Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Critic Reviews

A must-buy expansion. While I badly want to see larger-scale enhancements to the gameplay for future expansions, the amount of content in this release still balances very well against its cost, and those 'turtle'-styled RTS gamers (guilty here) hesitant to get onboard Sins of a Solar Empire due to the lack of any real defensive options will now have a great reason to pick it up.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is a nice addition to an excellent game.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is a pretty good, and any die-hard Sins of a Solar Empire will definitely obtain. The only thing that might shun players away is the $9.95 price point for only a couple new upgrades and units. Although playing with the new star bases makes this purchase well worth it.

The new defensive options add tremendous excitement to the game and definitely fill a hole, tactically speaking. The new star bases are worth the price of admission alone.

Entrenchment is an excellent micro-add-on that will suck you back into multi-hour games of Sins of a Solar Empire and introduce tons of new strategic options.

Entrenchment offers exactly what it says: a fortification extravaganza. It’s a win for micromanagement, a loss in dynamics, but Iron Clad has promised two more such expansions, so it remains to be seen whether the action will become more furious, or be toned down even more.

Entrenchment doesn't add new factions or campaigns but really upgrades the game experience of Sins of a Solar Empire. It remains a difficult game with complex tutorials but in a couple of hours it can become really immersive and addictive. It is the perfect expansion for the best space strategic game on the market.

All things considered, Entrenchment is more of a “completion” of the original Sins of a Solar Empire rather than an expansion.

Quibbles aside though, Ironclad has done an admirable job of addressing some longstanding complaints, making Entrenchment an easy choice for dedicated fans of the original. Even more casual or lapsed players will probably have fun just tooling around with the starbases, which by itself is a gateway into the kind of multi-hour sessions Sins is known for.

Entrenchment makes Sins of a Solar Empire more playable and accessible to 4X strategy and RTS gamers alike and builds on its predecessor’s success to create a memorable experience with both depth and spectacle. At this price, what more can you ask for?

For $10, serious fans of the original who are still playing regularly, or those who are itching to pick it up again, won’t want to miss this. But, if you’ve grown tired with the game and need something a little more meaty if you’re going to get back into it (like maybe a campaign), save your pennies; two more tiny enhancements are promised in the coming months, all three of which will then be bundled together to form one, proper expansion -- maybe even with a new faction!

Hopefully, the next expansion will bring some changes to the table that round out the game a little more, and strike a new balance. I’m tired of stalemates.