Endless Legend 2 is a fantasy 4X strategy game developed by Amplitude Studios and published by Hooded Horse.
After a year in Early Access, it will leave Early Access on September 17th. Players are tasked with leading one of five unique factions to glory by building their empire and unveiling the secrets of the ever-changing land.
With an inspiring soundtrack by Arnaud Roy, voiced cutscenes with oil painting-like artwork, and a colorful world filled with things to do, this is a game you’ll enjoy spending a lot of time exploring.
FACTION FOCUS
The factions in Endless Legend 2 are varied, and choosing one affects all aspects of the gameplay. There are the Kin of Sheredyn, military defenders descended from the stars whose units include Sentinels, Legionaries, Archers, Heralds (their shock cavalry), and the armored and deadly Chosen.
The Aspects are beings born from a symbiosis of the organic and mechanical. These diplomats are suffused with a coral growth that connects them all, and they use Envoys, Sentries, Observers, and flying behemoths known as Skyscale. If you’re more into warmongering, the Necrophage are a hungry hive of semi-insectoid creatures that feed on corpses. Their units are the Larva, Necrodrones, Spitters, and Feeders.
The Last Lords are once-honorable knights whose cursed spirits have been trapped inside their armor. They use Thralls, Stalwarts, Palanquins of the Profane, and Dust Lords on their flying mounts. Lastly, the devout Tahuks are lizard-like scientists who use mostly ranged units. They are made up of Initiates, Devotees, Relic Keepers, and Wrath Bearers.
Whoever you choose to command, they each have unique traits, and you will need to adapt to their strengths and weaknesses in order to devise your strategies for victory. They also have their own story you can discover through a faction quest.
I played through the tutorial with the Kin of Sheredyn, which seems to be the most accessible faction for beginners, and then tried out the Last Lords with no hand-holding. They were a lot of fun to play as, and I’ll definitely be going back to experiment with the other factions so I can experience all of the different playstyles.
EXPLORING SAIADHA
You start out in Endless Legend 2 by cautiously venturing out with your small army to find somewhere to found your capital city. Movement points for each turn deplete as you cross the terrain, with the amount determined by the unit with the lowest value.
Different tiles on the map also have different movement costs, with forests being harder to walk through and therefore costing more. Shaded tiles signify the fog of war, showing (or rather, not showing) where you no longer have direct sight.
Littered around the world are minor factions you can fight or join forces with, strange anomalies to investigate, and ancient ruins to explore for resources and powerful artifacts. Assimilated factions let you recruit interesting new types of units and gain an empire-wide bonus based on how many of their villages are part of your realm.
After parleying with a minor faction of snake-tailed folks, I was asked to complete a Pacification Quest to gain their favor, and then I was able to recruit them into my army. Alternatively, I could have bribed the faction, giving them Dust (the game’s currency) in exchange for their unit and to stop them from spawning roaming units, or I could have attacked the village if I was feeling destructive.
Uncommon materials known as Luxury Resources can be harvested from deposits at certain points on the map by building extractors. These valuable commodities can be traded or used to boost your economy.
WE BUILT THIS CITY
Once you have founded a city, you can build multiple Districts to enhance resource production and boost your Science and strength. Those I had access to at the beginning included the Farm, Works, Communal Habitations, Merchant’s House, Keep, and Bridge.
Factions can differ in what they can build in their city. As the Last Lords have no use for Food – instead sustaining themselves using Dust, they are unable to build Farms or any Food-related improvements. The Tahuks have access to two unique buildings that make use of their fondness for Science: Observatories and the Holy Oculum, which unlocks powerful active abilities.
You can also build one-off Improvements, such as the Sanctity of Nature and the Geodesic Dome, for yet more bonuses. Depending on your playstyle, you can focus on population growth, commerce, Science, or the military, building and upgrading Districts that meet your needs.
In neutral territories, your army can found camps. These can be attached to a nearby city’s territory or evolved into an autonomous city to manage, spreading your empire far and wide.
Cities generate a variety of resources each turn. Food, Industry, Dust, Science, and Influence are fuelled by the Districts you build, improvements you make, your population size, technology, and other factors. Dust is a precious resource, which can be used to speed up the construction of buildings and units, pay for army upkeep each turn, and more.
FIGHT FACTION FIGHT
The combat takes place as turn-based battles on the hex grid over eight rounds. You decide where to place your units and then lead them into battle, moving and attacking the enemy. Any Hero units you recruit learn special abilities that can help turn the tide.
These strong, named units bolster your army as they level up, gaining points for their skill tree, equipping weapons or items, and building relationships.
Once a Hero levels up, they are awarded one Hero Point, which can be spent to unlock a new skill or increase one of four stat enhancements. Their skills are unique to the Hero class and consist of multiple skill trees your Hero can advance through.
Combat can also be auto-resolved if you don’t fancy taking control of your individual units. As you use the terrain to your advantage for cover and chokepoints and wield Faction-specific battlefield abilities, you’ll learn whether your army works best if you’re patient and strategic or bold and forceful.
TIDEFALL AND TECH
The planet of Saiadha is shaped by a tidal cycle known as Tidefall, starting with monsoons and later causing the water’s edge to recede and reveal new lands to explore.
The monsoons cause minor factions to become more aggressive and unit visibility to decrease, adding a new twist to the gameplay you must plan for if you don’t want to be caught out. As the water recedes, there are more places for expansion, new opportunities, and threats to encounter.
Whereas before you may have been cut off from an enemy, a new route could open up, changing the strategic value of locations over time.
There are no ships to build in the game, so you will need to wait until the water level drops before you can exploit new lands for resources and find paths to new allies or enemies. You will also be able to explore sites and mysteries tied to your overall Narrative Quest in order to discover what is happening to the planet of Saiadha.
You start your game in the Technological Era, and from the tech screen, you can choose what you want to research.
Technology plays a crucial role in expanding your empire. For a Science cost, you can research technologies that unlock empire-wide powers or bonuses, new units, or structures for your city. Technologies are divided into six eras, each requiring a certain amount of previous-era tech to be researched before you can advance.
Four domains let you choose what to focus on: defense, society, economy, and discovery.
Your route to victory can take one of three paths. As you unravel the mysteries of the planet, you can unlock various Narrative Victory conditions to pursue in order to learn the fate of Saiadha.
A Score Victory, as the name suggests, requires you to have the highest score on the last turn of the game, while a Conquest Victory occurs when you lay waste to all of your enemies and become the last remaining empire.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There is a ton of information thrown at you at the start of this game, which may be overwhelming for newcomers, yet exciting for veterans of the genre.
The city-building aspects are reminiscent of the Civilization series, while the combat side of things is more akin to Age of Wonders. The story elements, lore, and Tidefall system add fresh new features to the 4X formula, and the addictive one-more-turn gameplay loop kept me coming back for more.
With such a variety of factions and focuses, there are plenty of opportunities for customization, so you can adapt your empire to suit your playstyle. Deep and engaging, it rewards players who take the time to explore everything it has to offer. Endless Legend 2 leaves Early Access on September 17th, and there is also a free demo available for PC via Steam.
