Distant Worlds 2: The Review

Distant Worlds 2 is quite a game.

I’ve always had a soft spot for space games in general and sci-fi always tended to appeal to me more than fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy fantasy settings and have been greatly influenced by Dungeons & Dragons and Lord of the Rings, but they didn’t impress me as much as Star Wars, Star Trek, or the Battlestar Galactica remake. I could look up to the sky and imagine all these starships and stations whizzing by, shooting torpedoes and lasers at each other, and just be in awe of the vastness of the galaxy, let alone the universe.

This is a feeling I have chased in space 4X games for as long as I remember, from my first 4X game with Birth of the Federation to this game’s predecessor, Distant Worlds: Universe, and one of my current favorites, Stellaris.

I could go on about other space 4X games I played, including Galactic Civilizations, Endless Space, and Remnants of the Precursors, but dear reader, I think you are here for Distant Worlds 2, the long-awaited sequel of a fan favorite here at eXplorminate.

Many of you are at least aware of Distant Worlds: Universe (DW:U), if not avid fans of the game. For the uninitiated, Distant Worlds is a real-time grand strategy game set in space, with a hefty amount of empire management and automation, RTS-style combat, and deep systems and mechanics such as the autonomous private economy within each empire, developed by the talented Elliot Gibbs and Erik Rutins of Code Force.

DW:U itself is the culmination of multiple DLCs released for the original Distant Worlds game in one complete package. Many of us praised DW:U for being revolutionary for the space 4X genre, from its amazing depth and complexity of systems, game customization options and the aforementioned grand scale, despite some of its shortcomings. It is nigh impossible to discuss DW:U without hearing about its impenetrable (and some say ugly) UI.

Admittedly, I only played DW:U for a little more than 30 hours; not nearly enough to learn the nuances of the game, however, my experience was hampered by a sometimes-confusing interface. I even attempted to jump back in around the time Distant Worlds 2 (DW2) was announced, but once again could not get past the interface, despite somewhat enjoying the run I had. It was at that point I decided I would wait with bated breath for Distant Worlds 2.

We Have Liftoff

In typical DW fashion, when starting a game, you are presented with a variety of game setup options to tweak the game however you want it. At first, you are presented with galaxy size and shape options ranging from the largest 2,000-star galaxies to tighter 300-star galaxies in a variety of shapes from spirals to clusters, along with setting the density of nebulas.

Nebulas are a new addition to DW2 and add a layer of strategy by introducing areas of the galaxy that are difficult (or generally impossible) to traverse. In game mechanic terms, they serve a similar purpose to mountain ranges in terrestrial games, creating various chokepoints and potentially forcing empires in a battle over territory and resources. While opinions are mixed with their use in space games, I find that it creates much more interesting gameplay in conjunction with the management of logistics in DW2, so I welcomed their addition in my time playing the game.

I won’t go into all of the game setup options, as returning players are probably familiar with many of them. For new players, especially if you’re coming from a gamer like Stellaris, you’ll find the options in some ways to be more in-depth or cover mechanics that are not in Stellaris; pirates for example, who are your first adversaries and can be quite fierce, have options to adjust their numbers, fleet strengths and their relative starting distances from player and AI empires. In addition, your starting expansion and tech level can be set to adjust how far in the game you start.

In general, these game start options can help you fine-tune things if you want an easier start for a relaxed game at a learner’s pace or a more intense one requiring a higher level of engagement, with helpful tooltips to explain what it all means throughout. It is possible to begin the game with many colonies at a higher tech level, but I tended to stick to the Starting size, Pre-warp tech level; that is, I start in my home system with my home planet, at the lowest tech level where I start researching warp technology that will help me to explore my solar system first, and eventually the whole galaxy.

That being said, we can finally jump into the game!

The Deep Void

The galaxy is new for again for this generation of Ackdarians. Their home star, known as Trillar Yaigan, or as just Yaigan in the local dialect, is the only one they know of. Sorrit Thanda, the leader of the Ackadarian Republic, has finally led his race back to the stars. Amazingly, they discovered an abandoned and damaged Ackdarian station orbiting their home planet of Ratedeank.

Once the game begins returning players will notice many changes compared to DW:U. The most obvious change is the move from 2D to 3D graphics. For this type of game, the graphics look great, but set your expectations accordingly for a smaller development team – your 3080 with ray tracing won’t be chugging. The impact on play with this change is minimal, however I did feel like I was able to immerse myself more into the game as I watched my fleets executing different combat manouvers, jumping behind enemy ships, as well as my civilian ships moving goods around my empire. If you have played 4X games, the layout of the interface may be familiar, with your various menus on the top left side and your income, time management, and other quick information at your disposal on the top right. Now, I admit I come to DW2 with some experience from DW:U, so I was quickly able to find my way through the menus by experimentation.

