must buy.”
“Although the graphics are very dated, this game is one of the few that has a genuinely strong replayability scale for me.”
“You choose your race from 10 preset ones or create your own custom race, pick your political party with various bonuses and aim for victory on a randomly generated galaxy through negotiations or wars with other races; you can also choose which victory condition, so its replayability is quite high!”
“Details: this game feels pretty bottomless; it's very complex and that in itself is a huge bonus to replayability and also very rewarding.”
- music14 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for creating a nice atmosphere and setting a unique tone, with some users expressing a strong attachment to the soundtrack, even purchasing it multiple times. However, there are notable criticisms regarding its repetitiveness and lack of depth, with some players finding it becomes tiresome quickly. Overall, while the music has its merits, it leaves some players wanting more variety and polish.
“The soundtrack sets an incredible and unique atmosphere.”
“The ability to watch fleet battles was a huge plus, and the game's soundtrack is exceptionally easy to modify if one wants to mix it up after hours of playing.”
“It lacks a little polish and isn't the deepest gameplay, but it has great potential for strategy, along with an impressive experience due to the quality graphics and immersive music.”
“The music is repetitive.”
“Music gets really old really fast.”
“The music and sound effects are actually really horrible, so bad that they stand out.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to long breaks due to the mindless nature of expansion and combat. The economic and colony management systems are described as basic and unengaging, with many feeling that the game lacks challenge and becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable experience. While some appreciate the fast-forward options in combat, the overall sentiment is that the game suffers from excessive micromanagement and a lack of meaningful engagement.
“To conquer the remaining galaxy is just a matter of mindless grinding where civilizations are unable to make a comeback other than teaming up with races to fight you.”
“Because of the rapid expansion of the AI, you will find yourself 100 turns in, not wanting to finish the game because the other races pose no challenge to your navy, but there are so many planets that conquering everyone else would be tedious.”
“Until you go to war, it's a very tedious and repetitive task.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as clever and quirky, with funny writing and amusing random events that add charm to gameplay. While many players appreciate the comedic elements, including humorous tech descriptions and alien dialogue, some find the humor hit-or-miss, indicating a mixed reception overall.
“The ship builder, humor, massive tech tree, and variety of well-balanced ways to win make this game amazing.”
“Random events upon forming new colonies can have pretty funny choices in the vein of 'good', 'neutral' or 'evil' fixes to whatever situation comes up.”
“Random anomalies, tech researched notifications and some dialogue from the other alien races made me laugh, too.”
- stability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 57 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally mixed; while it runs well on modern machines and is mostly bug-free, users report occasional freezes, annoying delays at the end of turns, and issues with account sign-ins and Steam achievements. Despite these bugs, many players find the game enjoyable and worth playing.
“As a bonus, it is almost completely bug-free, by the way.”
“Turns out it's a really enjoyable and addictive game that runs great on my non-gaming work laptop.”
“It runs great on modern machines, except for a random, very annoying delay when you end a turn.”
“The game freezes up when trying to report something.”
“Other reviews (which I failed to read before buying) point out that signing into this account-within-an-account is buggy, and Steam achievements appear to not work.”
“It's old and a little buggy, but still worth playing.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the impressive soundtrack and the immersive experience created by customizable spaceships and expansive maps. The combination of good music, a comfortable ambiance, and strong graphics contributes to a captivating environment, earning an overall positive reception.
“The music is good, giving it a nice atmosphere.”
“The customization of my own spaceships, the quiet and comfortable atmosphere, and the extensive 'create your own civ' function won me over, along with the pleasingly large map and exceptional graphics for the time, at least in space combat.”
“The soundtrack sets an incredible and unique atmosphere.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its performance-friendliness, with quick loading times between turns and no significant issues reported. However, players feel that the time taken to move each ship can detract from the overall experience, as it may hinder maximizing performance.
“It takes too much time to move each ship, but if you don't, I feel I'm not getting the best performance out of my ships.”
“Performance-wise, I have had no problems running the game, and between turns, it loads relatively quickly, so that's good.”
“It's also very performance friendly!”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the emotional disconnect in the game, highlighting a lack of conflict and engagement during diplomatic victories. The mechanics, such as ship building and rally points, feel overly simplistic and detached, contributing to a sense of emotional emptiness.
