Sword of the Stars Critic Reviews

While Sword of the Stars doesn't possess the battlefield variety of the "Homeworld" games that inspired it, it remains an ambitious and engrossing strategy triumph.

In much the same way that "Total War" proved that the war game could be stunning to look at, accessible and fun, SOTS is almost as impressive in its own low-budget way.

One of the best “pick up and play” renditions of a 4X space strategy title I’ve seen to date, and with the possibility of third-party mods opening up and even an expansion pack, I’m looking forward to seeing that the future brings for this interesting title.

In spite of some minor ambiguity as concerns the control interface, it's a game that has a fairly shallow learning curve, yet promises much in the way of long term amusement for those who don’t like their 4X to be too taxing.

If you let it, Sword of the Stars will consume your life. You'll forget you have a girlfriend or a job, you'll rush home from school (or simply not go) to carry on playing and that's exactly what a great sim should do.

I love the slick, high-tech look of the interface. A little more functionality would be nice, of course, but the game looks much more futuristic and advanced than any other space empire game on the market.

The lack of variety of units is hurtful, but not as much as the lack of information when selecting parts for your ships or after a battle has been fought.

Even with a well-balanced multiplayer experience, I can't say that Sword of the Stars is incredibly ambitious, but it's definitely an entertaining and accessible way to extend your galactic influence.

Despite some flaws with the combat, Sword of the Stars distills the complex space strategy formula to a slick, streamlined, and enjoyable package.

An involving game, with interesting varied strategic options and challenges thrown at the player.

The battles look and sound nice, but do not offer much in terms of tactics and are often frustrating because of the ship captains' low IQ.

It's a snap to learn and a breeze to play, whether tackling one of its half-dozen goal-driven scenarios or wrangling with a few friends online.

While a bit of a lopsided contender in the 4X market, those with a propensity for responding violently to problems - like me - will have little trouble stepping right into the shoes Sword of the Stars offer.

If you're coming to Sword of the Stars from titles like "Galactic Civilizations," things may seem stripped down... but "focused" is a more accurate way to look at it.

Get over the interface and the steep learning curve (even beyond the tutorial, which is a bit light) and this is a stylish strategy game that, while hardly threatening to take over your life, will certainly provide a lot of challenge and reward for the time you invest in it.

Solid, but hampered mostly by a terrible lack of depth.

Combat is a breeze and the four playable races create some intriguing situations. Yet, for a game of this type, the interface issues are almost inexcusable and the relative simplicity of the game only makes these problems all the more frustrating.

Sword of the Stars is full of solid ideas and offers interesting strategic challenges and fun multiplayer action to those willing to weather its quirks, frustrations and obscurities.

The races behave in unique, meaningful ways and we really appreciate the attempt to minimize the strategic tedium. That’s why it’s so strange to see a game that is clearly trying hard to attract new players to the genre come up with an interface that is at time incredibly hostile.

This is perhaps the only game in the genre to actually make each race feel unique and balanced... However, it isn't enough to compensate for the flawed tactical combat that lies at the game's core; nothing save a complete overhaul can redeem SotS from its current mediocrity.