Playing Elite Dangerous is pretty much a full time job if
you want to actually play it well. It
is a deep and realistic simulation of real space exploration with a learning
curve that can take weeks to come to grips with. If you put in the time and effort to learn to play it properly,
however, Elite Dangerous is one of the greatest and most satisfying videogames
ever made. Putting in that effort is a
huge hurdle, though, and not something everyone will be able to handle. If you have the right stuff, it is well
worth it in the end. See our full
review of Elite Dangerous for Xbox One here.Game Details
- Publisher: Frontier Developments
- Developer: Frontier Developments
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: Space Sim
- Pros: Gigantic 1:1 scale Milky Way Galaxy to explore; incredibly deep simulation gameplay; lots to do; incredible presentation
- Cons: Extremely steep learning curve; takes forever to do anything; needs better tutorials
- MSRP: $60 full package
Elite Dangerous is available in a number of different
versions and packages, so bear with us.
You can get the standard Elite Dangerous game, that also comes with the
multiplayer combat-focused Elite Dangerous Arena, for $30. You can also just buy Elite Dangerous Arena
by itself for $7.49 if you only want multiplayer. If you have the standard Elite Dangerous game, you can buy a DLC
expansion called Horizons that adds planetary landings for an extra $30. And if you want everything Elite Dangarous
has to offer all in one package, the Elite Dangerous Commander Deluxe Edition
has everything for $60.
The first thing you need to know about Elite Dangerous is
that it is very difficult at the beginning and it doesn’t really do a very good
job of teaching you how to play. There
is a set of very basic tutorials at the start, but anything more complicated
than simply taking off and landing is left for you to learn on your own. The game does have some links to videos that
help you out, but everything is still very much trial and error. You have to teach yourself how to navigate
and what all of the readouts and information the game throws at you means as
well as really important things like how to properly slow down and approach a
space station or planet so you don’t blow 10 light years past it. This learning curve isn’t so much a curve as
it is a straight cliff face that can take 10-20+ hours to overcome.
The gameplay takes place in a first-person perspective from
the pilot seat of your space ship. You
access all of your systems by either looking around the cabin at the various
screens for communications, weapons, navigation, etc. or by simply holding a
button assigned to each system. Each
one of these systems, obviously, has its own set of things you can do so you
have to learn what everything does.
While flying around a planetary system your controls are fairly simple
as you just sort of point your ship where you want to go and can change your
speed, adjust shield strength, transfer power to different systems, raise and
lower landing gear, and more with just the press of a few buttons. Flying at light speed, however, requires you
to use the navigation system and actually plot a course so you don’t just fly
off randomly and get stranded out in the nothingness of space. As I keep stressing, learning what
everything does and how to use it properly and then actually executing
everything in the right order when the time comes is very, very hard when you
first start out.
If you do learn how to play, though, Elite Dangerous opens up into a hugely engrossing experience that is amazingly satisfying. You have the entire Milky Way Galaxy to explore and do anything you want in, and the scale is absolutely staggering. Even with light speed travel it will be impossible for one player to see even a fraction of the 400-million stars (and billions of planets) available in the game. With the Horizons DLC expansion you can actually land on those planets and moons, which adds a whole new layer of depth to a game that already gave you a whole galaxy to play around in.
You have to keep in mind, however, that Elite Dangerous is a
hardcore simulation at its core, which means accomplishing pretty much anything
takes a surprisingly long time. Light
speed lets you travel between stars in a few seconds, but traveling between
planets in the same system at sub-light speed can take several minutes or even
hours where you aren’t doing anything except watching the distance counter on
your overlay slowly count down. It is
particularly tedious at the beginning of the game since your ship has a very
short range, which means you have to make frequent stops to re-fuel and
repair. When you get a better ship
things go a little faster and smoother, obviously, but it still takes a while.
What is the point of all this slowly traveling around? Well, you pretty much have to decide that
for yourself. The basic goal in Elite
Dangerous really is to earn money in order to keep funding your
exploration. Exploring planets and
solar systems and selling the data earns you money, but you can also take
missions to transport legal cargo, smuggle illegal contraband, scavenge wrecked
space ships, or even be a pirate who attacks other ships and steals their
stuff. You get to do whatever you
want. Just keep in mind that your
motivation should probably be simply the joy of space travel, though. Elite Dangerous is a gorgeous looking game
even during the monotonous bits, and loving space travel itself is the key to
really enjoying the experience. If you
can’t self motivate without any structure, however, Elite Dangerous absolutely
won’t be for you.
Elite Dangerous actually is technically a MMO since other
players are playing in the same galaxy with you, though you can choose a solo
mode if you want. It is sort of
interesting, however, in that you don’t really ever come across other players
unless you seek them out by going to high traffic areas. The galaxy is simply so huge that the
chances of actually meeting another player randomly out in space are incredibly
low. Also interesting is that, if you
do happen to meet another human player, they’re usually very friendly. There isn’t a lot of griefing or player
killing in Elite Dangerous because everyone sort of understands that it is hard
enough to play without jerks ruining your fun.
Everyone is very civil, and I love that.
Elite Dangerous is an absolutely gorgeous looking game,
which is why the exploration, even the traveling that takes hours, is so
enjoyable. The orange and blue glow of
your instrument panel looks awesome and everything is clear and easy to
see. And when you come across a star or
planet or space station, they are simply stunning to look at and totally
justify any hardships the rest of the game present. I can’t stress enough how satisfying it is to simply gaze upon a
new star or planet. It is addictive and
wonderful and make it all worth it.
It sounds great, too, but with very subtle audio design. The sound you hear most of the time is
simply the hum of your engines, but it is absolutely wonderfully appropriate. When the sound needs to pick up, such as
when you enter or leave light speed or during combat, the sound effects are
very cool and “sci-fi”. The music is
dynamic and slowly rises and falls to match what you’re doing – like how it
swells as you come home to a station after being out in space for a long time –
and it is awesome.
My apologies if this review seems like I’m trying to scare
you away from the game, but it cannot be understated just how challenging Elite
Dangerous can be when you first start playing.
It has complicated controls, a million systems to manage, doesn’t ever
tell you what to do next, and regularly has long stretches where you just have
to sit back and watch. But it is also
amazingly beautiful to look at and incredibly satisfying when you do learn how
to do everything. If you ever dreamed
of traveling through the stars, and can also appreciate the realistic
simulation aspects of it, Elite Dangerous is a dream come true and absolutely worth
a purchase.
Disclosure; A review code was provided by the publisher.
