this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2026
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See I don't really think Elite scratches my space pilot itch very well, and so I don't really recommend it to people and I don't think it's because it's too complex or challenging - in fact the exact opposite. I found elite dangerous extremely shallow, missing nearly any engaging game loop that I could sink my teeth into. Granted this was 3 years ago but I've watched the content updates and they haven't seemed very large.
I like the flying but the combat seems rather dull with very little progression or optimization capable. Like comparing ED to something like an ARPG or a Dark Souls, there just isn't good itemization or "character" building last I played.
I liked the trading but there wasn't a ton going on around the logistics sim to make it really exciting, like flying place to place wasn't hard and interdictions were rarely challenging and the ship ladder felt kinda small. Mining also felt like the only other thing to do and again, not even a heavily compelling minigame.
They introduced planet side first person shooting stuff and that looked appealing as a new mechanic but it never grew into something that got me to return.
I guess I'm saying to anyone considering it but worried about complexity, give it a go it's still a fun sim for most people for at least a couple dozen hours. Some people will find hundreds of hours of fun. I personally, and I think a lot of people, will find it lacking though from a space game perspective and there is still a massive hole in the market for a real AAA space sim game to come fill.
How is it as simply a space exploration game? Can you just go out and explore our stars, and is there real-time FTL for long distances?
I think it's gorgeous for space exploration. It'll get repetitive after awhile, space isn't exactly teeming with well placed set pieces, but I remember nothing more strongly from the game than setting up gorgeous scenic views with various stars and astroid fields and aligned planets. So ya, space exploration it does well. It also models the stars we know about accurately if I'm remember correctly, like you can go find earth and sol which is fun.
FTL travel is some form of real-time travel, yes. You can only jump so far and only so fast based on your ship, so traveling across the universe feels like a real trek. If all you wanted to do was get from place A to really far away place B, you could do that and have a good time I think - depending on how wonderous you find the natural world.