Each menu is organized, with various tabs that you can click through to see ships, potential build sites, characters, etc. Of course, the biggest issue that was addressed is UI scaling, except for a few minor niggles (it’s a technical term), such as some wonkiness that occurs when your desktop scale is not set to 100%, but generally, the UI looks well and can be adjusted (check out Ben BATTLEMODE’s video where he shows of some of the options in the preview build), but it can be set to make it easier to read or show more information, depending on your setup and preferences.

Where the game takes a misstep however is new player onboarding, especially to those who are brand new to the series, let alone the genre. Now, player onboarding has certainly been a challenge in this genre, especially with smaller teams and complex games, because of the level of resources required to create tutorials that not only explain game mechanics but, in some cases, high-level strategies and understanding of those mechanics that come from play. Distant Worlds 2 is not only a game that demands your attention, but the “tutorial” is a tour of each screen, with windows that walk you through the various menus. It can certainly be quite overwhelming, especially as the number of ships increases and the management of various aspects of your empire.

This will appeal to the hardy among you who have little familiarity with the series but love learning games, especially if you approach it like a game of Dwarf Fortress; you will fail many times, but each failure is (hopefully) a learning experience. This is less a critique and more of a word of caution, especially if you lack the patience to learn a new game. However, I did find it to be a rewarding experience learning how various mechanics work.

There are a total of ten menus in the top-left corner, each with a variety of different tabs. These tabs can be easy to discern with experimentation, especially as you jump through them and learn what theme they cover such as military, diplomacy, resources, and exploration. The Research tree has its own screen, and it is deserved for its sheer size. In total, there are eighteen different categories for research, including Weapons (of course), Engines, Construction, Diplomacy and more. There are plenty of technologies, and it’s easy to get lost. For vets of the series however, the organization of the research tree is much improved over its predecessor.

Distant Worlds 2 also introduces Research Pathing and Research Visibility as game options, which I recommend new players check out. At the very least, the Research Visibility option restricts the tree to just the next techs you can research, helping to ease a potentially overwhelming tree by limiting your view of all techs. Research Pathing can be randomized or predetermined as well, so if you are like me and prefer variability in your games, it is a welcome addition.

Now we have a bit of a grasp of how we play the game… but how does the AI fare?

I, Robot

It had only been twenty years since Sorrit Thanda led his people back to the stars, and in that time, he expanded the Ackdarian Republic first by incorporating a colony of lost Ackdarians nearby, then a colony of Ikurro in the Brakios system. The republic was flourishing, and at the same time discovered other organized entities similar to them. Of particular note was the Dandalas Theocracy, a brother empire of fellow Ackdarians with which the Republic quickly become friends with. However, the vile Haakonish of the Pruxema Debal Consortium, or the PDC, stood between them.

If you are unfamiliar with Distant Worlds, then the first thing to understand about the AI is that it has three components: the opposing rival empires, your private citizenry, and your own Empire’s automation. In many 4X games, the player is used to having direct control of each unit. In DW2 however, your empire quickly grows at a pace that is difficult to keep up with, especially for a pause-able real-time game, and the private sector ships which move your economy are almost entirely AI controlled. Distant Worlds 2 has many resources, extracted from various planets, asteroids, and gas giants. From the all important Caslon which fuels your powerplants, to Steel for constructing ships and bases and luxurious Dantha Fur sought after by civilians throughout the galaxy, these resources have to be exploited and brought back to the systems, planets, and ships that need them.

While the player builds the mining stations, the private economy will move those resources around for you. They are also your main source of income from taxes and shipbuilding expenses. Since it runs itself on its own without player intervention, it’s a sight to see all your supply lines feeding your planets and ships on your own.

Empire automation is a different beast altogether. By default, DW2 automates almost all facets of your empire to varying degrees, such as selecting research projects and maneuvering fleets. These settings can all be customized to your liking. I found it very useful because I could turn off automation for systems I want to learn or ones that I enjoy playing, such as warfare, and leave it on for systems like espionage that I tend to forget about anyway. Now automation is not perfect, because it will not play as well as a player that dives in and optimizes the systems, but it does help to take care of tasks you may forget about.

