Distant Worlds 2 Reviews

If you're a fan of Space Grand Strategy Simulations, then you'll probably love this game. Give yourself some time to get in to and work on the learning curve. Go put on one of the myriad of youtubers (Arumba has a GREAT little series) out there that have extensive lets plays and try to follow along. Because, once it clicks in your head, you're going to lose yourself for 100s of hours. And if I know anything about you, dear reader, you're a bit like me. DW2 will satisfy that craving to disappear in to the simulation...Shakturi be damned.

DW2 has been out for several years now and during that time i have kept coming back trying to play it however the CRASHES are ridiculous!! I have scoured the FAQs and Community posts and have reached the following conclusion: The developers have always relied on players to test their product and provide feedback in order to isolate bugs. The problem is that the amount of CTD bugs are so numerous this would take decades at the current rate. I am very disappointed because DW1 was always one of my favs -- EDIT -- 11/02/2025 The developer has replied, insinuating that a) i have a problem with my setup. b) haven't tried all the numerous corrections tried by a multitude of unhappy gamers. c) I want to go through a trial and error fix for my specific rig, given that they couldn't pick up the issue from the "Telemetry" i did not enable, but they say they've received. I think the biggest disappointment with DW2 is the Attitude of the Developers who have not been able to squash their bugs. A bit of humility would go far.

I like that this game isn't afraid to just let you have fun. (The game respects your time) There are so many different aspects of this game you can take full control over. As when you start you will want most of what goes on to be automated. The game can pretty much play itself while you get notifications on key events and things happening that need admin approval. Or you can take full control of every ship and colony you have. But good luck as you will be operating a vast network of planets, trading, mining, and destroying hostile aliens who are just bent on your destruction. There are an equal amount of vast worlds who just want to trade and become friends. Others who act like your friends only to spy on you and cause industrial espionage on your colonies. All of this you have control over too if you so please. You get Alot of BANG for your buck with this title. Well worth it IMO. Just know this has a very steep learning curve. When with automated systems. You will want to read and watch some videos to help your learning process. Don't think you are just going to sit down with this game and go kill some stuff. It isn't that kind of game. Battles do happen, no doubt. But there is a process to becoming a battle ready empire. As the game can be played purely peaceful if that if that is your thing. What ever your thing is, this game can most likely do it.

(I USE ARCH BTW!) DW2 runs amazing on Arch Linux regardless of empires on the map or map size, and honestly runs better on Linux than Windows 11. DW2 hardly starts to chug until very late game when theirs literally Hundreds of military and civilian ships roaming the galaxy. This game truly makes you feel like your managing and expanding an empire in a living galaxy. The galaxy in DW2 feels "alive" unlike Stellaris sadly, but both games are completely different from each other and cant really be compared. The only main issue I've had with this game is the AI. The AI Empires have a hard time managing their economy and building an okay'ish fleet. Most of the time especially early to mid game, the AI will cobble together a massive fleet of derelict ships they find throughout their time exploring the galaxy. This Derelict fleet they cobble together can pose a massive challenge early game, when first contact happens especially with the hostile races. Once you have an economy going, they hardly end up being a challenge in the early to mid game. Though in the late game the AI do end up making very diverse and changeling fleets that actually make you think about what kinda armaments your ships should have and the composition of your fleets. This game is obviously going to have bugs since it is in beta still, I've yet to have any crashes or game breaking bugs (maybe because Arch Linux is the superior OS), but that could be the opposite for you. Like most strategy games I've played especially the paradox variety, it lacks quality of life features (JUST LIKE ALL PARADOX GAMES RELEASED WITHIN THE LAST DECADE). it is missing very basic features like multi order queuing for individual ships and fleets, has a very raw espionage system, somewhat lacking diplomacy options (would love an actual alliance, federation system, and be able to at least trade resources in some way) and AI will very rarely cheat in ships but I've only noticed this happening early game. Besides those major things in my opinion this game is playable and enjoyable. This game is NOT STELLARIS and many paradox fans fail to realize that. This Game Simulates an actual "living" galaxy and is a lot more in depth in certain areas than stellaris, It still does lack massively in a lot of areas like diplomacy and AI but it doesn't take away the fun you can have with the game. This is a beta game and you have to understand that comes with bugs and unfinished game play mechanics and quality of life features missing. The devs are still very active and constantly tease and post about future free updates and DLC's. Most of the issues with this game have already been noticed and are currently being worked on by the devs and they have confirmed that all if not most of the quality of life improvements will come in the next free update for the game. I just hope The Devs of DW2 don't follow paradox's footsteps and lock important, fun, and quality of life features behind $40,000 worth of DLC's like they did with stellaris, HOI4, EU4, Vic2, Vic3, Ck2, and Ck3 or like any other Grand Strategy Dev. PLEASE DON"T DO IT. TL;DR Game is fun and enjoyable, but missing quality of life and game play features with lots of minor bugs and possible major bugs (if you don't use Arch Linux), but if you don't care about bugs and want to play 1 out of the 5 space grand strategy games we have on PC its a pretty decent game.

As far as 4X games go, this one is excellent - really steep learning curve but a very in-depth, challenging but very rewarding game. Still being updated with DLCs and major updates too to continue to improve it! Thoroughly enjoy the available options, you can basically fully automate your entire empire or you can control every aspect of it and micro the entire thing to get it just how you want it. Basically, if you enjoy 4X space games (namely Stellaris), you'll thoroughly enjoy this one.

For me one of the best space games out there. I love seeing my little empire grow further and further. Keep in mind, that this game can be very taxing on your computer. But with a decent hardware it's a must buy for 4x-lovers.

still not worth 50$ sadly.. many issues, updates are far and few not much of a different game than on release. DLC overpriced for a game still in Beta , 3 years later hopefully one day it'll live up to universe

I gave this game a chance. This was a mistake. Basicly game has a lot of potential but now its still in beta (for more than 2 years). Add it to whish list and wait. (Drunken rant below) 1) AI cheats a lot, it doesn't suffer from lack of money or resources it just spawns ships because, why not? 2) Fleet automation is broken, they will constantly stay in between systems for some reason or run away from winnable fights or suicide into the middle of enemy territory or break blockades, etc. 3) Even several years after release it is still very buggy. Ships will disappear into Finn air you cant land on planets because fuck you etc 4) Sometimes it just crashes for no reason 5) Tankers are 'nps' ships just why 6) Espionage system is raw VERY raw and also buggy 7) Overall fleet behavior is disaster never put your fleet on defence because while AI doom stacks your competent commanders will guard middle of nowhere from 1k gravilex which you found 10 minutes ago

I don't really get why its getting downvoted recently, the game is very fun. I love the early game especially, where it captures that feeling of being a new space faring empire just now reaching out of their homeworld. I kind of wish the story was presented better, or maybe had its own tab/area to see all that you have discovered that specificly pertains to your race's story. It just feels a bit odd not knowing what is actually your empire's specific story and what is a general exploration event.