I've been playing this game for a while now , and have enjoyed every single hour. I basically never write reviews but the sheer amount of negative reviews this game has pushed me to writing my own. This is my own perspective of the game and I highly encourage you to go and try this game on your own despite how bad the angry reviewers make it seem. Now then , on to the review.

[Story / Senario]

Elite Dangerous puts you in the cockpit of your own spaceship and throws you into an hostile galaxy where pressing the wrong button at the wrong time could very well mean death. There isnt a story behind the game like what you would expect from games that feature a single player campaing. What you get instead is a living universe , where you can join different factions to fight for their causes , Governments trying to take over the galaxy ( which you can also join ) , A dynamic economy that enables you to trade goods from a station to the other. This is one of the selling points of this game : You can do whatever you want. With that in mind , dont expect to go exploring the deepest part of the galaxy right after starting. You will most likely spend the first few hours running errands for various factions until you can exchange your starting weapons with literally anything else.

Basically , Elite lets you make up your own story. You are not the main protagonist of some epic journey accross galaxy where the faith of the universe resides on your own hands. Many people seem to dislike that while this is the reason why many people enjoy this game even more. Elite makes you very aware of how insignificant you are compared to the vastness of space , and I love it for that.

[Gameplay]

There isnt much to say about the gameplay that would give you an idea of what actually playing the game feels like , but I'll try. This is a simulator. While being a simulator , dont expect FSX levels of simulation : Its still a game , yet plays as a simulator. The right mix of difficulty and fun makes up for a quite unique experience , something I had yet to experience in a game. Even mundane tasks like requesting docking after arriving at a station is something I never get tired of , except when I forget to do so and enter the station without authorization , only to panic and boost into the side of the station while trying to get out in time.

This game ( or series rather ) explores a new level of Open-World gaming. The entire galaxy is a 1:1 representation of the milky way. You can spend days wandering around the galaxy , scanning stars and planets. The first time you pop open the galaxy map will blow your mind. Many people seem to dislike how it could take you days to travel from one side of the galaxy to the other and back. I doubt they understand how freaking huge space actually is.

As for missions and content , this is where most people bash the game in other reviews. Yes , the game does lack some personnality when it comes to missions and interaction with other NPC ships. Their dialogue is quite limited and most often than not missions have the same description , the only thing different being your destination/cargo/target. While this is a small part of the game , many people seem to crave content. I dont know what they expected out of a game that lets you make up your own story.

As for what you actually do in game , some of your time will be spent flying around trying to find good spots for whatever you are trying to do. Again , people seem to hate how you have to find stations that have good ships or good modules , or find systems that have extraction sites or combat zones. Its like they expect the game to shovel food directly into their mouths. While it is true that the game isnt very good at explaining how things work , it shouldnt be too hard to figure it out on your own. Yet that seems to be too hard for many people.

Once you figure out how the game works it shouldnt be too long before you make up a role for yourself. I was selling space weed for a while before I finally got my Vulture. Many would consider this to be grinding and sure , if you only play the game to get to the bigger ships , its going to feel like a lot of grinding. Which is why you shouldnt play this game expecting a reward , because its the quest that's satisfying. Returning from a 20 hours long journey accross the galaxy might only get you a couple million credits , but its having your name on those first discoveries that's satisfying. Its not knowing what to expect every time you jump into a new system thats thrilling.

[Graphics]

Absolutely gorgeous. Even when playing on medium/low settings using my old 5850 , this game in incredible looking. I love taking screenshots when I stumble on binary star systems orbiting insanely close to eachother or when I end up visiting a nearby nebula and find a gas giant with rings. Everything about this game looks great , even down to the interface in your cockpit which , by the way , you can change the colors to fit your desires.

[Sound]

Absolutely mind blowing. There is nothing to say that could give you an idea like looking up non commentary gameplay videos on youtube. Crank up the volume and enjoy. The soundtrack is very well done as well and fitting to whatever you are doing since every activity has its own set of soundtracks.

[Pricing]

Now , for the most annoying point of this game : the pricing model for extensions. The developpers expect players to pay for a full game every "Season" , which is basically every year when they release a new set of features for the game. Now I will gladly pay the full $60 games usually come at for the full thing every year , if only the content they released was equivalent to the price. So far , Horizons doesnt live up to the $60 I've paid for it. Its a shame really , that older customers who support the developpement will end up paying more money that those who wait for the game to be complete before paying.

However , since this is a review for Elite Dangerous , dont let that scare you. The base game without Horizons is worth its current price. You just might want to consider waiting for future extensions , if paying up to $100 for a game scares you.

[TL;DR]

What are you waiting for ? This game amazing. Dont be scared by the negative reviews written by angry players who cant make up stories in their mind or cant even be asked to try and figure some things out on their own. Elite Dangerous will give you a unique role playing experience you are not likely to forget any time soon.

