Elite: Dangerous Reviews
Massive, intimidating, and stunningly beautiful, Elite: Dangerous is one of the deepest, most rewarding open-world experiences you can have on Xbox One.
The pioneering space adventure makes an impressive landing on PlayStation 4, with more content than ever and the promise of even better things to come.
There's a lot of balancing to be done in the long term, then, and the big hurdle for new players will be getting up to speed without losing interest in those stodgy early hours. The mid-point, where everything coalesces, is so liberating, so brilliant in its scope and possibility, that it's hard to be too upset about these wrinkles. For all its frustrations, you'll spend much longer in the sweet spot than you spend getting there. Elite: Dangerous demands much, but repays your devotion many times over.
It sounds like I am harping on Elite: Dangerous, but it's a fantastic game and makes one wonder why space sims have been away for so long. For all of its polish in some areas, it has obviously unrefined aspects in others. For all the aspects that let you tell a story about the game, there's little to allow you to create in a story within it. During the first few weeks, the game will absolutely demand your free time, and you will gleefully engage. It just needs a lot more to sustain itself.
Elite Dangerous is a very compelling and adventurous game. It's a story you get to tell based on your decisions. This is more than just a game. It's an ever-changing experience you get to participate in. Elite Dangerous is not for the Casual Gamer, and it's certainly not for everyone. If you're thinking about buying this simply for the space combat portion, you may want to explore other options. It's much more complex than the typical shoot'em-up experience.
There's definitely a strong core game principle here, and all my problems with it are ones that can be solved with some continued developer TLC. Flying your ship feels good, the galaxy accurately conveys an immense sense of scale, the use of real life stars and planets adds an amazing sense of wonder, and the trading and combat systems have strong cores. Overall, Elite: Dangerous is really cool, but mostly as a tease of what it could be. I genuinely hope the developers continue to support it as they have thus far, because this game is just a few more levels of progression away from being truly incredible.
The strenght of the game three years after its release is not in discussion and this new version for PlayStation 4 (although not much "Pro") is well done.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Can I go back to my spaceship now? There's a real sweet run I want to make….
Elite: Dangerous is unforgiving, obfuscating, and occasionally dull, but it's always immersive and beautiful. It offers an incredible universe to explore that, despite occasional graphical repetition, offers the tantalising possibility of wonders yet unseen at the end of each new hyperspace jump.
Even though there is currently a high learning curve and players need to do a little research on their own to get the most out of this galactic sandbox, Frontier Developments has so far demonstrated that they deliver on their promises. Compare that to the 'other' space sim Kickstarter that everyone has been talking about and I think the choice for your next space sim is an easy one to make I would strongly suggest if you are looking for a bit of challenge and want to get sucked into a deep, rewarding game that promises to only get bigger, pick up your Xbox One controller and give Elite: Dangerous a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
To summarize, Elite: Dangerous is awe-inspiringly beautiful, but a time sink of galactic proportions.
Minor shortcomings aside, Elite Dangerous delivers with aplomb on its promise of a massive galaxy for players to explore and write their own stories within. There are very few games on PS4 that will devour your social life as completely as Elite Dangerous.
Frontier Developments have done a magnificent job of creating an affordable universe that is fun to play. With tons of game styles and the entirety of the Milky Way to explore, this one is truly for space sim buffs with one caveat – if you're feeling lost, we recommend you check out video tutorials online.
Elite Dangerous is more than a simple 'videogame': it's a mesmerizing space-simulation, which offers the player an incredible experience among the stars. The PS4 version preserves all the quality of the PC edition. It's almost a masterpiece.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A great game and, with time, potentially a classic. Much rests on Frontier's ability to build on these broad but somewhat shallow foundations.
Elite Dangerous successfully takes the original game and turns it into a true 21st century revolution as you explore the furthermost reaches of the universe as you attempt assassinations, protect spaceports and search for those illusive credits in order to better yourself in this gaming world. The learning curve is a little steep and the controls can be at times fiddle some but overall, the developers of Elite Dangerous should be commended on creating a truly visual, immersive and memorable experience on the PC that not only pays homage to the original but takes it to a new level thanks to the MMO component and inclusion of the Oculus Rift DK2.
Sure, learning the controls was frustrating and boredom crept in when transiting from one system to another but overall the thrill of exploration and discovery dwarf any grievances I have with the game.
An absolutely brilliant space sim that has no equal on the Xbox One. Despite the relative lack of "depth" and other small issues, Elite: Dangerous still manages to impress with a very dynamic, unique and incredible experience. For space sim fans, this will no doubt become a staple in this genre on console.
The content and gameplay of 'Elite' is much as it was during the Preview program, which is to say excellent. The technical issues are much improved, and the addition of CQC is a net positive. It can be a cold, uninviting experience for the new player, but it is a great spaceship game that should not be missed.
Despite having a slow learning curve, Elite Dangerous becomes excellent in every spacial simulator aspect, with lots of liberty to explore, a huge amount of content and a fun combat system, which makes it the best PS4 title of this genre so far.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review