Developers at Amplitude Studios have teamed up with Steam this weekend to bring three different Endless titles free to play for the weekend, and on a steep discount if users should choose to purchase the titles during the weekend. Of course, it’s not without due reason; AMPLITUDE Studios is attempting to hype up their upcoming title HUMANKIND (they really like capital letters over there), a new 4X strategy game coming off the heels of their most recent release Endless Space 2.
So that leaves players with three different games to give a fair shake over the weekend, and see if anything appeals to them from that studio. The games available to play are Endless Space 2, Endless Legend, and Dungeon of the Endless.
Of the three, Dungeon of the Endless is the most unique as an action rogue-like where players crash their space ship into a dungeon crafted by an ancient race called the Endless. Players move across the dungeon, opening rooms and crafting turrets while attempting to find the exit. Once the exit is found, they pick up the crystal and begin moving it towards the exit while an unmitigated spawn of enemies attempt to kill your characters.
It’s a unique idea, and primarily plays out as an odd tower defense title. You can’t directly control your hero’s movements, meaning that you have to rely on them to keep rooms clear based on their AI that often doesn’t do what you’re hoping they will. It can feel as though it’s neither tower defense or turn-based strategy, and it hovers in an uncomfortable void between the two that some may be put off to. It’s worth noting that it has a decidedly high recommendation at 89%.
Endless Legend appears to be the studio’s second foray into 4X turn-based strategy (released after the initial Endless Space that apparently didn’t merit joining the free weekend), set in a high-fantasy world of magic, war, and diplomacy. Your task is to lead a civilization (out of eight to choose from) into a future in an uncertain world. You can train your units to become city governors or military leaders, and finding archaic technologies can help give your civilization a boost. Beyond some nuanced takes, it’s a generally standard 4X turn-based strategy that manages to reach most of their lofty ambitions.
Finally, Endless Space 2 brings the 4X gameplay into space, as you may have figured already. The ability to design your own unique spaceships to watch battle the enemy is an enjoyable endeavor; once again you’ll take hold of one out of eight civilizations in the turn-based strategy title. Worth noting that the development studio appears to suffer from summit-fever; they reportedly become fixated on releasing new DLC, and they have yet to fix past bugs if it doesn’t reflect the newest content.
The depth of the game can also become a slog to work through as every new planet comes with a renewed tedium of clicking to set everything up appropriately.
Granted, all titles are absolutely free to play for the entirety of the weekend. Might as well log in yourself and see if any of the titles appeal to you while they’re on a steep discount.