The opposing empire AI, on the other hand, is a bit of a different story. In the builds I played, the AI tended to not be so aggressive, or poorly maneuvered their fleets. This is an aspect that I feel needs further tweaking because playing on a Restless galaxy (the middle option for overall Galaxy aggression) and Normal difficulty. To note, the difficulty only affects the player, such as changing the rate of colony income, population growth, and research speed, to name a few. Galaxy Aggression of course affects the AI, as the name implies. I never felt threatened except by pirates at the beginning of the game, and despite rushing tech to defend myself I would often have a few pirates around me that would demand protection money and send my economy into a spiral if I did not carefully manage it. This may be different on higher aggression levels, but I would’ve expected a slightly more threatening AI at this level.

Diplomacy is relatively straightforward; in that, you are either planning to wage war against another empire or are investing in a close relationship by plying your rivals with gifts of cash and research. It’s not anything revolutionary in terms of 4X games these days, but it serves its purpose as the focus of the game is on empire management. Independent colonies, which are single words that do not expand, can be befriended as well, and incorporated into your empire as another colony: an effective way to jumpstart expansion.

Another feature that was rebuilt from Distant Worlds: Universe is the Ship Designer. This is an important aspect of the game, as both your stations and ships have plenty of hardpoints for weapons and different systems, such as research labs or sensors. Admittedly, ship designers in 4X games have never been a favorite feature of mine. Any more than 5-10 components and I shut it out and leave it to the AI. The ship designer in Distant Worlds 2 is much improved over it’s predecessor, but it’s a relatively complicated beast that I generally left to the AI, except for occasionally jumping in and tweaking the designs. The system does provide a lot of depth for those that want to dig into it, and while the interface at first might seem bulky, it’s quite easy to figure out how to place components and where they belong.

The Big Bang

As the peaceful Ackdarian Republic grew, Sorrit knew the peace was not to last. While more allies had been made, such as with the humans of the Tyr Confederacy and the Silagges Republic, the PDC declared war on the Republic. Intense fighting followed for many years, with the Haakonish fiercely defending their lands. As a peace-loving people, the Ackdarians struggled with the counter offensive, facing supply shortages and disrupted logistics networks.  

Overall, I really enjoy the time I spent Distant Worlds 2. There are some other critiques I have, such as overall sound design which I found to be grating, for example the constant roar of a storm raging because there is a nebula near one of your planets that you are managing. I also was not a fan of the music and would mute the in-game soundtrack for something that I wanted to listen to. Planet management is there, but outside of setting tax rates there isn’t as much to be done with them besides building the occasional facilities, although the addition of various ruins that provide bonuses is neat. Fleet management can also be cumbersome especially after suffering losses. Something I would love Distant Worlds 2 to lift from Stellaris is the fleet manager, where I set the number of ship chassis I want per fleet, and any losses can be replenished by a click of a button (DW2 does have this exact feature in the Fleet Manager: Ed.). The biggest “issue” is that due to the complexity of the game, it can be difficult to discern what is going wrong and why resources are not getting where they need to go; this can be enjoyable or frustrating depending on your perspective and whether or not you like digging into those details.

These are minor quibbles considering the gameplay is fantastic and that DW2 captures what I look for in 4X games; the grand scale of managing a huge empire with billions of citizens, and I can watch the beauty of my empire moving around and developing itself without my own intervention. It is this simulation aspect that I enjoy the most in 4X games, along with deeper empire management. It fulfills a different sort of fantasy than Stellaris, which while also grand in scope, leans more into the roleplaying aspects than it does the empire management or the tactical aspect of controlling fleets. Distant Worlds 2 gives the player much more control, which does make it more difficult to become competent at but rewarding when you do.

Ultimately, Distant Worlds 2 is the evolution of Distant Worlds: Universe. While the game has been rebuilt from the ground up in a new engine with new mechanics and features, in many ways Distant Worlds 2 is the DW:U for the modern age to compete with other games in the genre. It has taken a lot of ideas from other games in the genre to improve itself, such as adding more storyline elements, but this is a game I recommend to people who have played and loved Distant Worlds: Universe or even those who bounced off it because they couldn’t wrap their heads around that first title. I will certainly continue playing and learning the game as time goes on, and I know this will be my go to game for 2022 and likely years to follow.

In any case, I invite you reader to join our community of 4X and strategy aficionados (among other genres) here at eXplorminate. Leave us a comment below, or join us over at Discord and the Steam forums to chat about it and other 4X, Strategy, and Tactics games!

[marstheme_review post_id=”26223″]

Omar Hamza

Omar is a big fan of 4X games who first found eXplorminate through the podcast, and has been a supporting member of the community since. In addition to 4X games, Omar enjoys Grand Strategy games, city builders, and other turn-based tactical games. Some of his favorite games include Shadow Empire and Stellaris. You may have seen him around as omzh on the site and the Discord, so feel free to say hi to him!