[EDIT]

700 Hours in and this game still blows my mind. Dont listen to the haters.

I've been playing this game for a while now , and have enjoyed every single hour. I basically never write reviews but the sheer amount of negative reviews this game has pushed me to writing my own. This is my own perspective of the game and I highly encourage you to go and try this game on your own despite how bad the angry reviewers make it seem. Now then , on to the review. [Story / Senario] Elite Dangerous puts you in the cockpit of your own spaceship and throws you into an hostile galaxy where pressing the wrong button at the wrong time could very well mean death. There isnt a story behind the game like what you would expect from games that feature a single player campaing. What you get instead is a living universe , where you can join different factions to fight for their causes , Governments trying to take over the galaxy ( which you can also join ) , A dynamic economy that enables you to trade goods from a station to the other. This is one of the selling points of this game : You can do whatever you want. With that in mind , dont expect to go exploring the deepest part of the galaxy right after starting. You will most likely spend the first few hours running errands for various factions until you can exchange your starting weapons with literally anything else. Basically , Elite lets you make up your own story. You are not the main protagonist of some epic journey accross galaxy where the faith of the universe resides on your own hands. Many people seem to dislike that while this is the reason why many people enjoy this game even more. Elite makes you very aware of how insignificant you are compared to the vastness of space , and I love it for that. [Gameplay] There isnt much to say about the gameplay that would give you an idea of what actually playing the game feels like , but I'll try. This is a simulator. While being a simulator , dont expect FSX levels of simulation : Its still a game , yet plays as a simulator. The right mix of difficulty and fun makes up for a quite unique experience , something I had yet to experience in a game. Even mundane tasks like requesting docking after arriving at a station is something I never get tired of , except when I forget to do so and enter the station without authorization , only to panic and boost into the side of the station while trying to get out in time. This game ( or series rather ) explores a new level of Open-World gaming. The entire galaxy is a 1:1 representation of the milky way. You can spend days wandering around the galaxy , scanning stars and planets. The first time you pop open the galaxy map will blow your mind. Many people seem to dislike how it could take you days to travel from one side of the galaxy to the other and back. I doubt they understand how freaking huge space actually is. As for missions and content , this is where most people bash the game in other reviews. Yes , the game does lack some personnality when it comes to missions and interaction with other NPC ships. Their dialogue is quite limited and most often than not missions have the same description , the only thing different being your destination/cargo/target. While this is a small part of the game , many people seem to crave content. I dont know what they expected out of a game that lets you make up your own story. As for what you actually do in game , some of your time will be spent flying around trying to find good spots for whatever you are trying to do. Again , people seem to hate how you have to find stations that have good ships or good modules , or find systems that have extraction sites or combat zones. Its like they expect the game to shovel food directly into their mouths. While it is true that the game isnt very good at explaining how things work , it shouldnt be too hard to figure it out on your own. Yet that seems to be too hard for many people. Once you figure out how the game works it shouldnt be too long before you make up a role for yourself. I was selling space weed for a while before I finally got my Vulture. Many would consider this to be grinding and sure , if you only play the game to get to the bigger ships , its going to feel like a lot of grinding. Which is why you shouldnt play this game expecting a reward , because its the quest that's satisfying. Returning from a 20 hours long journey accross the galaxy might only get you a couple million credits , but its having your name on those first discoveries that's satisfying. Its not knowing what to expect every time you jump into a new system thats thrilling. [Graphics] Absolutely gorgeous. Even when playing on medium/low settings using my old 5850 , this game in incredible looking. I love taking screenshots when I stumble on binary star systems orbiting insanely close to eachother or when I end up visiting a nearby nebula and find a gas giant with rings. Everything about this game looks great , even down to the interface in your cockpit which , by the way , you can change the colors to fit your desires. [Sound] Absolutely mind blowing. There is nothing to say that could give you an idea like looking up non commentary gameplay videos on youtube. Crank up the volume and enjoy. The soundtrack is very well done as well and fitting to whatever you are doing since every activity has its own set of soundtracks. [Pricing] Now , for the most annoying point of this game : the pricing model for extensions. The developpers expect players to pay for a full game every "Season" , which is basically every year when they release a new set of features for the game. Now I will gladly pay the full $60 games usually come at for the full thing every year , if only the content they released was equivalent to the price. So far , Horizons doesnt live up to the $60 I've paid for it. Its a shame really , that older customers who support the developpement will end up paying more money that those who wait for the game to be complete before paying. However , since this is a review for Elite Dangerous , dont let that scare you. The base game without Horizons is worth its current price. You just might want to consider waiting for future extensions , if paying up to $100 for a game scares you. [TL;DR] What are you waiting for ? This game amazing. Dont be scared by the negative reviews written by angry players who cant make up stories in their mind or cant even be asked to try and figure some things out on their own. Elite Dangerous will give you a unique role playing experience you are not likely to forget any time soon. [EDIT] 700 Hours in and this game still blows my mind. Dont listen to the haters.