Space Empires I

About

Space Empires I is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Malfador Machinations and was released on October 8, 2020. It received negative reviews from players.

Space Empires I is the first chapter of the Space Empires series. A classic galactic conquest and turn-based strategy video game where you are the leader of a race of intelligent beings building large spaceships for interplanetary and interstellar travel through warp points between star systems. You will meet extraterrestrial races while fighting for survival and conducting diplomacy signing …

Genres & Tags

Strategy

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

40%

Audience ScoreBased on 10 reviews

humor3 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

Space Empires I has historical significance as a prototype and early example of 4X space strategy games.
The game offers reasonably deep gameplay concepts for its age and was designed for hotseat multiplayer among up to four players.
Despite its age and simplicity, it can run on modern systems with some workarounds and carries nostalgic value for fans of the series.

The game lacks AI opponents completely, making solo play unviable and limiting gameplay to hotseat mode only.
It is an unpolished prototype with numerous bugs, outdated interface, no tutorial or manual, and no modern enhancements or fullscreen support.
The user interface design is confusing and unintuitive, including misplaced critical buttons that can cause accidental game closure.

gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The gameplay is criticized for relying heavily on static 2D images, giving it a browser game feel. Consequently, many original mechanics from the earlier version were lost, affecting both visual appeal and gameplay depth.
- “For gameplay purposes, because the user interface for this game is mostly just 2D static images, it might as well be a browser game.”
- “As a result, many of the original rifts mechanics didn't make it to the sequel.”
- “Both visually and gameplay-wise, the game lacks improvement.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is lighthearted and playful, often revolving around funny empire names and amusing debates like Star Trek versus Star Wars. It’s casual and quirky, adding a fun, informal touch to the experience.
- “It was literally that – you and three of your friends gave some funny names to your empires and then tried to solve the ages old argument – what's better, Star Trek or Star Wars.”
- “As long as you are not a professor of archaeology and aren't wearing a funny hat.”
- “No idea why, but still, funny thing to mention.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from poor optimization, as it runs only in text windows without support for proper 4:3 aspect ratio or modern display resolutions, resulting in compatibility and smoothness issues on current gaming PCs.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from notable bugs that impact overall stability, leading to a less reliable and sometimes frustrating experience.
- “Game is buggy.”