Introduction
“Endless Space 2: Awakening” is the first major expansion for the critically acclaimed 4X strategy game “Endless Space 2,” developed by Amplitude Studios. Released in 2021, this expansion introduces new gameplay mechanics, factions, and features that enrich the base game’s strategic depth and narrative complexity. The “Awakening” expansion aims to build upon the already robust foundation of “Endless Space 2,” providing players with new ways to explore, conquer, and manage their interstellar empires.
This review will delve deeply into the various aspects of the “Awakening” expansion, analyzing its new content, gameplay enhancements, and overall impact on the base game. We will explore the expansion’s influence on strategy, diplomacy, and gameplay dynamics, and assess how well it integrates with the existing “Endless Space 2” experience.
New Factions and Storylines
One of the most notable additions in “Endless Space 2: Awakening” is the introduction of new factions and their associated storylines. The expansion adds two new major factions, each with its unique characteristics, playstyles, and lore.
If you have played through Endless Space 2, you will probably know about the Academy faction (the neutral side cannot be controlled), an influential mysterious faction that, though faded, still leaves certain impressions for players.
Now the Academy faction has completely stepped out of the shadows and has become an important element in the gameplay of the Awakening expansion pack.
Every 10 turns, the Academy faction will “auction” their rights by organizing a race of “tribute” of resources between the empires to gain their valuable rights.
4 most tribute empires will hold 4 different positions in the Academy faction seats, and each position has certain advantages, but for unique gameplay.
For example, if you want to improve the army to speed up the conquest, you will “race” for the position of “The Spear of Isyander” to be given control of the powerful Colorless Fist fleet.
However, these perks are only available to players for 10 innings, so they are required to make the most of those 10 innings, and when everything is reset, the player has to strike a balance again between base building. Crafting and racing for the position they want in the top 4 seats of the Academy faction.
Adding such a new strategy layer makes the game a lot more interesting. To choose the “chair” that your empire needs in the next 10 turns, you must allocate resources appropriately to make the Academy faction a new stimulus for players.
The race for the Academy seats is more intense if a hostile empire suddenly “tributes” at the last minute to make you wobble, but so there is no feeling of imbalance from the race to the Academy. It will take up a lot of resources, and any position has its importance, so playing “dirty” to knock someone out of the game is no less exciting!
This Awakening expansion introduces the Nakalim faction, a new faction that focuses on gameplay around certain “relics”.
This faction will start before others relatively technologically distant, in return, they will often start on distant, arid, resource-scarce planets, and accelerate the expansion of the empire. After all, they are forced to search for ancient ruins scattered around the universe.
This gameplay encourages players to explore the universe around them and make the most of the technology provided in advance for them, the advantages of the Nakalim faction are very clear, but if the player “overslept” on That advantage, you can easily fall behind other empires because the Nakalim faction’s expansion is so much difficult.
The Nakalim faction requires players to continually explore new lands to provide relics for their research, and because of the faction’s remote starting location, exploration can Time-consuming if you don’t know your resource balance.
Not only that, the Nakalim faction’s visual style is relatively unique, the writer is always urged to learn more about the story behind this faction, to understand more about the game universe, and to learn more about the mysterious Academy faction.
The Nakalim faction in Awakening is a valuable addition to Endless Space 2’s rich and colorful empire, with its unique gameplay, and mysterious appearance.
Although Awakening is already the game’s fourth expansion, it’s …. the absurdity in the machine diplomacy (A.I) remains the same, downright illogical and inconsistent.
For example, “Cold War” is still a very scary situation for players because it will block important trade routes to allies, even though 99% sure you do not understand why the other … hate you. And you also do nothing to do with them, then make very unreasonable and confusing requests!
Conclusion
“Endless Space 2: Awakening” is a noteworthy expansion that builds upon the success of the base game, offering players new content, mechanics, and narrative elements to explore. The introduction of new factions, improved gameplay systems, and expanded lore enrich the overall experience, providing additional depth and variety for fans of the game.
While the expansion has its strengths, including innovative new content and enhancements to existing systems, it also faces some criticisms related to gameplay depth and balance. Nevertheless, “Awakening” represents a valuable addition to “Endless Space 2,” enhancing the game’s strategic and narrative aspects and offering players new ways to engage with the game’s universe.
For players who enjoy the strategic depth and immersive storytelling of “Endless Space 2,” “Awakening” is a compelling expansion that is well worth exploring. Its combination of new content and improvements to existing systems makes it a significant and worthwhile addition to the game, providing a richer and more engaging experience for fans of the genre.