Amplitude Studios are, in my opinion, masters of the 4X genre. While I only briefly touched the first Endless Legend, I sank a few hundred hours into Humankind, a title that expands upon the 4X mechanics of the former with a more open-ended, less narrative-driven approach using real-world cultures instead of fantasy ones. Regardless, I was still excited by the chance to give Endless Legend 2 a review in its pre-EA launch state, and I’m happy to say that the title easily impressed me. While there are still elements I feel some 4X players will not love, the game overall is in a solid, refined, and enjoyable state even now, with even more promised to come as development continues.
Endless Legend 2 builds upon the sci-fi-fantasy universe of the first game, taking players to a brand-new planet with a mostly new cast of fantastical races, while the Last Lords return as the iconic dust-devouring enchanted armor faction. Many new elements are introduced in Endless Legend 2, including gameplay, lore, factions, and stories, but the biggest change is the game’s new setting: a mysterious, unexplored planet covered in a shifting ocean.
I did, in fact, use the word “shifting” to describe the ocean in Endless Legend 2, as the game’s unique setting is not only new in its lore but also provides a mechanic entirely new to the genre. While other 4X titles such as Civilization VI feature global warming mechanics that flood land and reduce playable tiles, Endless Legend 2 does the opposite. Over the course of the game, three “tidefall” events will drain the ocean, adding new land tiles to the map and creating new areas to explore.
If you’re a seasoned 4X player, you’ve probably already grasped the complexities this mechanic adds to the genre. A game of Endless Legend 2 will challenge you to plan for the unplannable, as your fortified island city will suddenly and unexpectedly gain new land bridges over the course of play. Your borders are, quite literally, shifting, as the sea is an unpredictable and unreliable natural barrier, and the tidefall will inevitably open up new paths for clever rulers to exploit. It’s up to you to be one of them.
The version of Endless Legend 2 I played really impressed me. The game’s five factions played incredibly differently from one another, with an asymmetrical design challenging players to adapt to the specific strengths and weaknesses of their chosen race in each playthrough. The map was massive, full of incredibly interesting independent species that you could integrate into your empire (or conquer), and the art was beautiful. Most impressive of all is the promise of even more to come, with the developers promising better AI, touchups on the art, and an entirely new faction later.
My favorite part of the 4X gameplay, which is highly similar to other Amplitude titles with, of course, tweaks and improvements here and there, is the ability to add different alien races to your population and for them to actually have unique roles in your city management.
The thing to keep in mind with the Endless series is that it is heavily narrative-driven. This is true of the first game, and it is even more so in Endless Legend 2. Unlike other 4X games, you are not dropped into an open map with free rein to expand and roam. The familiar 4X exploration and building is there, of course, but Endless Legend 2 drives each game with a story.
This story is unique to each faction you play, and while it is not entirely necessary to follow if you want to just play Endless Legend 2 like a typical 4X game, players who ignore it will find its presence intrusive. Not only are you missing out on valuable resources by not completing the numerous quests as they appear, but you will also be constantly interrupted in your gameplay by text popups, many of which seem necessary to read or at least click through to progress. They are long as well, and I was downright impressed by the amount of written story presented in Endless Legend 2.
I do not mean to say that, like it is a bad thing. Personally, I was incredibly enthralled by the story and writing in Endless Legend 2. I also enjoyed that the story adapted based on the decisions you made, with multiple possible endings depending on the narrative path you follow in addition to more traditional 4X ways to win.
However, for more traditional 4X players, this focus on narrative is going to be a point of contention. For some, the focus on story and the way it shapes how you play will be an incredible addition to the formula that makes each new game unique. For others, the constant pop-ups to interact with the story will feel like distractions from the traditional 4X elements they came for. A potential issue I can also see with the storytelling is that the decisions you make are directly responsible for the rewards you receive. Multiple playthroughs will already see players exploring the same story over and over again, and the temptation to pick the optimal reward will discourage players from exploring other options simply for the sake of fully experiencing the narrative.
Pros
- Amplitude continues to show their mastery of 4X mechanics with their familiar formula, tweaked and with QoL improvements.
- The tidefall mechanic is totally unique to the genre and adds a sense of opportunity to each game.
- Factions feel wildly different from one another and force you to adapt.
- The map is huge and full of interesting independent species.
- The art is gorgeous, and the promise of more polish to come is exciting.
- The narrative is genuinely well-written and adapts to your choices.
Cons
- The constant story pop-ups can feel intrusive if you just want traditional 4X gameplay.
- Decisions often tie directly to rewards, which can make players pick the “right” choice instead of the more interesting one.
- Multiple playthroughs might start to feel repetitive with the same quests and stories showing up.
TryHardGuides was provided a Steam code for this PC Early Access Review of ENDLESS Legend 2. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page!
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